The Firebirds can’t shake their bad habits while the Thunderbirds dent Mavericks’ maiden finals berth

A Vixens’ resurgence has Melbourne clinging on to finals hopes after a win over the costly Firebirds, while the Thunderbirds’ have put dent in the Mavericks’ quest for their first finals berth. Round seven news.

Defending Super Netball champions Adelaide Thunderbirds have cranked up their bid for a trio of titles after putting a dent in the Melbourne Mavericks’ quest for a maiden finals berth.

In a shootout at either end of the court between star Jamaican goal shooters Romelda Aiken-George (47/52) and Shimona Jok (34/35), the Thunderbirds bounced back from last week’s loss to the West Coast Fever to move up to third place on the ladder with their 66-59 win at John Cain Arena.

Led by the eye-catching defensive exploits of goal keeper Latanya Wilson and a typically dominant goaling performance from Aiken-George (47/52), the Thunderbirds took their season record to 4-3 ahead of a blockbuster clash against the ladder-leading New South Wales Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena next round.

Romelda Aiken-George once again starred for Adelaide. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Chasing the Thunderbirds for most of the match, the Mavericks won the final quarter 19-14 on the back of some sharp super-shot shooting, but the margin proved too great to reel in.

Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst hailed her team’s defensive pressure across the court, in particular the “spectacular” Wilson, who continues to star in the absence of the pregnant Shamera Sterling-Humphrey.

“I thought ‘Latty’ was pretty good back there at ‘keeper,” Obst said.

“She was really confusing the space I think for the feeders. A couple of times where she was contesting but not quite getting it, she understands she can’t be on the body.

“I thought she was pretty spectacular for us back there.”

Undefeated so far this season, the Swifts shape as the major obstacle in front of the T-Birds and their push for a third-straight Super Netball premiership.

The Thunderbirds suffered an eight-goal loss to the Swifts in round three, but Obst said the team had learned from the loss.

“Tuesday we will start to really look at the Swifts again, what we did last time, what they are doing differently perhaps and some areas we can be better in,” Obst said.

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“I know we left that game certainly from a forward-line perspective quite disappointed in that we really allowed things to happen and didn’t change up what we needed to do.

“We’re looking forward to it

The sixth-placed Mavericks now sit two games outside of the top four with a 2-5 record and face the Lightning on the road next round when coach Tracey Neville hopes the team can recapture some freedom in their game.

“Last week we just played with so much freedom and confidence to release the ball and I think in that first quarter and patches in the game we just looked scared,” Neville said.

“That is pretty disappointing because when we do play with freedom, we actually get the ball moving.

“Also, the Adelaide Thunderbirds, the pressure they put on us defensively was brilliant and they smothered us at times and made us feel like we couldn’t release the ball.”

SUPER SHOT SUB

Injury replacement player, Uneeq Palavi, continues to enhance her reputation as the sub with the super shot.

First injected into the power play period in the second quarter, Palavi came on and nailed three super shots to keep the Mavs within seven goals at half-time after the margin had blown out to 10.

She only hit one super shot in the third quarter as some errors crept in, but nailed another two in the final quarter to finish with six from six from two-point range.

Goal attack Sasha Glasgow also got in on the super shot action nailing four from four with the team shooting at 100 per cent from the two-point zone

Uneeq Palavi is a super sub. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

CARDWELL COMEBACK

Her pre-season knee surgery delivered a blow to the Mavericks’ 2025 campaign, but English international Eleanor Cardwell looks to be stepping up her recovery and bid for a return.

The star goaler was spotted putting in the work on court at John Cain Arena before Sunday’s clash against the Thunderbirds.

Cardwell looked to be moving well as Mavs’ assistant coach Nicole Richardson fed her balls.

Cardwell underwent a second operation on her knee in mid-March, which the Mavs initially expected to keep her sidelined for between eight to 12 weeks.

“I think she is due to play around round 10, so that probably won’t be in SSN, that might be in our reserves game,” Neville said.

“She is actually accelerated so well. To see her three weeks ago, it was like she was so far off, but in the last two weeks she has made great progress.

“She said to me today … there is nothing that replicates in the gym that works me as hard as this, so that’s a real positive because I have not heard those words come out of her mouth for about two years.”

Firebirds can’t shake their bad habits as Vixens surge

A resurgent Melbourne Vixens have ended the opening round in touch with the Super Netball top four after midcourter Hannah Mundy and their Diamonds connections led a 70-52 drubbing of the Queensland Firebirds in a clash pivotal to both teams’ finals chances.

Mundy finished with 22 goal assists and 34 feeds in a dominant performance as the Vixens put in arguably their best showing of the season in what could be a turning point for their year.

