Firebirds face finals hurdle

WING attack Caitlyn Nevins says the Firebirds refuse to be intimidated by the daunting scenario to stay in the hunt for Suncorp Super Netball finals.

The Firebirds will take on league-leading GWS in Sydney tonight with the Giants coming off an impressive 56-52 win over the Melbourne Vixens last weekend.

The Firebirds need to upset GWS, and hope West Coast produce a boilover win over Collingwood tomorrow, to remain in the race for the top four for another week.

“We have great belief,’’ Nevins said.

“It’s all about winning and getting the two points then waiting to see what unfolds with the Magpies.

“We still have finals hopes. We are not giving up on that just yet.

“We know we have a really tough task ahead but we see it as an amazing challenge.’’

Nevins said it was impossible to not be impressed by how GWS dismantled the Vixens, who had won eight straight.

“They were brilliant. We’ve got the Giants at their peak form but I feel like we’ve been building towards our best performance too,’’ she said.

Nevins said the 59-48 win over Adelaide last Saturday night was plenty to build on.

“We had a lot of creative play at the attack end. We weren’t predictable and kept them guessing. In defence, the girls forced a lot of turnover ball,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, Firebirds training squad member Tara Hinchliffe has been selected in the Australian under-21 side for the Netball World Youth Cup.