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Defending trans-Tasman netball league champions NSW Swifts were the only team not register a loss in the the pre-season tournament in Sydney yesterday.
Even then, the Swifts had to be content with a 19-19 draw against the Southern Steel in their final game of the day.
The Swifts enjoyed victories over traditional rivals the Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds and West Coast Fever before coming up against a determined Southern Steel outfit, who had just endured a 19-goal loss to the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
Both teams found their radar early, in particular Sue Pratley (Swifts) and Julianna Naoupu (Steel) who were the cornerstone of their teams' attack. It was however the Steel that had the ascendency going into the halftime break, leading the Swifts 10-9.
The Steel made all the running at the start of the second half with Naoupu landing shots from everywhere. The Swifts, however, stormed back to level scores in the last five minutes.
With the game on the line, the Steel netted a goal to even up the scores and force the draw.