Super Netball finals: Melbourne Vixens plot redemption against Adelaide Thunderbirds after booking their spot in the Super Netball grand final
The Melbourne Vixens’ last trip to Adelaide didn’t go so well, but they have the chance to atone on the biggest stage in the season decider against the Thunderbirds.
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Captain Kate Moloney has declared the Melbourne Vixens plan to bring a “new level of netball” not seen this year in the Super Netball grand final as they seek retribution in the most important game of the year against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
Striking back from their semi-final shocker against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide, the Vixens secured their ticket to the Super Netball decider with a heart-stopping one-goal preliminary final win over West Coast Fever at John Cain Arena on Saturday.
The Vixens will now hunt a second Super Netball crown, in their third grand final appearance in five years, when they return to Adelaide to face the defending champions for a second time in as many weeks on Saturday night.
No sooner had the Vixens survived a late scare against the Fever to guarantee a place in the grand final, they were already plotting a way to turn the tables on the Thunderbirds after their crushing 25-goal loss in the major semi-final.
In fact, the Vixens have lost their past two outings against the Thunderbirds, also suffering a 15-goal defeat in Adelaide in round 12.
Midcourt star Moloney said the Vixens had taken plenty of lessons from their biggest loss of the season in the semi-final and would get stuck into their “homework” this week as they plot Adelaide’s downfall.
“Thunderbirds put out a great performance against us last week and it is going to be tough, they are a great opposition, but it means everything to be back and have this opportunity to fight it out next week,” Moloney said.
“We’ll enjoy this win (over Fever), but we know that we’ve got to go to work this week.
“We took a lot of lessons from last week and we’ll do our homework and make sure we’re ready to go.
“They have got amazing support over there. Finals are hard, they are intense and we know the Thunderbirds are going to bring it from the start and we want to bring a new level of netball that we haven’t seen all year.
“It’s going to be tough, but we’re looking forward to it.”
The Super Netball grand final will see the top two placed teams play off for the premiership after the Fever fell short by a goal in a preliminary final for the second consecutive year.
Despite the late scare against the Fever with the Vixens coughing up a 12-goal final quarter lead to hang on in a thriller, Melbourne Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said she was proud of the way her players had turned their performance around from their showing against the Thunderbirds.
“I’m super proud and I’m just really happy for them as well because I think it was really important for us to show our strength and it was just important for us to just go out and play the netball – win, lose or draw – that we are proud of and that is our netball,” McKinnis said.
“It is an opportunity we are not going to let go and we’ll enjoy it, but we have got a job to do against a very good side in Adelaide Thunderbirds on their home court, so a super challenge for us and it will be an important week for us in our preparation this week.
“We have probably taken the hard route as well, the long route, but I think that is good for us.
“This (preliminary final win) is a big step, it’s a big step for turning it around.”
The Vixens will have to conquer the toughest defence in the competition led by Jamaican star Shamera Sterling-Humphrey if they are to claim their first premiership since 2020.
But in a major boost to their title hopes, the Vixens’ attack was humming again against the Fever with the connection between match MVP Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin back to its slick best after a tough outing in Adelaide.
Vixens goal keeper Emily Mannix was also a game-turner when she was injected into the match in the third quarter after starting on the bench.
After the Vixens triumphed in front of a packed John Cain Arena, McKinnis acknowledged the Adelaide home crowd factor would be significant in the decider.“We obviously felt that a week ago …. we know what it feels like – even though it was a different venue – they have great support, and they’ve had full stadiums and it’s actually a great atmosphere,” McKinnis said.
“It’s going to be very different to (the preliminary final), but we’re excited about it and we want to take different netball than we took over there (last) time.”
West Coast Fever coach Dan Ryan said the Vixens’ attack had been hard to stop, but said they would need to lift again against the Thunderbirds.
“The Vixens were very good …. very good with ball in hand in attack, I think their shooter-to-shooter connection was back to some of the high-quality that they’ve been producing throughout the home-and-away season and they were really hard to stop there at times,” Ryan said.
“They will need to produce that – and more – to compete with the Thunderbirds next weekend.
“But credit to them, they played really well and they challenged us in all different parts of our game, as we did them, but obviously we expected Vixens to bounce back and they absolutely did that.”
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