Super Netball results: Melbourne Vixens claim derby bragging rights, Giants topple Adelaide
In the fourth instalment of the budding rivalry between Victoria’s two teams, the Vixens emerged triumphant - while Super Netball’s defending premiers are officially in a funk.
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Melbourne Vixens retained bragging rights over cross-town rivals Melbourne Mavericks to keep their finals push alive after goaler Sophie Garbin spearheaded the team to a strong win in their derby at John Cain Arena.
In the fourth instalment of the budding rivalry between Melbourne’s two teams, the Vixens powered to a 66-57 victory on Sunday to keep their unbeaten record intact against Super Netball’s fledgling franchise.
Igniting the win with a powerful start before holding off a late fightback from the Mavericks, Diamonds’ goaler Garbin led the Vixens with a player of the match performance, shooting 48 goals from 51 attempts.
Vixens’ captain Kate Moloney led the charge in the midcourt, while Jo Weston had a game high five deflections in defence.
The victory pushed the Vixens into fourth place on the ladder, a game clear of the Adelaide Thunderbirds as they continue to fight to lock in a top-four position.
“We have probably been searching for that kind of start the whole season,” Garbin said.
“Last week we probably didn’t have the best start – or the start we wanted – but to not panic and keep working through that.
“I think this week just coming out and executing those first centre passes has probably been something we’ve struggled with in the past.
“We knew they were a strong team and they have got that big target with Shimmy ( Shimona Jok) and they can also come back with the two-point shot so a strong start was always important.”
After their third consecutive win, the Vixens face a testing month ahead with matches against the NSW Swifts, Sunshine Coast Lightning and Thunderbirds.
Jok (30 from 32) top-scored for the Mavs, who rotated their goal circle throughout the match with Sasha Glasgow (8/10) and Uneeq Palavi (12/17).
The Mavericks remain in sixth position on the ladder and face a big challenge next week against the West Coast Fever.
“Again, it is against one of these top teams that we just seem to lack confidence,” Mavericks’ coach Tracey Neville said.
“Then we sort of see the sunshine and we just have to see the sunshine earlier.”
BRUISING BATTLE
There was an audible sigh around the venue after Glasgow crashed to the court heavily late in the third quarter.
Contesting a rebound against Vixens’ defenders Weston and Kate Eddy, Glasgow hit the court hard as she crashed out of court.
After sitting up and adjusting her hair, Glasgow continued to play and was straight into the action with a deflection in the proceeding passage of play before nailing a super shot with the next score.
But Neville felt the match should have been stopped to check on Glasgow.
“I think that was badly managed to be fair,” Neville said.
“I think the game should have been stopped. I think there should have been a check there.
“In the moment, I think we should have checked her there. Obviously the doctor gets the footage and obviously we do get checked from then on, but I think at the initial thing, I think there should have been a stop in play, personally.”
It was a bruising battle at times with lots of bodies clashing and players hitting the floor.
FAST START
The Vixens blew the Mavericks away early with a blistering start to the match, racing to a 7-0 lead courtesy of their sharp ball movement and slick work in the goal circle with Garbin and Kiera Austin (17/21).
The Mavericks did not put their first score on the board – via Glasgow – until four and a half minutes into the match.
While they eventually got the scoreboard ticking over, the Mavericks were staring at a 19-11 deficit at quarter-time.
“We were in the contest, it is just that first quarter unfortunately those first few minutes and the last few minutes,” Mavericks’ midcourter Molly Jovic said.
“It’s something that we’re working on, we’ve been on it for a few games now and we haven’t seemed to nail (it).”
The Mavs were able to cut a game-high margin of 12 in the second quarter to five midway through the final term, before the Vixens again rallied.
PENALTY PAIN
Neville said the Mavericks would seek clarification from the umpires about how they could “clean up” their game after a big penalty count against the Vixens.
The Mavericks finished the match with 81 penalties – mostly from Liv Lewis (18), Kim Brown (16) and Amy Parmenter (15) – compared to the Vixens’ 56.
“We also need a conversation with the umpires in respect to how we can clean up as well,” Neville said.
“We obviously had a conversation with them at halftime and maybe we need to have
that earlier as well about what they want to see from us.
“We get an opportunity to do that when they come and look at our nails so I think that is something that we will have a conversation with them (about) in future.”
