THE Adelaide Thunderbirds made it two from two over the reigning premiers on Monday night, claiming a nine-goal victory (59-50) in a somewhat scrappy affair to hand the Melbourne Vixens the 2021 wooden spoon. Played in front of no crowds once more due to COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, the Vixens were unable to recover from their shaky start against a confident looking Thunderbirds outfit.

It took a bit of time for the first scores of the game to come into effect, with both sides coming out hard and fast but unable to find their way through the mess. Composure from Lenize Potgieter paid off as the South African goal shooter led the charge under the post credit to the smooth passes of Maisie Nankivell, and the smooth movement of Georgie Horjus reading the play around Emily Mannix and Jo Weston in her 100th match. While the defensive unit of Mannix and Weston was by no means quiet, it was the shaky transition up the court that saw the Thunderbirds take control, with limited drives and sloppy passes seeing turnovers aplenty in the Vixens front half, turning over the ball themselves as they tried to keep it away from Shamera Sterling. While Mwai Kumwenda and Kaylia Stanton shot truly once they had ball in the circle, it was not enough to command control of the game as the Vixens trailed by two goals at the first break.

A goal for goal start looked good for both sides, with both having slight troubles entering their respective goal circles credit to the tight defence, but proving accurate to post once they got there. But three straight to the Thunderbirds saw them add to their scoreline to break out to a five goal lead, before backing it up with another three-goal run later in the quarter pinning the Vixens down as they struggled to eat into the margin. The change was made in the Vixens attack with Hannah Mundy taking the centre bib off Kate Moloney and the captain heading into wing attack, but while that opened up a fraction more space for drives up the court, the turnovers continued to pile up as the Vixens failed to make use of the consistent turnover ball that Mannix, Weston and Kate Eddy earned back. Elle McDonald was injected into centre to take on her old side and paired nicely with Nankivell to find Horjus and Potgieter in the circle, with the latter still sitting on 100 per cent accuracy. A super shot from Kumwenda with seconds on the clock saw the Vixens whittle the margin back down to five at half time, trailing 29-24.

A tight third quarter was expected with the Vixens looking like they would up the ante, but it was the Thunderbirds that switched on with their relentless defence and confidence up the court paying off. While both teams put up two for two to start, off the hands of Horjus and Kumwenda, respectively, the Thunderbirds pulled off an exceptional nine-goal run over the course of the next five minutes to take a 40-26 lead as the Vixens scrambled for answers. Miscommunications in the Vixens attack paid off time and time again for the Thunderbirds with Allie Smith and Moloney registering two turnovers apiece as the Thunderbirds continued to chip away at their confidence. While Mannix’s impact had been significant, the goal keeper was sent to the bench with Kadie Ann-Dehaney and her long arms taking the court but it was to no avail as the Thunderbirds attack continued to fire on all cylinders. Ruby Barkmeyer got some valuable court time in goal attack and created a more moving circle but once more it was the dynamic movement of Sterling that won the battle, as Latanya Wilson and Nankivell worked in overdrive outside the circle to create tips and tricks off circle edge.

An 18-12 third quarter saw the Vixens trail by 11 heading into the final term, and while it was technically within their reach, the Thunderbirds were brimming with confidence and showed no signs of stopping as the fourth quarter began. Another goal for goal start and cleaner hands from the Vixens attack ensured a huge run of goals would not happen again, however the Thunderbirds still had the match well and truly on their terms as they dictated the Vixens defence and forced Weston and both Mannix and Dehaney to work in overdrive. Barkmeyer’s connection with Kumwenda proved to be crucial as the shooter to shooter interplay paid dividends for the Vixens, although the young goal attack failed to have the scoreboard presence as Sterling continued to fire on all cylinders and control the airways. Over the last 10 minutes of the match Thunderbirds goals were few and far between as the defence picked up, but the damage had already been done as the Vixens were forced to look to the super shot to whittle back the margin, and it was too little, too late as the Thunderbirds ran away with the 59-50 victory.

The relatively low-scoring contest produced some exceptional defensive plays, as Sterling registered 11 gains (six intercepts, three rebounds and two deflections resulting in a gain from five) while Garrett, Wilson and Hannah Petty all picked up one intercept apiece. While the Vixens did not have much going for them, Mannix piled on the pressure to finish with seven gains (five intercepts, two deflections resulting in a gain from eight) in her 50 minutes on court, as Moloney racked up two intercepts and each of Smith, Weston and Eddy earned one apiece. Nankivell impressed finding the goalers with 22 goal assists as Horjus followed suit with 14 assists to go with her 14 goals from 15 attempts, while Potgieter shot at 100 per cent, with 43 straight goals to her name. The Vixens feeding was shared around much more with Barkmeyer, Mundy and Moloney registering nine goal assists each, while Stanton managed eight and five goals in her 38 minutes. Kumwenda was the target as always, finishing with 38 goals from 44 attempts, including four from eight super shots, as Barkmeyer finished with just one goal to her name.

ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS | 15 | 14 | 18 | 12 (59)
MELBOURNE VIXENS | 13 | 11 | 12 | 14 (50)

STARTING SEVENS:

Thunderbirds

GS: Lenize Potgieter
GA: Georgie Horjus
WA: Maisie Nankivell
C: Hannah Petty
WD: Latanya Wilson
GD: Matilda Garrett
GK: Shamera Sterling

Vixens

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Kaylia Stanton
WA: Hannah Mundy
C: Kate Moloney
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Emily Mannix

Picture credit: Chris Hyde/Getty Images