AFTER leading from the opening minutes of the game the Battle of the Birds went right down to the wire as Queensland Firebirds notched up their second win of the year in the final 10 seconds of the game (54-53). It was a pulsating finish to the game as the Thunderbirds threw everything they had at Queensland, but the home team were determined to not let the game slip through their fingers dialling up the defensive pressure.

A rare miss for Lenize Potgieter to start the game allowed the Firebirds to put the foot down early and create a handy three-goal lead thanks to the Firebirds confidence across the court. Mahalia Cassidy and Jemma Mi Mi starred in the opening minutes of the quarter for the Firebirds in attack with the midcourt duo finding a wealth of space and showcasing their spatial awareness to deliver ball with ease into their goalers. A couple of scrappy minutes ensued as both sides tussled for clean possession but it was the Firebirds that motored along, holding tight onto their three goal lead. Georgie Horjus proved to be the one strike shooter for the Thunderbirds with the youngster sighting eyes only for the post and backing herself from range.

Up the other end, Romelda Aiken dominated under the post for the Firebirds with the Jamaican goal shooter reeling in every single pass and showcasing her fancy footwork to keep Shamera Sterling at bay. The Firebirds continued to push throughout the term extending the lead to four goals as the defensive end worked in overdrive to win back ball as Aiken converted under the post. struggling to find her rhythm under the post, Potgieter made her way to the bench as Sasha Glasgow entered the game at goal shooter and had an immediate impact. The intensity was right up for the girls in purple, with the Queensland based team contesting every single pass and transitioning with speed down court to slice through Adelaide’s defence. The Firebirds seemed to have the ball on a string as Kim Jenner and Tara Hinchliffe combined for a huge rejection over the shot in the dying seconds of the term to cap off a dominant term and hold an eight goal lead.

Donning their biggest quarter time score for the season, the Firebirds looked to continue their dominant ways scoring the first of the term. But the Thunderbirds were not about to go down without a fight, making a couple of changes to their line-up as Hannah Petty pulled on the centre bib and Maisie Nankivell reverted to her normal position of wing defence. The changes seemed to pay dividends while the shooting combination of Horjus and Glasgow started to kick into gear with the moving circle keeping the defenders guessing. Drawing the margin back to seven goals, Firebirds rallied in defence with Jenner getting down and dirty to force a tip to win back possession and regain that eight goal lead.

The Firebirds brought all of the party tricks coming out of the timeout with Cassidy somehow managing to sink a goal despite sitting out in centre, before Aiken picked up the scraps to actually add to the scoreboard. Moments later, Gabi Simpson found the floorboards with the captain hitting the deck and looking a bit ginger prompting Lara Dunkley to enter the court, showcasing her speed and drive down through the centre third. Everything seemed to be falling the way of the Queenslanders as the Thunderbirds failed to gain any control over the game. With limited opportunity under the post Horjus delivered with the goal attack dominating from super shot zone to keep side within touch however it was the efforts from Hinchliffe and Jenner that stood head and shoulders above the rest as the duo wreaked havoc down back.

Down by nine goals at half-time the Thunderbirds looked to peg back the margin and spark their side into action with Sterling leading the way down back. The defensive pressure from both sides increased rapidly as Jenner forced a turnover with an intercept before Layla Guscoth answered for the T’Birds with a timely tip of her own. Both Petty and Nankivell upped the ante out the front shutting down the influence of Mi Mi and Cassidy as the ball started to fall the way of Adelaide. The timeout did not seem to do the Firebirds any favours as the Thunderbirds sliced the lead to five goals as Queensland struggled to match the Thunderbirds intensity across the court.

Chelsea Pitman started to come alive in the third quarter with the wing attack relishing the extra space against Dunkley, to roam freely around circle edge and dish off bullet-like passes. Glasgow showcased her strength on the rebound out-bodying Hinchliffe on a couple of occasions. The Thunderbirds had all the momentum in the final minutes with Horjus cutting the margin to a mere two goals thanks to her sublime super shot shooting. Although she did not have her usual impact from long range, Tippah Dwan stood up to the occasion with a huge super shot after the siren to get the lead back out to four goals despite, Adelaide dictating the play throughout the term.

With the game on tender hooks it was an even start to the final term as the Firebirds looked for some fresh legs with Macy Gardner pulling on the centre bib. The Thunderbirds capitalised on any missed opportunities pegging the lead back to one goal and showcased their patience in attack to work the ball around. With five minutes left in the term, the Adelaide Thunderbirds hit the lead for the first time in the game while Sterling coming up big. But Jenner sensed the moment with the goal defence pulling through for a huge deflection while Dwan showcased her netball smarts to pick the ball up after a contact call to guide the Firebirds to a one goal victory in the dying seconds.

Aiken was a formidable force under the post once again for the Firebirds sinking 40 goals from 44 attempts for the game but had her work cut out for up against compatriot Sterling who won back a wealth of ball, amassing nine deflections and two intercepts. Dwan also impressed inside the circle with 10 goals two of which were super goals while also racking up nine goal assists. For the Thunderbirds, Glasgow starred, recording 21 goals at 81 per cent accuracy, while Horjus also plied her trade in goal attack with 23 goals. Jenner and Hinchliffe combined once again and dominated with a collective nine gains and 10 deflections as Hinchliffe took out player of the match honours thanks to her defensive prowess.

>>> FIREBIRDS TEAM PAGE
>>> THUNDERBIRDS TEAM PAGE
>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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Queensland Firebirds 20 | 14 | 12 | 8 (54)
Adelaide Thunderbirds 12 | 13 | 17 | 11 (53)

STARTING SEVEN:

Queensland Firebirds:

GS: Romelda Aiken
GA: Tippah Dwan
WA: Jemma Mi Mi
C: Mahalia Cassidy
WD: Gabi Simpson
GD: Kim Jenner
GK: Tara Hinchliffe

Adelaide Thunderbirds:

GS: Lenize Potgieter
GA: Georgie Horjus
WA: Chelsea Pitman
C: Maisie Nankivell
WD: Shadine van der Merwe
GD: Layla Guscoth
GK: Shamera Sterling