A BIG start to Round 5 saw the Melbourne Vixens nab a solid win over a hungry West Coast Fever outfit, with a huge first quarter effort setting up the victory although the Fever were unshakeable throughout the contest, not allowing the Vixens to pull away.

A great start from the Fever saw the home side take control early, breaking the Vixens centre pass for a three goals to nil start, with patience around the circle paying off and making Emily Mannix really work to deny Jhaniele Fowler easy space in attack. A hark back to 2019 saw Tegan Philip and Caitlin Thwaites start out in goals for the Vixens which seemed to settle the lineup despite the solid start from the Fever, with Thwaites’ experience winning much of the early contest against Olivia Lewis. Jo Weston’s dogged effort at the other end saw the defenders work back to steal back a lead and an early tactical timeout from the Fever.

Where Philip had an average outing last round, she had a great start against Stacey Francis with the England defender not challenging the contest, thanks to pinpoint precision on the assist paying off early for both teams thanks to the efforts of Liz Watson and Alice Teague-Neeld. The height of Kate Eddy has been working wonders for the Vixens in recent weeks and it was evident early again in this match, with her hands over pressure critical blocking Ingrid Colyer’s vision and racking up two huge intercepts early with the Vixens punishing the turnover with four consecutive super shots from Philip. Kate Moloney went down with what looked like an ankle injury which granted Vixens training partner Elle McDonald her debut, and while co-captain Moloney looked ginger on the sidelines the Vixens were unstoppable in attack to extend a seven-goal lead heading into the second quarter.

A tight start to the second saw Moloney start once more, while the Fever switched on well to begin the quarter to draw back the margin once more, utilising even the smallest errors from the Vixens unit. But what the Fever won back, so did the Vixens with Eddy’s effort around circle edge allowing Mannix to generate a couple good turnovers, with ball delivery into the goal circle coming into all sorts of issues. Mannix’ ability and anticipation to pick and choose when to go out hunting continued to pay off for the Vixens, and while the side had some sloppy moments – capitalised on by Courtney Bruce who started the second – their continued second effort won back as much ball to maintain that same seven goal lead ahead of the beginning of the super shot period. 

Philip’s confidence was immense with another super shot to further the lead, with the Fever adding a couple more single shots to their tally and chipping away from Vixens turnovers to reduce the lead. Sunday Aryang out in goal defence was huge with the youngster’s hands over pressure forcing a couple of turnovers. A better full-quarter effort from the Fever saw them win the term – albeit by one goal – and with 30 minutes left both sides needed to put the foot on the accelerator. 

An opening centre pass and resulting goal to the Fever saw a good start to the third, with a forced error and throw in saw that good start continue, chipping back three goals to start the quarter in much the same way as their first five minutes of the game. Kaylia Stanton had entered the game in the second but had a great start to the third, causing a turnover and using her vision to block space. Eddy continued to fly down the court, consistently winning back ball while the rotation between Philip and Thwaites in the goal circle kept patient ball rocketing into the circle.

The return of Francis into defence alongside Bruce kept the Vixens guessing though, with both defensive units formidable in their approach and relentless on the leap to cherry pick ball out of the air. Emma Cosh entered the court in goal attack with neither Stanton nor Teague-Neeld able to hit the scoreboard, while at the other end Philip’s speed was unable to be nullified forcing a swap with Shannon Eagland out in goal defence. A nine goal lead from the Vixen saw the Fever call another timeout as the super shot period began, with Cosh and Fowler both putting two super shots on the board immediately to ensure the Vixens lead did not extend.

Defensive pressure through the midcourt from the Fever was huge, with the zone defence blocking easy drives toward attack for the Vixens but Philip’s strong drive up the centre of the goal third continued to pay off while Cosh’s confidence grew as the game went on. Despite the Vixens extending to a 10-goal lead early in the super shot period, the Fever drew back the margin to seven goals once more with just the final quarter left to play.

A huge final quarter saw the Vixens continue their lead but only just, with continuous pressure on the shot from the Fever leaving nothing to chance and the likes of Philip flirting with the three seconds. A couple of costly errors from both sides saw the scoreline and momentum continue  to seesaw, with fatigue setting in and the game for the taking. Neither side was taking great advantage of their own centre passes but winning ball back well as the contest continued to traverse the court.

With a six-goal lead heading into the super shot period, the Vixens continued to take on the game well as Lewis returned to goal keeper and Bruce stepped out to goal defence, adding another layer through the midcourt. Mannix’s strong effort on Fowler continued, with the tall Jamaican proving how much she wanted a win with her continuous hands over pressure on every goal third turnover and holding up play as she did so to limit the Vixens’ smooth moving down the court. Despite continuous pressure and a solid overall performance, the Vixens came in with a fire in the belly and were too cool, calm and collected on this occasion, running away with a nine-goal victory, 68-59. 

Watson led all comers out in wing attack, topping the assists tally with 23 and racking up two deflections and three pickups. The defensive trio of Mannix, Weston and Eddy continued with renewed strength in this match, with Mannix and Eddy collecting three intercepts and two pickups apiece while Weston was in every contest, disrupting play well but racking up 19 penalties (16 contacts) as she did so. Player of the Match, Philip was immense with 26 goals from 29 attempts, putting up eight super shots from 10 attempts, while Thwaites also impressed with 32 goals. For the Fever, Fowler was strong as ever at the post with 48 goals at 89 per cent accuracy, putting up six super shots but only rewarded with one sinking. Cosh’s four goals were a testament to her smooth moving, with two super shots to her name and the speedy goaler using her persistent and clean footwork to open up space for Fowler with 13 assists to her name to lead the Fever tally despite only playing 25 minutes. Bruce’s six gains were influential although just Colyer was able to rack up intercepts, collecting two out in wing attack to go with her eight assists.

>>>FEVER TEAM PAGE

>>>VIXENS TEAM PAGE

>>>FULL MATCH STATS

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WEST COAST FEVER 14 | 14 | 17 | 14 (59)
MELBOURNE VIXENS  21 | 13 | 18 | 16 (68)

Fever

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Ingrid Colyer
C: Verity Charles
WD: Jess Anstiss
GD: Stacey Francis
GK: Olivia Lewis

Vixens

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