GIANTS made it five wins on the trot downing Melbourne Vixens at John Cain Arena in a tough slog (68-54). The Vixens put up a gallant effort but in the end the GIANTS showcased their class in the final term to reign supreme.

The Melbourne Vixens raced out of the blocks scoring the first three goals of the game with Ruby Barkmeyer finding her groove early. Looking for their fourth goal of the game Jamie-Lee Price burst through the centre to pick the ball out of mid-air and propel the ball into attack for the GIANTS. That was the exact catalyst the visitors needed as April Brandley also sprung into action reaping the rewards of a long bomb down the court. Before you knew it the fast start the Vixens had was blown away with the GIANTS and Jo Harten capitalising under the post. Things got a bit raggedy in the Vixens attack end as the GIANTS defenders came to play with Sam Poolman picking up deflections aplenty.

Meanwhile up the other end, the GIANTS were going along swimmingly as the put the foot down to skip out a seven goal lead. Sophie Dwyer and Harten were having a field day with the latter pulling off a layup and unfazed by the defensive efforts of the Vixens. Calling a timeout the Vixens rallied and looked to stem the bleeding as Kaylia Stanton and Hannah Mundy entered the fray to create some more depth in the attacking third. After struggling to sight Mwai Kumwenda at the post the Malawian upped the ante as they steadily ate into the margin to reduce the buffer to five goals. Brandley picked up where she left off with an impressive deflection on the shot while Emily Mannix proved that anything you can do, I can do better with an intercept of her own.

The intensity level remained the same for both sides in the second term as the GIANTS maintained that five goal buffer. A Maddie Hay deflection in the midcourt sparked the GIANTS even further but the Vixens were not swayed as the combination between Stanton and Kumwenda started to come to the fore. The move of Moloney into the centre paid dividends as Mundy found her rhythm. But the introduction of Kristiana Manu’a gave the GIANTS a new look in defence and something else for the Vixens to combat. A missed shot from Stanton and the hustle from Poolman sent the GIANTS forward as they extended the lead to seven goals.

Momentum continued to ebb and flow with neither side really able to claim the ascendancy despite the GIANTS holding the upper hand. Dwyer and Harten were carving up the Vixens defence with Jo Weston and Mannix unable to stem the bleeding. Mundy sent the fans into overdrive with a huge intercept as the Vixens pegged their way back into the contest. With the supershot now in play both Dwyer and Kumwenda made their presence felt from down town with the latter nailing back-to-back goals. A flurry of goals saw the Vixens cull the deficit to a mere three goals before the GIANTS called a timeout in hope to stop Melbourne in their tracks. Dwyer had a hot hand and simply could not be stopped as she nailed another supershot to give her side a six goal lead after the Vixens worked tirelessly to stay in the hunt.

There were changes aplenty for the Vixens in defence Kate Eddy pushing out to goal defence and Weston swinging into wing defence in hope to disrupt the flow of Price and Hay. Stanton was shaky on the shot but gobbled up the rebound to add another goal to the Vixens’ tally but there was no denying that the GIANTS had the upper hand. The speed in which the GIANTS were transitioning with was catching the Vixens well and truly off-guard as within a blink of an eye the ball was up the other end of the court.

Matilda McDonnell burst onto the court in goal keeper for the GIANTS with the young defender showcasing her tenacity. The Vixens steadily chipped away at the deficit as they crept back with only four goals separating the two sides. Kumwenda was using all the tricks of the trade to outsmart the GIANTS defence and keep the Vixens within one goal. A positional swap between Harten and Dwyer gave the GIANTS a pep in their step but the Vixens could not be denied. It was goal for goal for majority of the final couple of minutes with super shots proving to be the real difference and favouring the visitors as they entered the final term up by seven goals.

With intensity rising it was the GIANTS that rose to the occasion as Amy Parmenter injected herself thanks to some good scrapping around circle edge. As the lead crept out to 10 goals the Vixens rung in the changes as Kadie-Ann Dehaney entered the frame and Kumwenda and Stanton swapped bibs. Fatigue started to set in for the Vixens while the GIANTS cruised to victory with their silky connections and spatial awareness putting the home side to the sword.

Both Dwyer and Harten were terrific from super shot range sinking five and six respectively while they all shared the load in regular time with 28 goals and 29 goals apiece. However inaccuracy was somewhat an issue as they converted at a combined 75 per cent. On the Vixens front Kumwenda was sensational steering the ship with 38 goals 81 per cent while Stanton struggled to find the post with eight goals from 18 attempts. Hay was impressive on the feed with 25 goal assists as Price also starred thanks to her 10 goal assists and four intercepts. Brandley had a game to remember in defence picking up seven gains while for the Vixens, Mannix worked hard for her four intercepts. Moloney also provided a steady head thanks to her 11 goal assists.

MELBOURNE VIXENS 8 | 18 | 16 | 12 (54)
GIANTS NETBALL  13 | 19 | 17 |19 (68)

STARTING SEVEN:

Vixens:

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Ruby Barkmeyer
WA: Kate Moloney
C: Allie Smith
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Emily Mannix

GIANTS:

GS: Jo Harten
GA: Sophie Dwyer
WA: Maddie Hay
C: Jamie-Lee Price
WD: Amy Parmenter
GD: April Brandley
GK: Sam Poolman

Photo credit: Graham Denholm