Momentum is an amazing thing in sport, and this weekend it may just be the magic thing for Sunshine Coast Lightning and the Collingwood Magpies as they head into Super Netball finals.

The Lightning have the longest winning streak of any of the final four contenders, having not dropped a game since round six. It is the kind of solid momentum that is hard won over a long period of time and gives them confidence to dig their way out of a losing position and find a way to win.

The Magpies are the only top-four team to have improved their scoring average since the World Cup break. AAP

The Magpies have a different kind of momentum. It is more mercurial and harder to grasp. It has appeared suddenly, and the risk is that it may disappear just as fast. Having spent the early part of the season looking like a basket case (again), they looked to have suddenly clicked, and reeled off the last three games on the trot, including a demolition of the NSW Swifts and a clutch win over Melbourne Vixens in the final round to secure their finals berth.

But it's not just the straight up wins that show how impressive Magpies are at the moment. If you dig into the numbers below the scorelines, it becomes clear that they are the danger team in this finals series.

Since the World Cup break they have lost just five quarters in five games, less than any of the top four sides. Significantly, they have lost just two quarters in their past three matches. Given that two of those matches were against teams above them on the ladder, it shows they are in some rare air when it comes to form.

But wait! There's more!

Statistics provided by Champion Data reveal that the Magpies are the only one of the top four sides who are scoring more goals on average since the World Cup break than they were before. Lightning are scoring 4.5 fewer goals per game, Vixens 5.8 fewer and the Swifts a whopping 7.4. Admittedly the return of star goal attack Helen Housby to the Swifts line-up should arrest that slide, but it is a concern.

Of greater concern to both the Swifts and Vixens is the fact that in absolute terms, they are being outscored by the Magpies. On average the Swifts are scoring 55.6 goals a game (down from 63 prior to the World Cup) and the Vixens 56 goals a game (down from 61.8). By contrast, the Magpies are scoring 57 goals per game, up from 55.7 in the first nine rounds.

The big question is, of course, why? Unsurprisingly, the World Cup plays a role, in that the Magpies had less players involved than any other finals-bound club. Significantly, the entire front line that will step onto the court for Magpies this weekend were all back in Melbourne training together, while every other front line in the competition had players overseas. It is apparent that they spent a large part of the break working both on their ball delivery in to goal shooter Shimona Nelson, and her ability to take the ball strongly.

The major shift though has come in the rejig of the midcourt. While the Magpies' midcourt has been hit hard by injuries to two of the best wing attacks in the game with first Madi, then Kelsey, Browne suffering season-ending knee injuries, it has conversely been invigorated by the move of Ash Brazill out of wing defence and into centre.

The Magpies have clearly been working on their delivery to Shimona Nelson and her ability to take the ball strongly. AAP

The move has been a masterstroke.

Kim Ravaillion is a quiet achiever in wing defence. Unlike Brazill, she isn't a player who goes hunting for intercepts, which means that she is slowing down the opposition wing attack and creating more opportunities for April Brandley and Geva Mentor to get their hands on the ball.

And Brazill is loving her time in centre, evidenced by three MVP awards in the last three games. At centre she has more space to weave her defensive magic, picking up more intercepts per game than she does at wing defence, and she has been a revelation in attack, delivering more goal assists than Ravaillion did per game.

As arguably the best player left out of the Diamonds squad for the World Cup, the influence of Brazill in the centre over the past three games has been irresistible, and if the Magpies can keep this talismanic player firing, they might just go all the way.