Net Gains: All the news out of the week’s Super Netball action

Two years after she was left shattered on the sidelines during Indigenous round, Jemma Mi Mi has starred in the Firebirds’ cracking First Nations round victory. NET GAINS

Emma Greenwood

5 min read

May 30, 2022 - 5:30AM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Jemma Mi Mi starred for the Firebirds. Picture: Getty Images

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What a difference two years makes.

The memories of Jemma Mi Mi – then the game’s only First Nations player – failing to get on the court for a single minute in the Queensland Firebirds’ upset win against eventual premiers Melbourne Vixens in 2020 are still raw.

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Mi Mi had been used extensively to promote the round, especially with games taken to north Queensland during the game’s stint in the Sunshine State hub at the height of the pandemic.

The Firebirds were forced to admit they “misread community expectations” and to the club’s credit they have worked extremely hard in the space, ensuring it is a culturally safe environment for players and staff while redoubling their efforts in First Nations development, with Mi Mi a leading player in their Diamond Spirit program.

The addition of Donnell Wallam to the team earlier this year for the pregnant Romelda Aiken has given the club the only two First Nations players in the league.

So to see Mi Mi and Donnell Wallam not only start the match against West Coast Fever in Perth on Saturday night, but play pivotal parts in the Firebirds’ upset win against the second-placed side, was powerful.

Mi Mi was in tears following the match and the image of her and Wallam embracing after the match was a full-circle moment for a player who was so badly let down by her club, the game, and – even if unwittingly – her teammates two years ago.

There’s little doubt they get it now.

Donnell Wallam of the Firebirds shoots during the round 12 Super Netball match between West Coast Fever and Queensland Firebirds at RAC Arena. Picture: Getty Images

Their joy at seeing Wallam – a Noongar woman returning home to the west to play in front of a large contingent of family and friends, who made her family’s totemic kangaroo gesture to supporters after sinking her first goal of the match – and Mi Mi succeed was infectious.

Wallam ended the match on the bench after cramping in her calf forced her to the sidelines but Mi Mi played out the entire 60 minutes and a crucial role for the Firebirds, whose midcourt underperformed in four successive losses heading into Saturday’s match.

Returning from an achilles problem, Mi Mi played a pivotal role in ensuring a good flow of ball to Wallam and Gretel Bueta early, something that has been an issue for the Firebirds in recent weeks.

As great as it was to see her able to celebrate First Nations round success, it was better to see her playing the role she wants to be known best for – successful elite netballer.

Firebirds Indigenous players Donnell Wallam and Jemma Mi Mi were outstanding in the club’s pivotal First Nations round win against West Coast Fever. Picture: Queensland Firebirds

“I just got all this emotion – we had four seconds left and I was like, oh my gosh, we’ve done it, we’ve beat Fever and I’m so happy we got to do it here with Nelly in front of her family,” Mi Mi told Fox Netball after a win that has reignited the Firebirds’ finals hopes and put their fate largely back in their own hands.

“It’s just so special and I think everyone just stepped up – we found something else today.”

Wallam said she fed off the energy from her family – who she’d told not to be too loud in the crowd, although she knew it was an impossible request.

“To be able to play in front of my family for the first time and in First Nations round as well and to get the win is just amazing,” Wallam said.

“The girls have just worked so hard in training and it’s just paid off tonight and it’s just an amazing feeling.”

DISLIKE

We said a week ago the sight of Steph Wood limping from the court would have sent shivers up the spine of Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.

The club assured fans Wood had just jarred her knee and there was no ligament damage, a relief in terms of her preparations for July’s Commonwealth Games.

But the fact that she suffered another twinge in the Lightning’s clash against the Vixens on Sunday, leaving the court in the opening stages of the game, raises some doubts about her fitness.

Stephanie Wood of the Lightning with her left knee heavily taped in the match against the Vixens on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images

Wood returned to the court to play a major part in the game, including the Lightning’s late fightback after the Coast had earlier rotated their shooters heavily to account for Wood’s heavily strapped left knee.

It certainly won’t stop her from taking her place in the gold dress but will be something medicos will be keeping a close eye on.

LIKES

Most even comp ever?

Every professional sporting competition wants to foster a sense of equality – that on their day, any team in the competition can beat any other.

It’s not always the case but this year’s Super Netball season has truly lived up to that adage.

The Queensland Firebirds were sitting in sixth place heading into the weekend when they knocked off the second-placed Fever in Perth, while the Seventh-placed Magpies beat the Swifts (fifth).

But it was the game between the last-placed Lightning and the competition-leading Vixens that really reinforced the evenness of the league.

One of only two teams to have beaten the Vixens this season, the Lightning were right in the hunt until the dying minutes of the match before going down in a tight contest.

Liz Watson of the Vixens passes the ball during the round 12 Super Netball match between Melbourne Vixens and Sunshine Coast Lightning. Photo: Getty Images

Outhouse to penthouse for Vixens

Two wins ahead of the competition with just two rounds remaining, the Melbourne Vixens have one hand on the minor premiership and a remarkable turnaround after finishing with the wooden spoon last year.

The return of Liz Watson was always going to see the Vixens climb from the bottom of the ladder.

But their fall last year was about more than just having Watson missing, after the twin retirements of international shooters Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip hit them hard.

But outstanding recruitment added Diamonds goaler Kiera Austin and West Coast defender Liv Lewis, while former training partner Rahni Samason won elevation to the full-time squad following an outstanding 2021 season.

The 2021 premiers won’t be content with just the minor premiership though.

Coach Simone McKiniss said last year her side wasn’t far off a return to finals and all will have a title on their minds and a remarkable premiers to wooden spooners to premiers bounce.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Geva Mentor of the Magpies defends during the round 12 match between Collingwood Magpies and NSW Swifts. Photo: Getty Images

Geva Mentor

Leaders stand up when the chips are down and Geva Mentor did exactly that for the Magpies in the second-half of her side’s clash against the Swifts to breathe life into her team’s flagging finals campaign.

The veteran England international has probably not been at her peak this season but she was in sparkling form in combination with fellow Magpies defender Jodie-Ann Ward to turn around her side’s fortunes in a must-win match.

With the Commonwealth Games on the horizon and England looking to defend their title, watch for Mentor to come into her own at the business end of the season.