ROUND 4 of the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) ventured down to the Apple Isle with Collingwood Magpies taking on Queensland Firebirds with the former maintaining their unbeaten record in Tasmania with a hard-fought three-goal win (68-65). It was a see-sawing affair to say the least, with the game not decided until the final minutes of the fourth quarter credit to the high intensity from both sides.

Despite an early turnover from Collingwood they still managed to transition the ball down court thanks to an inaccurate performance from Gretel Bueta and Romelda Aiken under the post. the Magpies attack unit was on song from the opening minute with Shimona Nelson combining seamlessly with Kelsey Browne on the second phase. The long deep balls into the pocket were proving unstoppable for the Firebirds as Collingwood skipped out to an early three goal lead. There was a stark contrast in attacking units with the Firebirds laboured in attack and forced into turnovers as Geva Mentor and Jodi-Ann Ward antagonised Bueta and Aiken under the post while up the other end, the Magpies goalers in Nelson and Gabby Sinclair were having a field day.

Down by four goals, the Firebirds called a timeout and with that started to rally as Kim Jenner came steaming through the midcourt to cause a deflection. Aiken started to find her rhythm under the ring nailing two goal straights but Collingwood were not fazed as Nelson continued to capitalise. Increased defensive pressure from Tara Hinchliffe and Jenner looked to gift Queensland with a chance to push forward but sloppy hands from Bueta saw the ball lost in transition. Collingwood maintained a three goal buffer with the Firebirds working tirelessly to eat into the margin. Entering into the power five and the Firebirds drew back to level pegging as the two sides went goal for goal. Bueta struggled for accuracy forcing Aiken to do the heavy lifting in attack.

The Firebirds were down by two goals at quarter time but quickly made up the deficit with four goal straights. Hinchliffe came alive in the first few minutes of the second term as did Jenner with the two combining to build pressure while the Queensland attack looked more settled. Kim Ravaillion started to impose herself through the midcourt, racking up the goal assists with a whopping 17 five minutes into the term. The Firebirds were unstoppable piling on seven goals straight to push out as much as four goals up as Browne’s hot hand turned cold. But the Magpies quickly turned things around as they went on a goal scoring spree of their own, nailing three goals straight to reduce the deficit back to a goal.

Things tightened up midway through the quarter with both sides unable to be separated by more than two goals. Molly Jovic showcased her pace alongside Browne, while neither Bueta or Sinclair could sink the Super Shot. Within a blink of an eye, Collingwood reduced the deficit and in fact stole the lead to go out by a goal. Aiken pulled out the big guns with a Super Shot to draw level with the Magpies and Firebirds ties up at 33 goals apiece at half-time.

Looking for a spark in attack and across the court, the Firebirds introduced Tippah Dwan. Ash Brazill started to work her way into the contest unleashing a monster pass into Nelson under the post and while the Firebirds were getting sniffs in defence they simply could not capitalise on transition. Lara Dunkley was finding good space on circle’s edge to feed the ball into Aiken while Dwan missed her first attempt gifting the Pies a chance to attack. Collingwood stole the ball off the Firebird’s centre pass to push out to a two-goal lead, the biggest of the term.

The Firebirds well and truly fell off the boil as Collingwood skipped out to a five-goal lead thanks to some silky ball movement in attack. Jemma Mi Mi and Rudi Ellis entered the fray with the latter injecting herself into the game with a nice intercept. Things got scrappy for both sides as the Firebirds were unable to combat the pressure Collingwood were applying in defence as Mentor and Ward run amuck. It turned into a super shot shootout with Sinclair and Dwan going blow for blow but the Firebirds goal attack landed a much needed Super Shot after the siren to go into three quarter time only down by three goals.

In need of a spark, it was Gabi Simpson that delivered with a perfectly timed intercept around circle edge to propel the Firebirds into attack. Queensland piled on the first five goals of the game as the connection between Bueta and Dwan came to the fore in attack. Collingwood made a wealth of changes as Jacqui Newton pulled on the goal defence bib and Brazill shuffled into centre. Jenner made a nuisance of herself as did Mentor with defence the overarching theme of the afternoon. The Firebirds snuck out to a three goal lead but Collingwood refused to go away, drawing level once again. An offensive contact to Bueta saw Collingwood convert and with the centre pass to follow they made no mistake notching up their second win of the season.

Nelson had a day out for Collingwood with the goal shooter nailing 53 goals from 54 attempts at 98 per cent while Sinclair also impressed with her 11 goals four of which were super shots. Browne had the ball on a string amassing 24 goal assists as Brazill plied her trade both in centre and wing defence with 11 goal assists, three gains and two intercepts. Mentor was back to her damaging best with eight deflections and three gains. The Firebirds were plagued by inaccuracy as Bueta sat at a lowly 75 per cent, Dwan at 67 per cent while Aiken the only shining light at 90 per cent thanks to her 34 goals from 38 attempts. Ravaillion was at her damaging best with 21 goal assists, one intercept and three deflections. Both Jenner and Hinchliffe combined well registering five intercepts and seven gains.

COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES 17 | 16 | 19 | 16 (68)
QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS 15 | 18 | 16 | 16 (65)

STARTING SEVEN:

Collingwood:

GS: Shimona Nelson
GA: Gabby Sinclair
WA: Kelsey Browne
C: Molly Jovic
WD: Ash Brazill
GD: Jodi-Ann Ward
GK: Geva Mentor

Queensland:

GS: Romelda Aiken
GA: Gretel Bueta
WA: Lara Dunkley
C: Kim Ravaillion
WD: Gabi Simpson
GD: Kim Jenner
GK: Tara Hinchliffe