Melbourne Vixens lose to Northern Mystics at Hisense Arena

NORTHERN Mystics defender Anna Harrison sent netball into a spin by using a rugby lineout tactic to stifle Melbourne Vixens.

Geva Mentor

NORTHERN Mystics defender Anna Harrison sent netball into a spin on Sunday by using a rugby lineout tactic to successfully block shots at goal in her team's 49-45 win over Melbourne Vixens at Hisense Arena.

Harrison was lifted by teammate Jessica Moulds twice in the final quarter to intercept goal-bound attempts as the Vixens were fighting to stay in the game.

The lifts capitalised on Harrison's impressive leap, which had already caused headaches for Vixens goalers.

The strategy saw netball fans take to Twitter. Most were raving. Vixens captain, Bianca Chatfield, was also impressed.

"I loved it. As a defender you always try and be creative," Chatfield said.

"We have got to be smart, we saw them do it in the first or second quarter, so as an attack end we have to change our positioning to protect ourselves from that."

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Chatfield said national team defenders had experimented with the tactic at training, but had not thought of trying it in a game.

"She (Harrison) is a volleyball player, she has got that massive leap. I will be really interested to watch that back on replay to see how they did it and where our shooters were when they were doing it," she said.

An ANZ Championship spokeswoman said the tactic was innovative, but the umpires, who did not penalise the Mystics, were responsible for interpreting the rules.

Harrison's exploits overshadowed the result - the Mystics' third win in 14 games in Australia.

After opening the season with six straight wins, the Vixens have lost twice and face a challenging fortnight with games against NSW Swifts - who inflicted their first loss - and top-placed Adelaide Thunderbirds.

"Two losses, it's not all panic," Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg said.

"This is a very talented team and we are going to reassess where we are at and we've got another big challenge next week.

"At this point in time, we are still travelling better than last year."

While 188cm-Harrison had the goalers stunned, the Vixens struggled to counter the shooting prowess of Cathrine Latu and Maria Tutaia.

Latu, the most accurate goaler in the league, did not miss until late in the final quarter and finished with 23 goals from 24 attempts, while Tutaia had 26 from 34 with her superb long-range shooting.

Tegan Caldwell, who top-scored for the Vixens with 20 goals, caused a scare when she went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter, but she was able to continue after receiving treatment.