Ballarat Blitz wrap

The Vixens hosted the Adelaide Thunderbirds, West Coast Fever and GIANTS Netball, with over 100 junior participants attending clinics with appearances from Vixens athletes, as well as coaching and umpiring workshops hosted by world-class experts Lisa Alexander and Leah Saunders.

RESULTS
Saturday
West Coast Fever 68 – 62 GIANTS Netball [WATCH THE REPLAY]
Melbourne Vixens 57 – 60 Adelaide Thunderbirds [WATCH THE REPLAY]
Sunday
Melbourne Vixens 59 – 50 West Coast Fever [WATCH THE REPLAY]
Adelaide Thunderbirds 56 – 53 GIANTS Netball [WATCH THE REPLAY]

WHAT WE SAW
Pre-season matches offer coaches the chance to test new combinations, and Vixens head coach Simone McKinnis took the opportunity to see what her squad of 11 athletes for the weekend could do.

Training partners Maggie Caris and Tara Watson took the court, slotting in to circle defence and the midcourt respectively, giving fans a glimpse of the next generation of Vixens talent.

Zara Walters put in a couple of stints in wing defence, her dogged tagging style and repeat efforts having an impact, while McKinnis also rotated her, Kate Moloney and Hannah Mundy through centre and wing attack. The Vixens’ midcourt unit worked through a range of combinations, with fans able to listen in to Moloney’s signature directions and encouragement throughout.

Kate Eddy put on a show, making intercepts around the circle look easy from wing defence and spending time in goal defence, showing off the versatility that delivers so much of the Vixens’ depth. Jo Weston also stepped into both positions, pairing with each of her teammates to lock down the transverse line.

In attack, the coach also shuffled the bibs across the weekend. Kiera Austin’s quick footwork and timing was nicely paired with Sophie Garbin's elevation and strength on the hold, while young gun Lily Graham delivered super shots at will as the three rotated between goal shooter and goal attack across both matches.

Eddy, Weston, Caris and Rudi Ellis worked in various configurations in defence across the two matches, the latter two – who each stand at 190cm – contesting well in the air and bringing hands-over pressure over the shot.

While the home side suffered a narrow loss to the Thunderbirds on Saturday, their renewed intensity and persistent efforts in full-court defence against Fever on Sunday will no doubt have pleased coach McKinnis.

There was also strong support in the crowd for visiting Victorians, with plenty of homegrown talent on court including Tilly Garrett (Thunderbirds), Olivia Wilkinson, Zoe Cransberg and Alice Teague-Neeld (Fever), as well as former Vixens Mwai Kumwenda and Kadie-Ann Dehaney (Fever).

Kumwenda received a warm welcome from the Ballarat crowd when she entered the game against the GIANTS on Saturday.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Vixens now turn their attention to Team Girls Cup, with all eight SSN teams set to descend on Adelaide for a three-day pre-season tournament from 14–16 March. Every match will be live on Kayo Sports.