THE Melbourne Vixens have bounced back from their first loss of the season, to defeat the Adelaide Thunderbirds by six goals yesterday, 53-47. Both sides had big outs pre game, with Kate Moloney missing for the Vixens due to Health and Safety protocols, while Lenize Potgieter was out for the Thunderbirds with a knee injury.

It was actually the Thunderbirds who were the first team to pinch a goal off the opposition centre pass, and they got the following goal to consolidate a three goal lead. It took until under a minute before the power five for the Vixens to finally break back, and as the power five hit the scores were even again. It was goal for goal right throughout the power five and so at the first break the scores were still dead even.

Interestingly, although there were a few attempts at a super shot from both sides in the opening term, neither side managed to land a single super shot in the opening power five.

The Vixens took the early lead in the second term, which saw the Thunderbirds make a few changes to try and turn things around for them. Initially it didn’t work, as the Vixens just grew their lead even more, and as the power five hit it was up to five goals. The Thunderbirds pegged it back slightly, but at the major break the margin was still four goals in the Vixens’ favour.  

The third quarter was one of swinging momentums. The Thunderbirds had the much better start to the second half, bringing the margin back to two goals.

Melbourne Vixens then kicked back into gear and extended their lead back out to four goals. Then the momentum shifted again and the Thunderbirds reduced the gap again back down to two goals. Then the Vixens’ got the momentum back and the lead was back out to five. Adelaide Thunderbirds then brought it back again during the power five, and as the teams turned for home the margin was back down to two in favour of the Vixens.

It was tight for much of the opening minutes of the final term, with both teams trading goals and the margin hovering around the two goal mark. The Vixens then got going a bit and got their four-goal lead back, but not long after the Thunderbirds had reduced the margin back down to two.

The power five though was where things kind of fell apart for the Thunderbirds. They just stopped scoring as the Vixens found their range and ran away with the win.

For the Vixens, Kiera Austin had a great game, despite her shooting percentages being a little down. She finished with 13 goal assists and three intercepts, and she was the leading interceptor for her side, despite being a shooter. Captain Liz Watson also had a stellar game through the middle, finishing with 19 goal assists and a whopping 45 feeds.

Meanwhile for the Thunderbirds, Lucy Austin on debut was seriously impressive, despite not playing the whole game. She looked like she belonged at Super Netball level. Meanwhile up the other end Shamera Sterling had another stellar game, finishing with two intercepts and five deflections.

Next week both sides are at home. Adelaide Thunderbirds host the West Coast Fever on Saturday, while Melbourne Vixens have the huge Victorian derby next Sunday against Collingwood.

MELBOURNE VIXENS 12 | 16 | 10 | 15 (53)
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 (47)

STARTING SEVENS:

Melbourne Vixens:

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Kiera Austin
WA: Liz Watson
C: Hannah Mundy
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Emily Mannix

Adelaide Thunderbirds:

GS: Lucy Austin
GA: Tippah Dwan
WA: Georgie Horjus
C: Elle McDonald
WD: Hannah Petty
GD: Matilda Garrett
GK: Shamera Sterling