Thunderbirds are go with fans in triumphant return home at Adelaide Airport
Thunderbirds players received a rousing welcome home at Adelaide Airport after their first grand final win in a decade.
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Everyone was in the pink as the triumphant Thunderbirds returned to Adelaide Airport on Sunday afternoon after their first, nailbiting grand final win in a decade.
Rousing cheers and applause filled the arrivals gate as the netball team disembarked its flight from Melbourne, still smiling from its one-point, extra time victory over NSW Swifts.
Among those waiting to greet the players were their “biggest fans” Indianna, 11, her sister Connie, 9, and their mum Justine Milford from Gilles Plains, with a homemade pink-and-black sign that read “Go Tbirds”.
“Sometimes they fall down and they just get back up again – they don’t stop,” Indianna said.
“They tried very hard the whole time and it was amazing to see.”
Connie said she also plays netball with her friends and loves it.
“We watched on TV and were very excited when they won,” she said.
Friends Ellie Mason-Bryant of Semaphore and Ali Morton of Tonsley, both 26, travelled to Melbourne for the weekend to support the team and were among dozens of followers who were on the same flight home.
“It’s the first time in 10 years that they’ve made it to the grand final, so definitely worth going across and seeing it,” Ms Mason-Bryant said.
“The heart attack was the overtime, but the thrilling part was the fact we won and broke a 10-year drought,” Ms Morton added.
Nine members of the extended Clifford/Bigg clan – including player Lucy Austin’s partner – travelled from as far as Blyth in the mid-north to attend the final.
“We’ve always watched it – all we girls have played netball at different times,” Simone Bigg said.
Midcourter Tayla Williams said the support shown by everyone had helped the team to bring the trophy home.
“We definitely felt the love over there and here,” Williams said.
“Lots of people made the trek over and there was lots of pink in the stands, which was awesome.
“It was so loud in there and lots of fans, a record-breaking crowd … it almost feels like that extra person on court who gets you over the line.”
Thunderbirds captain Hannah Petty said she was “so stoked” that the team won and that the welcome home had “cemented that it was real”.
“This group of girls mean the world to me,” Petty said.
“I still can’t believe that we’ve actually won, and to do it in that fashion is unreal.”
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