THE Adelaide Thunderbirds were undermanned against the Collingwood Magpies, but it mattered little as they swooped in for a 58-53 victory in the latest round of Super Netball action.

The Thunderbirds had a number of huge outs pre-match, with Lenize Potgieter, Hannah Petty and Maisie Nankivell all missing the match, factors which made the crucial win even more impressive..

Adelaide made a statement from the very first centre pass, pinching a goal off the Collingwood possession, and goaling off the very next centre to consolidate.

It was a tight affair all quarter, with the defensive pressure intense from both sides.

The lead switched multiple times in the term, but after the Thunderbirds converted a penalty after the quarter time siren, it was the visitors who held a two goal lead at the first change.

The Thunderbirds continued to maintain control in the second term.

They grew their lead even further in the quarter, but thanks to Gabrielle Sinclair‘s accurate super shot shooting, the Magpies were able to peg it back slightly.

At the main break the lead was eight in favour of the Thunderbirds.

Things got even better for the Thunderbirds in the third term.

They increased their lead out to over 10 goals, across what was a phase of maturity from the eventual victors.

Not only did they keep the scoring ticking over, but they had an answer for everything the Magpies threw at them, which has not always happened thus far this season.

Sinclair’s accurate shooting made things a little better for the home side, but as the teams turned for home, the margin sat at 11 goals in favour of the Thunderbirds.

The final quarter was a different story though. The Thunderbirds extended their lead out even further, but then suddenly just stopped scoring. Then the Magpies brought Sinclair back on, and after she sunk multiple super shots she really made a game out of things.

Unfortunately for her and her Pies, the deficit was just too deep already and they ran out of time to bridge the gap to any less then five goals.

For the Thunderbirds, Latanya Wilson and Shamera Sterling‘s defensive work was particularly impressive, finishing with nine intercepts and seven deflections between them.

Meanwhile for the Pies, Sinclair shot a massive seven super shots and had an overall shooting percentage of 100, while Ash Brazill was the deflections queen for her side, finishing with six of them.

Next week the Thunderbirds are in Sydney to face the GIANTS, while the Magpies are back at home to face the Swifts.

COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES             13 | 11 | 11 | 18 (53)
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS           15 | 17 | 14 | 12 (58)

STARTING SEVENS

Collingwood Magpies:

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

Adelaide Thunderbirds:

GS: Lucy Austin
GA: Tippah Dwan
WA: Georgie Horjus
C: Tayla Williams
WD: Latanya Wilson
GD: Matilda Garrett
GK: Shamera Sterling