GIANTS Netball centre Jamie-Lee Price believes the club’s heart-breaking, last-minute one-goal loss to Fever in Perth was a ‘turning point’ that eventually led the side to claim the minor premiership.

It has been a season of quarantine, ever-changing hubs and injury for GIANTS, adversity the club continues to overcome week in, week out.

As if a move script, the GIANTS only had eight players available for its round 14 match with Fever – a winner-takes-the-minor-premiership play off. A feat the GIANTS achieved against all the odds.

Stand out performer Price said it wasn’t a surprise to her or her teammates as they continue to grow as the season wears on.

“We’ve had a really interesting season. When we went to Perth that was the turning point for us, it was challenging and we struggled for a few weeks after that,” she told The Netball Post.

“But we reflected on that and we continued to improve, and we have improved a lot since then… we are so much better in the way we play and how calm we are under pressure.

“Defensively we are able to get a lot of ball and that showed in the Fever game last week. I guess this year we have handled [the challenging circumstances] well as a group – nothing surprises us anymore.”

Price said the squad always believed it could compete with the best in the league, the side just needed to take its time to build to peak for the finals.

GIANTS return to the finals for the first time since its 2018 campaign to take on NSW Swifts in a mouth-watering clash for a spot in the grand final on Saturday from Nissan Arena.

The NSW Derby is sitting at one-all in 2021 with two tough, hard-fought matches in the regular season.

Yet, the two sides will look to go up one more gear.

The 25-year-old thinks it’s the mix of youth and experience that will shine through ahead of the finals campaign.

“We have a great mix of experience and younger heads… I am really pumped for the finals, it is the first time for us in a few years,” she said.

“It is exciting to be in the finals and to be playing Swifts in a big game like this, I think both teams really step it up.

“We’re all used to hub life… I am a bit fortunate to have so much family in Queensland… so with crowds back I guess we are trying to get our people along to the game and get as much support as we can.

“No one has the home advantage.”