THE Adelaide Thunderbirds enjoyed their second win of the year, outclassing a determined, yet wounded Queensland Firebirds by three goals, denying them of their first win on the board for season 2019. The battle of the birds saw the two lower teams on the ladder fight for dominance all match, with both sides having moments of brilliance with turnovers aplenty. Both sides have struggled with injuries so far this season, with the Thunderbirds losing England wing defence, Beth Cobden in Round 3 while the Firebirds came in with another big blow to their starting seven, losing Romelda Aiken during the week with Kim Jenner already out of the side, making for an interesting match.

It was a strong start for the Firebirds with Gretel Tippett, shooting her 100th consecutive Suncorp Super Netball goal – the first Australian to do so, but it was a tale of missed opportunities as the Thunderbirds came out hard and fast to take control through the midcourt. The Firebirds were hit early with yet another injury for the season with speedy centre, Mahalia Cassidy going down with a suspected Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, piling yet another name onto the Firebirds’ already stacked injury list.

Despite the individual strengths of Laura Clemesha and Tara Hinchliffe in defence, their rotation allowed too much space to Thunderbirds shooters, Maria Folau and Sasha Glasgow as they patiently worked their way around the circle, with Folau putting up her distinctive long range shots at a high accuracy to put her side in the lead early. The clean hands and rebounding efforts of Glasgow and Folau was solid, almost cancelling out the defensive efforts of their opposition. Glasgow was also not afraid to turn and shoot, sharing the load despite the boatload of pressure from the Firebirds’ defensive unit. Though the circle was uncontrolled at times, pressure from from captain Gabi Simpson was phenomenal on the circle edge as she kept Chelsea Pitman at bay and reduced feeds into the circle, meaning the goalers had to make the most of every opportunity. The Firebirds’ zone defence through the midcourt was impressive, putting pressure on each receive of the ball and causing turnovers as the Thunderbirds resorted to forcing the ball down the court before cleaning up their act and settling into a more patient play through the midcourt in the second half.

Defensively for the Thunderbirds, Shamera Sterling and Layla Guscoth were up to their typical tips and tricks, causing turnovers and creating stoppages around the circle to give time for a defensive setup. The Thunderbirds created six deflections in the first quarter alone – three to advantage – as well as three pickups and an intercept, credit to the smooth movement of Sterling and the immense pressure piled on throughout defence. The Thunderbirds put up four goals from gains in the first term alone, capitalising on opportunities better than the Firebirds as they forced turnovers to lead by five at quarter time. The Firebirds evened out goals from turnovers across the rest of the match, however the damage was already done.

Tippett was her usual solid self in the goal circle, using her strength and clever bodywork to put herself in a good position to receive feeds and put shots up under the constant hands-over pressure of Sterling and Guscoth, shooting 27 from 28 at 96 percent. In Aiken’s absence, Tippett worked well with both Amy Sommerville (6/10) and returnee, Abigail Latu-Meafou (18/22) in her first match back in Australia following time in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership. Tippett found good space in the circle against the likes of Sterling, not allowing her the time or space to get front position. Latu-Meafou contributed well, settling midway through the second quarter and finishing out the match at 82 percent accuracy credit to her smooth movement, footwork and speed off the mark. Circle feeders, Jemma MiMi and Caitlyn Nevins were patient in their approach, wary of Sterling’s reach and prepared to pass around to ensure clean possession in the circle, though the likes of Maisie Nankivell, Kelly Altmann and Hannah Petty were consistent blockages around the edge of the circle, making it hard to feed in with ease.

It was a big battle for the four points with the final quarter looming and the Firebirds down by seven goals, before shooting eight in a row to take a one-goal lead – their first of the game – before the Thunderbirds got a final quarter goal on the board. Credit to the Thunderbirds for wrestling back the lead and the all important win, finding a hole in the Firebirds’ defence and composure. Despite a quieter second half, Sterling pulled a vital turnover out of the bag to steal back the lead and bring back some of the consistency they built on early. Pitman’s hands-over pressure at the centre pass was exceptional, helping to boost the intensity and lift her side with minutes to go. Though the momentum ended with the Firebirds, it was the Thunderbirds who had the composure to use the ball better in the final quarter to get the three-goal win and seven premiership points on the ladder.

STARTING LINE-UPS:

Adelaide Thunderbirds:

GS | Sasha Glasgow
GA | Maria Folau
WA | Chelsea Pitman
C | Hannah Petty
WD | Maisie Nankivell
GD | Layla Guscoth
GK | Shamera Sterling

Queensland Firebirds:

GS | Amy Sommerville
GA | Gretel Tippett
WA | Caitlyn Nevins
C | Jemma MiMi
WD | Gabi Simpson
GD | Tara Hinchliffe
GK | Laura Clemesha