The Adelaide Thunderbirds have beaten last year's trans-Tasman netball champions the New South Wales Swifts.
Last year's third-placegetters were spurred on by their home advantage in Adelaide, winning by just a point, 48-47.
In the remaining Easter matches, the Pulse play the Northern Mystics, Canterbury host the Australian underdogs West Coast Fever in Christchurch and the Queensland Firebirds try to douse the fancied Melbourne Vixens in Brisbane on Monday.
