AFTER 98 days away from home, Melbourne Vixens claimed their first premiership in Suncorp Super Netball history in a battle that went right down to the wire over West Coast Fever (66-64). The stage was set for an almighty clash as both sides buckled down early but in the end the class, connection and desperation of the Vixens came to fruition in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter to break the minor premiership curse and hold the trophy aloft.

The intensity was high from the opening minute, as Verity Charles got proceedings underway with Jhaniele Fowler hitting the scoreboard within the opening 10 seconds of the game. Stacey Francis came out with a real pep in her step, contesting every ball that came her way and making her presence felt with her physical nature. Going goal for goal for the first five minutes or so the Fever got out to a break pushed out to a three goal lead early. Fowler proved to once again be the go-to girl under the post despite Emily Mannix working in overdrive to create a wealth of tips and deflections. The retiring Caitlin Thwaites did not skip a beat with the goal attack doing the heavy lifting under the post and finding a wealth of space to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

The ball movement from West Coast was slick with the frontend firing on all cylinders and spotting Fowler with great ease and precision. Meanwhile the Vixens seemed laboured in attack, unable to weave the ball down court with their usual flair and speed thanks to the intense hands over pressure stemming from the Fever. A super shot from Thwaites, drew the Vixens back to within one goal while the Fever continued their merry way bombing it long to Fowler under the post. The evenness continued throughout the term but a missed shot from Thwaites on the buzzer saw the minor premiers go into the first break down by a goal.

The Vixens quickly levelled the score in the second term converting off the centre pass while a huge pick up from Jo Weston saw the Melbourne side race down court and score. Three consecutive goals to the Vixens saw them skip out to a lead but a costly breaking call against Liz Watson saw the Fever fire back and steal the lead. The momentum ebbed and flowed between the two sides as a couple of big defensive efforts from the Vixens started to pay off. Kate Eddy starred with a huge intercept off the centre pass while Mwai Kumwenda lifted another level, withstanding the physicality of Courtney Bruce and rising to the occasion. Kumwenda brought out the acrobatics with an impressive take along the baseline as the Vixens maintained their two goal buffer.

Mannix brought the house down with a huge contest in the air as Weston backed her up and the Vixens pounced. Looking for answers in defence as the Vixens played with a wealth of freedom, Sunday Aryang entered the game in at goal defence. But that did not seem to faze the Vixens as Mannix picked up yet another lose ball and the Vixens made the most of their chances. Extending to as much as five goals, Alice Teague-Neeld slotted a timely super shot to cut the margin to three goals but Thwaites proved that anything Teague-Neeld could do, Thwaites could do better, answering with a super shot of her own. A Jess Anstiss inspired pick-up sent the Fever into attack once again pegging back the margin before a missed shot from Thwaites in the dying seconds gifted the Fever and Fowler a chance to convert a super shot after the siren and steal back the lead, after the Vixens dominated for majority of the term.

Eddy was quickly into the action winning the ball off the Fever centre pass with Thwaites and Kumwenda getting down to business inside the goal circle. the Vixens jumped out of the blocks slotting two goals straight to nudge out to a narrow lead but the blow for blow style continued throughout the early stages of the quarter. Kate Moloney oozed consistency and composure across the court working hard both ways to bring the ball down the court for the Vixens while Charles flexed her attacking ways. There was plenty of congestion inside the Melbourne Vixens frontend but the injection of Tegan Philip paid dividends as she opened up the goal circle. Out to a two-goal lead thanks to some defensive pressure from the likes of Weston and Mannix, the Fever fought their way back into the contest with Bruce getting her hands to ball to level the scores once again.

Watson started to kick into gear with the wing attack seeming to find a wealth of ball around circle edge and delivering pin point passes. Her connection with Moloney was on song as they balanced the court with great ease. A Fever tactical time-out saw West Coast make a wealth of changes as Francis moved into wing defence, Anstiss into centre and Charles to wing attack. The Vixens extended the lead to four goals but the Fever kept coming as Fowler controlled the airways in the circle. Philip and Thwaites changed hands in the final two minutes of the quarter as the Vixens went into the final break up by three goals, the first time in the match.

With 15 minutes left in the season and an inaugural premiership on the line both sides came out with a cautious approach. It was goal for goal with neither side able to create separation until Bruce came up big with a huge intercept. The intensity lifted as the Fever had a real pep in their step and made the Vixens work for every pass in attack. A missed shot from Kumwenda landed in the hands of Bruce as the Fever pounced and pushed out to a two-goal lead. The ball seemed to fall the way of the Fever but Weston was determined to bring home a premiership, ripping the ball out of the air and once again sending her side back into attack. The introduction of Allie Smith worked wonders for the Vixens with the youngster cool, calm and collected, while the experience of Thwaites and class of Kumwenda prevailed in the final seconds as the Vixens claimed their first premiership since 2014, in an historic win.

In her final game, Thwaites stood tall for the Vixens with the goal attack sinking 10 goals for the game, three of them super shots. Kumwenda was her usual best at the post nailing 47 goals at 94 per cent accurcay and walking away with player of the match honours, while Philip made a strong cameo appearance with three goals to her name. Fowler was her dominant self at the post for the Fever nailing a whopping 55 goals at 98 per cent, while Teague-Neeld racked up 28 goal assists to accompany her four goals.

Through the midcourt, Watson had the ball on a string finishing with a game-high 38 goal assists while for the Fever Charles stepped up to the plate delivering 20 goal assists. Defensively Bruce was a menace amassing five deflections and two intercepts while for the Vixens the combination of Mannix and Weston was on fire with the duo picking up five deflections and four gains.

Melbourne Vixens 15 | 17 | 18 | 16 (66)
West Coast Fever 16 | 17 | 14 | 17 (64)

>>> VIXENS TEAM PAGE
>>> FEVER TEAM PAGE
>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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STARTING SEVEN:

Melbourne Vixens:

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Caitlin Thwaites
WA: Liz Watson
C: Kate Moloney
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Emily Mannix

West Coast Fever:

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Emma Cosh
C: Verity Charles
WD: Jess Anstiss
GD: Stacey Francis
GK: Courtney Bruce