Tauranga awaits NSW Swifts
ANZ Championship Pre-Season Tournament
Friday 2 – Sunday 4 March
TECT Arena, Tauranga, NZ
POOL A: NSW Swifts, West Coast Fever, WBOP Magic, Southern Steel, QLD Firebirds
POOL B: Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Central Pulse, Canterbury Tactix, LG Mystics
View the complete draw
Follow the Game:
The NSW Swifts will provide LIVE updates from their trip to NZ via facebook.com/NSWSwifts or twitter.com/theNSWSwifts. You can even join in the conversation on twitter by using #goswifts in your tweets. Please note that the ANZ Championship pre-season tournament will not be broadcast on TV.
The NSW Swifts will fly to New Zealand tomorrow morning for the ANZ Championship Pre-Season Tournament at TECT Arena, Tauranga, 2-4 March.
The tournament, which gets underway on Friday night, will see all ten ANZ Championship teams in action at the same venue across the weekend; the first time this has happened since 2008 when the NSW Swifts and Sydney Olympic Park hosted the SOPA Cup.
The NSW Swifts enter the tournament this weekend without experienced campaigners co-captain Mo'onia Gerrard (ankle) and midcourter Vanessa Ware (knee) who will not travel to Tauranga with the team, and will instead stay in Sydney to continue their rehabilitation. They have been temporarily replaced by AIS scholarship holders and NSW juniors Paige Hadley and Gabi Simpson.
For NSW Swifts coach Lisa Beehag, the weekend is an opportunity to test themselves against quality opposition with the season proper under a month away.
“I’ve been pleased with how our team has progressed particularly over the last few weeks with some match play under their belts. After playing the Vixens last weekend we’ve identified some areas that we need to improve on and we’ll be trying to do that in Tauranga,”Beehag said.
“To have the opportunity to play against and watch the other teams means that we have the chance to gain further insights into their playing styles and also gain experience playing against those different styles which will be important for us heading into the season.”
Following the conclusion of the tournament in Tauranga, the NSW Swifts will play the LG Mystics in another training game on Tuesday afternoon in Auckland before travelling home to Sydney.
NSW Swifts Pre-Season Tournament Draw (local time)
Fri 2 March v West Coast Fever, 5:30pm
Fri 2 March v WBoP Magic, 9pm
Sat 3 March v Southern Steel, 2pm
Sat 3 March v QLD Firebirds, 7pm
Sun 4 March: Finals
Friday 2 – Sunday 4 March
TECT Arena, Tauranga, NZ
POOL A: NSW Swifts, West Coast Fever, WBOP Magic, Southern Steel, QLD Firebirds
POOL B: Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Central Pulse, Canterbury Tactix, LG Mystics
View the complete draw
Follow the Game:
The NSW Swifts will provide LIVE updates from their trip to NZ via facebook.com/NSWSwifts or twitter.com/theNSWSwifts. You can even join in the conversation on twitter by using #goswifts in your tweets. Please note that the ANZ Championship pre-season tournament will not be broadcast on TV.
The NSW Swifts will fly to New Zealand tomorrow morning for the ANZ Championship Pre-Season Tournament at TECT Arena, Tauranga, 2-4 March.
The tournament, which gets underway on Friday night, will see all ten ANZ Championship teams in action at the same venue across the weekend; the first time this has happened since 2008 when the NSW Swifts and Sydney Olympic Park hosted the SOPA Cup.
The NSW Swifts enter the tournament this weekend without experienced campaigners co-captain Mo'onia Gerrard (ankle) and midcourter Vanessa Ware (knee) who will not travel to Tauranga with the team, and will instead stay in Sydney to continue their rehabilitation. They have been temporarily replaced by AIS scholarship holders and NSW juniors Paige Hadley and Gabi Simpson.
For NSW Swifts coach Lisa Beehag, the weekend is an opportunity to test themselves against quality opposition with the season proper under a month away.
“I’ve been pleased with how our team has progressed particularly over the last few weeks with some match play under their belts. After playing the Vixens last weekend we’ve identified some areas that we need to improve on and we’ll be trying to do that in Tauranga,”Beehag said.
“To have the opportunity to play against and watch the other teams means that we have the chance to gain further insights into their playing styles and also gain experience playing against those different styles which will be important for us heading into the season.”
Following the conclusion of the tournament in Tauranga, the NSW Swifts will play the LG Mystics in another training game on Tuesday afternoon in Auckland before travelling home to Sydney.
NSW Swifts Pre-Season Tournament Draw (local time)
Fri 2 March v West Coast Fever, 5:30pm
Fri 2 March v WBoP Magic, 9pm
Sat 3 March v Southern Steel, 2pm
Sat 3 March v QLD Firebirds, 7pm
Sun 4 March: Finals
