Vixens and Swifts set the tone in Super Netball with unbeaten starts

Melbourne Vixens made it two wins from two to start the Super Netball season with a 61-45 victory over the Giants.

Caitlin Thwaites lines up a shot for the Vixens against the Giants at Melbourne Arena. Picture: AAP

Melbourne Vixens made it two wins from two to start the Super Netball season with a comprehensive 61-45 victory over the Giants.

After opening the new season with a 12-goal win over Queensland Firebirds, the Vixens were ruthless in dismissing their Western Sydney opponents by winning all four quarters to join the NSW Swifts at the top of the ladder.

The Giants lost the inaugural Super Netball clash between the two clubs but had won the past four meetings heading into Sunday’s clash at Melbourne Arena, including an eight-goal victory in the 2017 preliminary final. But the Vixens ended their losing sequence in impressive style, taking control from the outset to establish a six-goal lead in the first quarter. “That was important after our slow start last week,” coach Simone McKinnis said about the Vixens’ opening-quarter charge.

“It was obviously a focus that we wanted to get off to a good start, particularly against the Giants.”

Tegan Philip (31 goals) and Caitlin Thwaites (30 goals from 35 attempts) powered Melbourne’s attack while Liz Watson and Kate Moloney won the midcourt battle with 51 total goal assists.

Goal keeper Emily Mannix backed up last week’s MVP performance with another standout game, while defensive anchors Jo Weston and Renae Ingles helped shut down the Giants’ new-look attacking combination of Caitlin Bassett and Jo Harten.

The result dampened celebrations for Giants captain Kim Green’s 200th national league game, the veteran midcourter forced from the court in the second quarter following a heavy collision with Weston.

Green returned in the second half but could do little to prevent the Vixens running away with the match to leave the Giants winless after two rounds.

The Giants opened with the first three goals of the match and held a 9-6 lead but the home side took charge to score 10 of the last 11 for a 16-10 advantage, Mannix and Weston contributing four gains and three intercepts for the term.

The visitors tried to claw their way back in a physical second stanza but once Green left the court, the Vixens surged again with a 6-2 run to take a 30-21 lead at halftime.

The third quarter also went the way of the home side, Philip shaking off an ankle complaint to combine with Thwaites in making 15 of their 16 shots to put the result beyond doubt.

The Vixens will shoot for their third-successive win when they face the Thunderbirds in Adelaide on Saturday while the Giants host the Magpies on Sunday.

Earlier, Sam Wallace produced a perfect 31-goal effort as the NSW Swifts continued their impressive start to the campaign with a 61-43 thrashing of Adelaide Thunderbirds.

As she did in the opening-round derby win over the Giants, the 193cm goalshooter from Trinidad proved the perfect target up front along with Englishwoman Helen Housby (24 of 28), as their teammates dominated the midcourt.

Starting at centre, Paige Hadley showed why she was recently called into the Diamonds squad as she and Maddy Proud gelled well with both attackers, combining for 37 assists.

The Thunderbirds had broken a losing streak stretching back 19 games last week but had no answers this time at Sydney’s Quaycentre.

The home side claimed all four bonus points on offer, winning every quarter and were ahead 35-21 at the main break.

Swifts coach Briony Akle was impressed with Wallace and had special praise for Housby.

“I thought Helen was absolutely exceptional today, she took the hits but she kept going for the whole 60 minutes,” she said.

“That resilience and fully rounded performance is something that she has probably lacked in her game so it was impressive to see her come out and play the way she did.”

The Thunderbirds did themselves no favours with some very soft turnovers throughout the game to gift Wallace and Housby easy goalscoring chances. Maria Folau landed 19 goals from her 23 attempts for the Thunderbirds while Sasha Glasgow had 24 of 28.

But the pressure from the home side was suffocating, with young defensive duo Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner reading the play well and taking intercepts at key moments.

The Swifts will return to the Quaycentre next Sunday against West Coast Fever looking to further flex their premiership credentials.

“Not to take anything away from the Thunderbirds as a team but I had a real belief in our side coming into today to come out with this sort of result,” said Akle.

“These girls have made the decision to stay in Sydney and try to build a strong side, and now we have this inner belief and the girls are starting to realise their potential which is a really good sign moving forward.”

AAP