Super Netball grand final 2022: Inside story of the fierce Vixens-Fever rivalry
The rivalry between Vixens and Fever is one of the fiercest in Super Netball — on and off the court— and Sunday’s grand final will provide another gripping chapter. Find out how it has evolved.
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The latest chapter in one of the fiercest rivalries in Super Netball will be written on Sunday when West Coast Fever host the Melbourne Vixens in the grand final.
While the Victorian derby remains the Vixens’ greatest battle and the Giants-Fever rivalry is perhaps more spicy, there will be plenty of feeling when these two teams do battle to lift the Super Netball trophy.
With some of the world’s top players to take the court, it will be a battle royale, while the niggle between the clubs off the court over the past year has not been forgotten.
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GRAND HEIST
News the West Australian government had bought rights to host the grand final was met with fury by the playing group, given the change was made just weeks before the end of the regular season and they had not been consulted.
Vixens fans in particular were livid, given their team had already won the minor premiership and looked specials to win the major semi-final — a result that would usually trigger hosting rights.
Netball Victoria and Vixens officials were particularly upset, calling the decision “hard to cop”, while Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said it was “like selling a bit of the heart and soul of your sport”.
“I’m just disappointed for the sport,” McKinnis said. “You’ve got to earn the right to play in a grand final and you should have to earn the right to host it.”
Fever did earn that right though, totally outplaying the Vixens a fortnight ago in the semi-final to take all the oxygen out of the hosting debate.
They will rightfully play in front of the “green army” on Sunday at a pumping RAC Arena.
Vixens player and Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) president Jo Weston, who conceded juggling her playing and administrative responsibilities had occasionally been difficult, said the Vixens had tried to put the decision behind them.
“I do find it challenging sometimes, especially with the grand final being moved when that affected my team personally,” she said.
“But for the most part, I try and remain as objective as possible.
“I find it a real honour and a real personal challenge to be able to be the person that gets to speak up on behalf of the players.
“The (grand final) decision was made and there was no changing it, so for us, we’ve always just been focused on actually getting a spot in the grand final. To finally have that is amazing and now we’re just really trying to win the final game of the season.”
COVID REFUSAL
The Fever club and players had no say in the grand final move but the angst between the two organisations following the announcement revived memories of Byron Bay-gate just over a year earlier.
After high-profile players Weston, Emily Mannix and Kate Moloney left their Sunshine Coast base to spend the bye round in Byron Bay — as they were entitled to do — a Covid outbreak in the northern NSW hamlet had the area declared a red zone in WA and the trio were refused entry to the state.
Without them — and with Liz Watson already sidelined for the season with injury — the understrength Vixens did not board their flight for Perth, making the move before receiving approval from Netball Australia to postpone the match.
A Fever statement declaring the club was “extremely disappointed that Melbourne Vixens have refused to travel to Perth” inflamed the situation and the club was forced to apologise after a fan backlash.
The Fever sought compensation given they had 8000 tickets sold for the game, although in the ultimate irony, they would have had to play in front of an empty stadium given the Perth and Peel regions were placed in lockdown ahead of the match.
A Netball Australia investigation ultimately found the Vixens at fault and fined them $50,000 — half suspended for two years — and ordered to pay $31,702.92 for costs associated with rescheduling the match.
SALARY CAP CHEATS
In the biggest salary cap scandal in netball history, Fever were fined $300,000 and stripped of 12 competition points in 2021 for major breaches in 2018 and 2019 when they exceeded the cap massively.
The club overspent by $127,954 (19.7 per cent) in 2018 — the year they made the Super Netball final — and $168,659 (25.3 per cent) in 2019 but quickly erased their points penalty last year and made the finals regardless.
Then-Super Netball chair Marina Go, now chair of Netball Australia, said there was “no room for this behaviour within our sport”.
Fever will line up in Sunday’s grand final with five of the seven starters that played in the 2018 decider.
The officials responsible for the overspending have left the club without ever making statements about the scandal, with the players and former coach Stacey Markinkovich, who all deny any knowledge of the situation, left to handle the ugly fallout.
TITLE BATTLE
The Vixens beat Fever by two goals to win the 2020 grand final in the Brisbane, 66-64. With scores tied with just 90 seconds to go, Vixens shooter Mwai Kumwenda scored two late goals to seal the club’s first title since 2014.
Kumwenda’s battle against Fever captain and goalkeeper Courtney Bruce was epic, with the side eye the Malawian gave her rival becoming instantly meme-worthy.
Bruce was proud of the effort of her players, who, like the Vixens, were away from home for almost three months in the Queensland hub at the height of Covid.
“We have given up so much to be here. We kept growing this year. 2020 threw us lots of highs and lots of lows but I’m proud of all the effort we have put in and how far we have come,” Bruce said.
FORGETFUL FEVER
Netball fans were furious when the Fever forgot to congratulate their own players for making Jamaica Commonwealth Games squad.
It took their own social media team seven days to acknowledge not only that they had members picked for the Sunshine Girls but that their own star player, Jhaniele Fowler, was named captain.
This, despite making public posts about the Australian Diamonds and England Roses teams.
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Originally published as Super Netball grand final 2022: Inside story of the fierce Vixens-Fever rivalry
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