Adelaide Thunderbirds on the brink of history Adelaide Thunderbirds captain Natalie von Bertouch during the season opener. THE Adelaide Thunderbirds can create franchise history and host the second semi-final - but will almost certainly need to win their remaining five games. The Thunderbirds, on top of the ladder after claiming seven wins from eight games, have never hosted the battle between the top two sides on the first weekend of the major round. However, even victories in their final five matches does not guarantee the home court advantage for the contest. The Melbourne Vixens are a game below the Thunderbirds but have played one less match, having already had the bye, and have superior percentage. If they win their final six games and retain the better percentage, they will jump above the Thunderbirds into top spot. The Queensland Firebirds have also won six of their seven games and are only percentage below the Vixens in third spot. But they still have two games against the Vixens - the first in Melbourne on Sunday - as well as a meeting with the Thunderbirds in Adelaide in the final round. Should the Firebirds win those three encounters they would most likely finish the minor round as the competition pacesetter. Of the three top teams, the Thunderbirds have the smoother draw to the finals. They face ninth-placed NSW Swifts at Netball SA Stadium on Sunday and then Canterbury Tactix (eighth) in Dunedin, Swifts in Sydney, Northern Mystics (bottom) in Adelaide and the Firebirds. The Thunderbirds have their bye after the round 11 battle against the Swifts. After hosting the Firebirds, the Vixens take on the dangerous Southern Steel (fifth) at home, the Firebirds in Brisbane, the Swifts at home, the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic (fourth) in Hamilton and the West Coast Fever (sixth) at home. The Firebirds' schedule is the Vixens followed by home games against the Magic and Vixens, then the Fever in Perth, Swifts at home and Thunderbirds. The minor premier has won three of the five premierships decided. "It would be a tremendous advantage to host the second semi-final," Thunderbirds coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson said. It is not the deal broker because the Magic came from third to win last year and we came from second when we won the premiership in 2010. But it is an advantage given the home crowd and the logistics. We have not had the bye yet and that will come at an opportune time. We will have trips to Dunedin and Sydney back-to-back and that will be tough so we will need the bye. Then we have two games at home to finish. But our priority is the Swifts this week. We need to focus on each week and making sure we are well prepared for each game. A Kiwi outfit is expected to finish fourth and the Magic is favoured to grab the final spot in the major round after overcoming the Central Pulse on Monday night. Should they achieve the feat, the Magic will face three trips across the Tasman in successive weeks if they are to defend their crown. Last year when they broke through as the first NZ champion, they hosted the Thunderbirds in the first semi-final and only faced a 90-minute drive to Auckland for the preliminary. The Steel and Pulse are the dangers to the Magic, being the first team to qualify for the finals after winning the grand final the previous season.