GIANTS TOPPLE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
The Giants have kept defending premiers Adelaide Thunderbirds out of the Super Netball top four, beating the home side 66-63 with a tactical masterclass.
You’d call it the upset of the season if they hadn’t pulled it off before.
Heading into the match, the Giants were anchored at the bottom of the ladder with just one win - a one-goal victory over the T-Birds in round 4 - in Adelaide’s first match without talismanic defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey.
Adelaide had been at sixes and sevens that day but had improved since, looking for all the world like a finals team and determined to push their case for a three-peat of titles.
But with veterans Jo Harten and Casey Kopua using every bit of the smarts gathered in two decades at the top of the game, the Giants brought a game plan that they carried out to perfection.
Level at the first break, the Giants won the second term to take a four-point lead to the main break and while the Thunderbirds fought back to have a narrow lead at the final break, their inability to convert from two-point range handed the clinical Giants the win.
The Thunderbirds loss means the Vixens, victorious in their derby clash against the Mavericks in Sunday’s early match, move into standalone fourth place, with the Thunderbirds now in fifth spot.
Playmaker Georgie Horjus, who swung into the shooting circle late in the match in an attempt to chase down the Giants’ lead, said the Thunderbirds would take plenty of learnings from the match.
“We’re really disappointed with that game,” Horjus said.
“We had some really good netball out there, but we didn’t do well in that two point time and then we didn’t convert the turnovers that we got.”
And falling outside the top four was also crushing.
“We want to play finals netball,” Horjus said.
“We have Firebirds at home (next week), so we’ll review this game and put it to the side and then look on to next week and hopefully take some learnings from this week as well.”
CAPES ON
The Giants have been arguably the best team from super shot range since the introduction of the two-point goal in 2020 and showed their prowess again against the Giants, slotting nine of 10 attempts from long range.
Conversely, the T-Birds struggled to convert their shots from the top of the arc missing all 10 of their attempts in the first half before finished with two-of-16 for the match, their only successes coming from gun playmaker Georgie Horjus who was moved into the circle in an attempt to right the ship.
So often chasing from behind and rushing the attempts or pass in, the Giants were able to work the ball into the best position in the arc and have their shooters take a breath before making a confident attempt.
HARTEN SHOWS SMARTS
Jo Harten led the Giants to their only win of the season, a round 4 one-goal victory over the Thunderbirds in which she used every bit of her match smarts against rookie defender Sanmarie Visser, who attracted a massive 23 penalties.
Given that, she got the starting role again, however came up against Jamaican star Latanya Wilson, who has settled into Shamera Sterling-Humphrey’s role at the back.
But Harten’s smarts again came to the fore, the veteran goaler not only shooting with incredible accuracy for her 25 points from 21-of-21 shooting including four successful super shots, but carrying out coach Julie Fitzgerald’s game plan to perfection.
The former England Rose drew aerial magician Wilson away from her fellow shooter Sophie Dwyer on several occasions to isolate the goal attack’s match-up and take the ball magnet - who was devastated after the loss - out of the traffic.
Wilson still finished with five gains, including four intercepts, and seven deflections, but was unable to impact the pivotal moments of the game.
CLOCK WINDS BACK
The Thunderbirds have surged to back-to-back titles by developing home-grown young talent, while the Giants have a team with the youngest average age in the league.
But one of the biggest contests of the day was between two superstar players in their late 30s.
Thunderbirds shooter Romelda Aiken-George was the oldest player in the league at 36, just four months older than fellow 36-year-old Jo Harten.
But it was Aiken-George’s contest against former Silver Ferns captain Casey Kopua, a player just 11 days shy of her 40th birthday, that really wound back the clock.
The pair has faced each other in the former trans-Tasman league as well as the international realm and again brought out the best in each other in a Super Netball contest no one saw coming.
Aiken-George finished with 49 goals, doing her job as a holding shooter but Kopua came up with a couple of pivotal touches at crucial moments, finishing with six gains, four rebounds and three deflections to show that she’s lost none of the smarts she was renowned for.
Her role in mentoring younger defenders Erin O’Brien and Amy Sligar is also invaluable, with O’Brien picking up player of the match honours at goal defence playing in front of Kopua, finishing with five gains and an incredible 11 deflections, putting enormous pressure on the Thunderbirds’ outside shooters.
Originally published as Super Netball results: Melbourne Vixens claim derby bragging rights, Giants topple Adelaide
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