IT was a battle of one and two to open Round 11, with the Melbourne Vixens and NSW Swifts going head to head for the second time in Suncorp Super Netball season 2020. Once again it was the Vixens that came out on top in a huge battle, running out seven goal victors (62-55) and collecting the Sargeant-McKinnis Cup in the process.

A tight defensive start saw both sides have to work hard for the ball, with no easy access into the goal circle just as expected. While the Vixens got the early break, an error forced on the transverse line saw the Swifts draw even once more with tight defence negating a pass straight under the post. Sam Wallace had a great start on Kadie-Ann Dehaney, while Sarah Klau was ready for a hunt from the opening minutes, attacking the ball and creating hesitance on the feed from Liz Watson and Kate Moloney. 

Maddy Proud had a fantastic start driving down court, scrapping with Moloney and doing what she had to do to get ball in hand. Wallace was all but lapping Dehaney, finding space with ease and using her strong hands to snatch the ball out of the air. While the Vixens had a patient start, the Swifts were testing the Vixens with their continuous hunt, not letting any easy passes go down the court and giving the Vixens a taste of their own medicine with hands over every ball. The speed with which the Swifts transition was too quick for the Vixens to block off, seeing both sides go goal for goal for majority of the quarter, unable to get a break.

The super shot period began with a missed attempt from Helen Housby and the Vixens were quick to punish, getting a single on the board before Caitlin Thwaites extended the scoreline with a super shot. A deflection from Klau and awkward fall from Watson saw a forced change from the Vixens and Tayla Honey on the court, with the Swifts racing down the court and continuing to ply their trade on the front. The Vixens managed to stay two goals ahead, although connections in attack seemed to not fire as well, with a couple of shots from the Swifts the home side even up the ledger by the first break. 

Honey took the court once more to start the second, with the Vixens confident in her ability to hold down the attack, with both sides getting another few goals on the board off their own centre passes. Nat Haythorthwaite’s quick feet and feeds continued to pay off, patiently and confidently finding Housby and Wallace inside the circle. Contesting Housby and transitioning well through the midcourt toward the other end, Jo Weston did a heap of work on the transverse line to allow resetting from the Vixens frontline. The Swifts were working overtime to get the ball into the goal circle, with Kate Eddy upping her game out in wing defence to deny access to circle edge.

Watson headed back out to wing attack after a tactical timeout from the Swifts, with the side lifting immediately to put three goals straight on the board. The feeds into Mwai Kumwenda were excellent, exploiting the back space and denying Klau a chance at getting a hand to the airball. Proud continued to challenge every ball that came her way, and while she collected a couple of penalties it did the job to force a couple costly errors from the Vixens in attack. 

Housby was working overtime in attack for the Swifts, having to get into everything with Haythornthwaite and Proud being kept away from circle edge. While Klau had all the accolades early, Kumwenda stepped up in the second and piled on the offensive pressure, although toward the end of the quarter Klau stepped up her game once more with a couple of confidence-boosting deflections to her name. Midcourt defence from both the Swifts and Vixens was immense, with turnovers from both sides creating opportunities at opposing ends and seeing a seesawing quarter end in a three goal buffer going the way of the Vixens.

A huge second half saw the Swifts bite into the three-goal Vixens lead straight off the bat thanks to the centre pass, while Proud did everything in her power to have a crack at the loose ball. Despite the pass not going her way, the Vixens spilled a turnover to allow the Swifts a look in, adding two more goals to their tally to even up the scoreline before the Vixens could put a score on the board.

The Vixens continued to force the Swifts high in attack, although it seemed the Swifts had stolen back some of the momentum after half-time. Paige Hadley stepped out into centre and added a new defensive layer alongside Sophie Craig in at wing defence, although an intercept from Dehaney off the hands of Hadley saw the Vixens steal back a lead once more as Moloney got in on the action with a handy tip to see the Vixens put seven straight goals on the board to cut the Swifts’ momentum. Dehaney continued to have a great impact this quarter with hands to loose ball once more, seeing a six-goal lead the way of the Vixens force Briony Akle to call a tactical timeout. 

The Swifts bit into the lead once more after a couple of clumsy Vixens penalties, seeing Wallace head to the bench and Housby into goal shooter alongside Sophie Garbin. The physicality upped a level in the third quarter, with both teams doing whatever it took to get the ball and the contact penalties racking up. While both sides were looking to add a super shot to their tally, neither could find the post as required until one on the siren to Kumwenda saw the Vixens head into the final quarter with a nine goal buffer.

Wallace returned to take on Dehaney as the final quarter began, while the defensive end of the Swifts made the change once more as Lauren Moore headed back into goal defence. While Watson had seemed a bit proppy on her ankle earlier in the match, she began to shine in the final quarter, finding Kumwenda at the post with ease and adjusting her feeding accordingly after Klau’s deflections in the second and third. 

The Vixens’ defence around circle edge was huge, forcing continuous chipping and allowing Weston and Dehaney to get hands to ball. While a lot of the loose ball gets were down to the effort of Moloney and Eddy, there was no doubt that the confusion of space from Weston and Dehaney played a huge role in maintaining the Vixens lead, with Kumwenda maintaining her stellar accuracy at the other end and starring at the post alongside Thwaites. Soon enough the Vixens had pulled out to an 11-goal lead, with the Swifts still looking for answers in attack as Gaerbin and Haythornthwaite returned to the court and seven minutes on the clock. 

The super shot period saw the Swifts need a few on the board if they were to mount a comeback, with Housby coming to the rescue to reduce the margin by four goals and forcing Vixens coach Simone McKinnis into the side’s first tactical timeout of the match. The Swifts continued to attack every ball, with Maddy Turner managing critical hands to ball to put the Vixens off. With a six goal and just over two minutes to play, the Swifts continued to tally the super shots and stole away valuable momentum. The Vixens needed to control ball down the court to ensure they did not waste possession, and it paid off. The Vixens weathered the storm, with a last super shot from Garbin after the siren not enough as the Swifts went down by seven goals, 55-62.

Player of the match Kumwenda tallied 48 goals (one super shot) to go with her two deflections, while Thwaites played out the whole game in goal attack, putting up 11 goals (two super shots) and turning it on out the front with 14 assists. Watson had a solid impact despite spending time off the court, tallying 24 assists and two gains, while Weston and Dehaney combined for nine gains (five intercepts, four of which to Dehaney). For the Swifts, Wallace topscored with 30 from 33, while Housby put up 12 goals (three super shots from seven attempts) and Garbin was handy during her time on court with seven from eight including two super shots. Proud’s ability to find the loose ball saw her tally four pickups to go with her one gain and 17 goal assists, while defensively Klau collected the sole Swifts intercept. 

>>>SWIFTS TEAM PAGE
>>>VIXENS TEAM PAGE
>>>FULL MATCH STATS

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NSW SWIFTS 17 | 13 | 10 | 15 (55)
MELBOURNE VIXENS 17 | 16 | 16 | 13 (62)

Swifts

GS: Sam Wallace
GA: Helen Housby
WA: Nat Haythornthwaite
C: Maddy Proud
WD: Paige Hadley
GD: Maddy Turner
GK: Sarah Klau

Vixens

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