A whopping crowd of 8647 people flocked to Melbourne Arena to see the Magpies claim their first victory over the Melbourne Vixens in the inaugural Queens Birthday clash.

It was a hot start from the Magpies with Shimona Nelson making her presence felt on court slotting the opening goal against cross town rivals the Melbourne Vixens. Her strong hands were a real feature in the opening minutes with her clever holds and ability to read the play allowing the Collingwood feeders to find her with ease. The connection between Nelson and Nat Medhurst was on early with Medhurst finding good feeding space and doing a truckload of work out the front to open space for Nelson, leading the goal assists with eight. Up the other end, it did not take long for goal shooter Caitlin Thwaites to find the net against her old club with the goaler carrying the load for the Vixens in attack. It was a highly defensive first term with wing defence Ash Brazill doing a wealth of work to win the ball back for the Magpies. Her speed, athleticism and sheer netball nous was on full display with Brazill claiming two deflections and one gain in the first quarter alone. The Magpies’ stifling defence helped to clog up the midcourt and stop ball from transitioning into the attacking third for the Vixens, forcing a timeout. Coach Simone McKinnis swapped Liz Watson and Kate Moloney between wing attack and centre, giving Brazill something different to think about in attack. The Vixens came out of the break more composed with ball in hand, able to work their way through the defensive pressure of the Pies to get two quick goals but the Magpies stuck strong holding a seven goal lead at quarter time.

The Vixens started with the centre pass and the Magpies made them work for it but it did not stop the Vixens from playing the ball around and finding an opening. A clever tip from Renae Ingles saw the Vixens regain possession but a scrappy couple of minutes saw them lose it again. Thwaites upped the ante shooting 10 straight while Tegan Philip started to get more involved both on the scoreboard and across the court with six goals and two goal assists in the term. The Melbourne Vixens had more control and were winning plenty of turnover ball, piling on 10 goals to five midway through the second term before Collingwood coach Rob Wright called a timeout to address the troops. Some wayward passing cost the Magpies, forcing scores to be levelled at the 4:42 minute mark credit to the intensified defensive pressure of the Vixens. It was goal for goal with a turnover from Moloney resulting in a Collingwood goal and giving the Magpies the centre pass to push ahead but Jo Weston read the pass and streamed down the court. A last minute flurry from the Magpies saw them reclaim a three goal lead but the Vixens all but dominated to win the quarter 16 to 12.

Down by three goals coming out of the half time break, the Melbourne Vixens took things into their own hands with Ingles showing that age is just a number as the veteran wing defence picked up a stellar intercept to drive the Vixens forward. Her defensive pressure to nullify Kelsey Browne and limit her influence on the circle edge was imperative, picking up four gains for the quarter. Thwaites made her way to the bench after an errant elbow in the third term making way for SPAR Proteas’ Ine-Mari Venter who had an immediate impact. Though it was a messy start to the quarter with the ball swinging back and forth, the Vixens settled first with Philip converting on the baseline to get it back within one goal. The Vixens’ intensity and momentum increased as the quarter went on with the Magpies making a change through the midcourt bringing on New Zealand international Kimiora Poi for Kim Ravaillion, but struggled for the first few minutes to find connections down court with teammates in attack. Some slick ball movement from Browne and strong holds around the circle found good feeding position into the shooters, allowing the Magpies to stretch out to a six goal lead. Ravaillion re-entered the match and the entry into goal seemed easier with her carefully weighted passes and clever positioning around the circle, but it was the lift from Geva Mentor that really spurred the Magpies on. Her quick footwork, read of the play and ability to stay away from the whistle allowed the talented goal keeper to win plenty of turnover ball, ending the quarter with four gains and three intercepts. In hope to stay within touching distance, Vixens defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney made her way onto the court with less than three minutes left in the final term and drew the side to within two goals going into the final change.

With a win in sight the Magpies had a point to prove with their defensive pressure and attacking intent up from the previous quarter, equally rivalled by the Vixens who were searching for their fifth win of the season. Though Medhurst did not put up a heap of shots she drew the attention of Weston allowing a one on one in the circle with Dehaney and Nelson. Defensively the Vixens made another change bringing Emily Mannix back on to work in tandem with Weston to confuse the space in the attacking third causing the first held ball of the game against Brazill in the middle third. But the Magpies were not done with, as April Brandley showcased her defensive prowess with a clever tip over the shot. Collingwood really clogged up the middle corridor making it hard for the Vixens to penetrate but showed good patience to work the ball around. It was a highly defensive game with both sides riddled with stars across the court but in the end it was the Magpies that prevailed.

STARTING LINE-UP:

Melbourne Vixens:

GS |Caitlin Thwaites
GA |Tegan Philip
WA |Liz Watson
C |Kate Moloney
WD |Renae Ingles
GD |Jo Weston
GK |Emily Mannix

Collingwood Magpies:

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