Swifts out to thwart former coach

Jul 24, 2016 - 5:17 AM NSW Swifts will be aiming to thwart the golden touch of their former coach Julie Fitzgerald in Monday's trans-Tasman netball semi-final against the Magic in New Zealand.

Seeking a grand final berth against defending champions Queensland Firebirds, the Swifts can set up repeat of last year's thrilling title decider.

But first they must make history repeat by overcoming New Zealand conference champions the Magic in their semi in Hamilton - the Swifts triumphed 60-52 in the same clash last year.

Fitzgerald steered the Swifts to the inaugural title in 2008 and has overseen a Magic resurgence this year after a 1-4 start to the season.

"She's a great coach but her people-managing skills are one of her best attributes," NSW Swifts captain and midcourt star Kim Green told AAP.

"She really gets players and she understands their needs on and off the court.

"Any team she touches, it definitely turns to gold."

The Swifts flogged the Magic 78-50 in Sydney in round two, but Green stressed NSW would face a much stronger and more confident side on Monday.

"They didn't have Grace Rasmussen in or Leana De Bruin, so they had a completely different lineup to what we will be seeing on Monday," Green said.

"They've definitely found some confidence, just the consistency of having their marquee players back and healthy.

"I think that really helps the team to get that consistency and the patterns of play, it's really important to have stability.

"The Magic have had a really good back end to the season, one of the best I've seen, I reckon."

Green said she was now fit enough to play a full game after recently coming back into the lineup following a a knee injury.

She said the Swifts had identified a number of things they had to fix in the aftermath of last week's 63-52 Australian conference final loss to the Firebirds in Brisbane.

"Having options on court was a really important one for us," Green said.

"Once you've got the options, you can pick the right choice and all these things start to flow."

The Swifts appear to have an edge in the crucial shooting area, where they boast the most accurate percentage of any team in the league, while the Magic have the worst.

Source: AAP