Both teams were on two wins heading into the match and the loser faced reaching the halfway point two wins outside the top four with plenty of work to do to remain a playoff chance.

But a week after their coach Simone McKinnis confirmed she will step away at the end of the season, her team responded, grinding their way through the middle stages of a close match to shut the Firebirds out of the game.

Mundy said she was proud of her teammates after a tough couple of weeks in which they hadn’t executed their basic skills.

Hannah Mundy led the Vixens resurgence. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“We came out and played with freedom,” she said.

“The news of Simone (stepping away) last week was a big shock, so to go out and play for her really fuels us and hopefully she’s proud of that performance.”

McKinnis was pleased with the way her team approached the game after a big week.

“It has been an important week for us to have a good week, focus on the game and get out here and have a good game,” she said.

“I know that’s pretty boring, but it was that was the important step for us this week.

“So I’m really pleased that was a tough game out there - I know at the end the score didn’t show that, but it was a tough game, and I loved the way that we attacked the game and fought hard.”

The Firebirds and coach Kiri Wills however, were left with the opposite feeling after poor connections and basic errors at crucial moments again cruelled their chances.

After an even first term, the Firebirds were down by four goals at halftime and after losing the third by another four goals, were playing catch-up in the final term.

Failing to capitalise on hard-won turnover ball, converting their centre pass at just over 60 per cent and throwing ball away cheaply, left coach Kiri Wills and her charges frustrated.

“We’ve actually debriefed already today … and pretty much the mood in the change room was we’re doing this to ourselves,” Wills said.

“We’re competitive for periods in the game, and then we let it go.

“And it’s just those crucial little errors - a step here, a dropped ball there, a break here - it’s killing us at the moment, and we’re pretty despondent actually.”

Milestone match

Three clubs, two premierships and what probably seems like an age since she made her debut for the NSW Swifts in 2018, Sophie Garbin played her 100th Super Netball match on Sunday, underlining her status as one of the top shooters in the league.

After starting her career coming off the bench behind the Swifts’ international shooters Helen Housby and Sam Wallace, Garbin is now the scoring anchor for the Vixens, a World Cup winner with the Diamonds and a matchwinner in her own right.

She showed that again on Sunday, finishing with 42 goals in a strong, if not totally dominant performance.

Sophie Garbin celebrated her 100th Super Netball game. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Her partner in the circle, Kiera Austin turned in one of her best performances in weeks, finishing with 25 points, including five super shots, as well as 18 goal assists and 20 feeds.

But it was the better connection between the pair and midcourters Mundy and workhorse captain Kate Moloney, as well as the underrated Kate Eddy’s shutdown of Macy Gardner that helped the Vixens snuff out the chances of the home side.

Put the Vixens’ record in perspective too - they, along with the Sunshine Coast Lightning - were the only side to play the Thunderbirds with Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Fever with Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard.

They lost both matches. McKinnis said none of that mattered now but the pleasing thing was their future this season was in their own hands.

False dawn?

The Firebirds came into the season under a searing spotlight after plenty of off-season change and set the tone early, winning their first two games of the season.

They were though, against the last-placed Giants and a Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard-less Fever and they head into the halfway point of the season on the back of five consecutive losses, their dreams of making the finals for the first time since 2018 already hanging by a thread.

There have been strong signs for the Firebirds.

In patches, they have competed with every team in the league. But in a narrative that has been all too common over the past few years, basic errors and lapses in concentration are hurting them overall.

The Firebirds keep making the same mistakes. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Wills knows it’s not good enough - and so do fans who streamed out of Nissan Arena when a time-out was called five minutes before time - and the Birdies face a tough week on court ahead of a trip west this weekend.

“It’s trying to not dig them deep into a hole, because they’ll already be thrashing themselves,” Wills said.

“But this is SSN (Super Netball) and we’ve got to be at our best to win these games.

“There was always going to be a bedding in time of getting connections and all that staff, but that’s happened now, we’ve seen some really great growth in individual games, but pulling it all together and everybody taking responsibility every second of the game, that’s what this competition demands, and we are not up to that right here, right now.

“The last four games have shown us that.”

First Nations round

It’s the first time in more than half a decade the Firebirds have not had an Indigenous representative in their team but the club is still putting a huge focus on First Nations round.

They paid tribute to their former First Nations players - Helena Saunders, Sharon Finnan-White, Beryl Friday, Gemma and Leesa Mi Mi and Donnell Wallam before the match and had the stadium rocking with some outstanding pre-match, halftime and post-game entertainment.

Players told of their pride in wearing their Leah Cummins dress brining community together and standing on the shoulders of giants.

The proof will be in whether they bring the next generation of First Nations players through to Super Netball level.