IT did not take long for the first draw of the season to happen, with both the Collingwood Magpies and Queensland Firebirds unable to be separated. After a disappointing start to the season the Firebirds came out with a fire in the belly, pushing out to an eight-goal lead at half time before the Magpies mounted a much needed comeback.

The first quarter was tight from the get-go but it was the Firebirds that edged ahead credit to the impressive work of goal shooter, Romelda Aiken who showcased both her attacking and defensive prowess, picking up a clever deflection and quickly transition back into attack to score off her own work. Defensively the Firebirds looked a lot stronger with both Tara Hinchliffe and Kim Jenner combining nicely, with Hinchliffe taking a big intercept credit to her front position and ability to get around the body. While the play seemed to be going the way of Queensland, the Pies did not give up with Kim Ravaillion finding some good space and excellent feeding positions at the top of the goal circle into Shimona Nelson. Nelson was strong on the take and was accurate to post sitting on 100 percent with 10 from 10. However, the Magpies were forced to make a change in the front end, bringing on Gabby Sinclair after Nat Medhurst copped a nasty elbow to the face forcing her from the court. Sinclair found her range straight away with her strong drives and lovely high release to nail three goals. The Firebirds continued to hustle hard with Jenner taking an impressive intercept, getting a tip on the ball and then chasing it up to regain possession. But Ash Brazill showed that anything Queensland can do she can do better, with a stellar intercept on the edge of the goal circle and then a quick transition down the court to score.

The Firebirds came in two goals up after quarter time and had a real spring in their step with their connections down court on point. Given the defensive pressure of Brazill, Queensland coach, Roselee Jencke replaced Caitlyn Nevins with Jemma Mi Mi in wing attack to provide that extra spark in attack. Mi Mi was dynamic from the get-go, finding good space and feeding well into Tippett and Aiken, with Tippett making full use of the space with her lovely drives into the circle and sheer athleticism. After receiving treatment and getting stitches above her lip, Medhurst came back onto the court and was immediately into the action with a clever feed and then rebound to open her account for the quarter. The veteran displayed her general netball smarts, applying pressure on the transverse line and picking up a clever tip for her hard work. Positional swaps between Jenner and Hinchliffe seemed to pay dividends with Hinchliffe relishing the extra space in goal defence, picking up three gains and two intercepts in that quarter alone. Her three-foot marking to get up high and intercept the pass from Nelson falling out of court and then dishing off on one foot showed her impressive balance and intent to win the ball. The Firebirds put out a dominant display in defence with Simpson also getting amongst the action with a deflection on the circle edge causing a turnover and pushing out to an eight goal margin at half time.

After a poor first half, the Magpies kicked it up a gear to apply a heap more pressure down the court, working hard to cover their opponents’ drive and go hunting for any high or loose ball. The defensive partnership between Brazill, Mentor and April Brandley continues to grow with the three confusing the space well. Needing a lift, superstar, Mentor got a huge intercept, gathering the ball with an overhead pass back in play with Brazill reading the play and taking a big contested grab to spark the Pies into action. Mentor was a driving force down in defence, picking up two gains, an intercept and pushing both Aiken and Tippett high in the circle. Collingwood then went on a four goal to zero run, seeming to find their rhythm in attack and forcing the Firebirds to call a timeout. Ravaillion was finding good space, while Kelsey Browne was more prominent using her speed and vision to feed the ball into the circle. The intensity was up from both sides with Gabi Simpson in the thick of it trying to settle the Firebirds, picking up an impressive intercept by leaping into the air, tapping it down to her advantage and then gathering it on one foot. The umpires got heavily involved with Tippett and Aiken both receiving cautions, while Nelson and Browne were also put on notice. Collingwood continued to mount pressure, getting back within a goal at three quarter time.

With the final quarter underway, both sides went goal for goal with Brandley upping the ante on Tippett and limiting her ability to run freely across the court. However, Tippett was still accurate to post scoring seven goals at 100 percent for the quarter. Five minutes down and the Magpies evened things up, sitting at 46 goals apiece, and after breaking off the Firebirds centre pass, Collingwood held a one goal lead. Mahalia Cassidy worked hard through the midcourt to feed the ball into the Firebirds shooters and provide leads. With eight seconds to go Collingwood had the centre pass and looked set to score with quick work down the court from Ravaillion to Medhurst, but Nelson was unable to control the ball, fumbling it to Hincliffe and rendering the game a draw with neither side able to be separated finishing at 57 goals each.

STARTING LINE-UPS:

Firebirds:

GS | Romelda Aiken
GA | Gretel Tippett
WA | Caitlyn Nevins
C | Mahalia Cassidy
WD | Gabi Simpson
GD | Kim Jenner
GK | Tara Hinchliffe

Magpies:

GS | Shimona Nelson
GA | Nat Medhurst
WA | Kelsey Browne
C | Kim Ravaillion
WD | Ash Brazill
GD | April Brandley
GK | Geva Mentor