IT was a heart racing finish to the game as the Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever were unable to be separated finishing the game on 63 goals apiece. The Fever skipped out to a 14-goal lead midway through the third term before the Vixens fired back courtesy of the super shot to mount an almighty comeback. Although both sides were without some crucial players with Emily Mannix a late withdrawal and Ingrid Colyer out for the remainder of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), they showcased plenty of grit and depth.

It was a strong defensive start for both sides with the Melbourne Vixens applying good hands over pressure to slow down the Fever in attack and make them work the ball down to circle edge. An early turnover from the Fever saw the Vixens capitalise streaming down court with the shooter to shooter interplay between Caitlin Thwaites and Mwai Kumwenda on song early. The transition down court for Melbourne was impressive, slicing through the Fever to open up a two goal lead. But West Coast Fever worked their way back into the contest with Jhaniele Fowler proving to be a formidable force under the post. A Kate Eddy inspired deflection saw the Vixens regain possession and turn the tables to even the scores with the centre pass to come.

Although it was goal for goal for majority of the term, the Vixens seemed to have a slight upper hand with their composure and transitional play on full show. with Thwaites finding a wealth of space both in the goal circle and in attack, Sunday Aryang made her way onto the court for the Fever with the goal defence having an immediate impact with her hustle for the ball. The pressure from both sides was immense with neither side able to move the ball with great conviction and speed given. The tables started to turn as a couple of held ball calls against the Vixens gifted the Fever easy turnover ball as they skipped out to the biggest lead of the game – three goals.

Despite the Vixens making a change in the goal circle with Tegan Philip pulling on the goal attack bib it they struggled to get going and find any continuity in their frontend. On the other hand,  Fowler was making light work of Kadie-Ann Dehaney in the early stages of the second quarter with the Jamaican shooter owning the goal circle. Kate Moloney was on fire through the midcourt showcasing her impressive vision into the circle and composure to hold onto the ball for that full three seconds and then release. Everything seemed to fall the way of the Fever with the Western Australian side pushing out to a four goal lead and riding a wave of momentum. With their defensive pressure up and about they forced the Vixens into their third held ball for the call for the game.

Down by six goals, the Vixens called a timeout and momentarily pegged the margin back before the Fever hit back. Eddy made her way into goal defence as Jo Weston switched into wing attack while up in attack the Vixens seemed stagnant. The defensive pressure stemming from Jess Anstiss and Aryang was phenomenal with the duo working in overdrive to clog up the space and force uncharacteristic errors. Alice Teague-Neeld came to life in the latter half of the term with her ball placement and drive into the circle causing a wealth of headaches for the Vixens. Thwaites shot the first super shot of the goal at the three minute mark before Teague-Neeld answered the call up the other end. The Melbourne Vixens attacking unit looked disjointed with a wealth of passes floating over the baseline. But a late flurry of super shots from Thwaites and Kumwenda seemed to be exactly what the doctor asked for culling the deficit to seven goals.

The Fever came out firing piling on the scoreboard pressure early unfazed by the wholesale changes the Vixens made with Weston dropping into goal keeper, Eddy maintaining her spot in goal defence and Allie Smith making her way onto the court in wing defence. Vixens simply had no answers for the Fever with Emma Cosh starring in the attacking third thanks to her clever ball placement and confidence to deliver into Fowler while Verity Charles continued to be that driving force through the midcourt. The battle between Anstiss and Watson was enthralling with the latter unable to have usual influence, forced into uncharacteristic mistakes and struggling to hit circle edge.

Out to 13 goals the Fever continued to put their foot down both in attack and defence as Courtney Bruce made life hard down back with her constant tips and deflections. Her increased physicality offset the Vixens while Aryang continued to be a menace. But the Vixens were not about to go down without a fight as both Weston and Eddy came alive. Three consecutive super shots saw the Vixens rally as their increased pressure across the court and accuracy to post gave them a glimmer of hope heading into the fourth.

It was all set up for a huge final term and an early turnover from the Fever allowed the Vixens to capitalise as they started to mount a comeback. A hand from Weston in defence and the pickup from Smith gifted the Vixens another chance to score as they cut the deficit to a mere two goals after being as much as 13 goals down midway through the third. A huge offensive penalty from Cosh cost the Fever a goal as their opponents streamed down court and made them pay. With the centre pass to follow the Vixens skipped out to a handy one goal buffer as the Fever made a defensive change with Olivia Lewis coming onto the court. The momentum continued to chop and change but a super shot form Thwaites in the last 15 seconds gifted them a one point lead before Fowler levelled the scores thanks to a penalty after the whistle.

It is no surprise that Fowler was the dominant shooter once again top scoring with 59 goals from 62 attempts. However, the shooting load was shared for the Melbourne Vixens as Kumwenda registered the most goals with 28 goals five of which were super shots at 85 per cent accuracy, while Thwaites also made her presence felt with 22 goals to walk away with player of the match honours. Watson was down on her usual influence with 26 goal assists while Teague-Neeld led the charge for the Fever with 24.

Bruce was a force to be reckoned with in defence, winning back a wealth of possession with four gains and six deflections while up the other end, Weston worked in overdrive to collect three deflections while Smith came on and starred in her half of netball with two intercepts.

>>> VIXENS TEAM PAGE
>>> FEVER TEAM PAGE
>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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Melbourne Vixens 14 | 15 | 16  | 18 (63)
West Coast Fever 16 | 20 | 15 | 12 (63)

STARTING SEVEN:

 Melbourne Vixens:

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Caitlin Thwaites
WA: Liz Watson
C: Kate Moloney
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Kadie-Ann Dehaney

West Coast Fever

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Emma Cosh
C: Verity Charles
WD: Jess Anstiss
GD: Stacey Francis
GK: Courtney Bruce