Grand Final Match Report | Fever vs Vixens

Stunning performances from player of the match Kiera Austin, and Hannah Mundy in her return game saw the Vixens achieve what many thought impossible, defeating minor premiers West Coast Fever by one goal (58–59) at Rod Laver Arena on Wurundjeri Country on Saturday night.

The win completes a trio of extraordinary finals performances from the Vixens, who finished in fourth position on the ladder and defeated the Adelaide Thunderbirds and NSW Swifts in thrilling elimination finals in consecutive weeks on the road, before taking on Fever in front of a sold-out Melbourne crowd - an all-time league record of 15,013 fans packing out the stadium.

Q1 | Fever 16–17 Vixens
A ferocious home crowd saw our Vixens on the board first with a calm Sophie Garbin (33/36, 92%) sinking her first from under the post. A few nervous turnovers from either side saw the opening minutes level, until Kate Moloney (18 feeds, 9 goal assists) took a monumental intercept. Fever took the lead by two goals, as they looked long into tall utility Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, but the Vixens stayed close and contested every long ball in defence. The Vixens closed the gap with Austin (23/27, 85%) sinking the first super shot in the Grand Final, followed by a stellar intercept from Rudi Ellis (1 intercept,3 gains), converted into a goal. The Vixens took the first quarter by one goal.

Q2 | Fever 31–33 Vixens
Austin came out firing scoring both of the Vixens' opening goals, while Moloney continued directing traffic and offering support at both ends of the court. The Fever applied some intense hands-over pressure resulting in a Vixens turnover to level the scores. The Vixens’ relentless hunt on the ball paid off, Zara Walters’ (24 feeds, 13 goal assists) pressure and Jo Weston’s (5 deflections, 1 intercept) pick up extending their side's lead with eight minutes to play. Austin (34 feeds, 1 gain) and Garbin put on a show in the attacking circle, using their patient ball movement and clean connections with Walters. Austin sunk another composed super shot to extend the lead by three before Fowler sunk a goal on the buzzer.

Q3 | Fever 43–48 Vixens
Fever landed two goals back-to-back to level the scores after forcing a Vixens turnover early. The pressure continued as Fever shut down the Vixens' attacking rhythm early. Bringing her signature strength and speed after six weeks sidelined through injury, Hannah Mundy entered the game at WA for Walters, immediately finding her feet feeding into Austin and Garbin with ease. Weston was relentless in the defence end, finally picking up an impressive tip to bring her side to a three-goal lead heading into the power five. Mundy picked up where she left off, demanding circle edge and finding her Diamonds shooters with confidence. Austin starred in the power five again, while Weston picked up an incredible intercept on the circle edge, propelling her side to a five-goal lead at three-quarter time.

Q4 | Fever 58–59 Vixens
With just 15 minutes left to play of the Suncorp Super Netball grand final, both sides came out with a point to prove. Fever continued to look long into Fowler as the Vixens back end hunted every ball. In attack they worked tirelessly to post – Moloney and Mundy working in tandem down the court. A tactical time-out saw the Vixens recalibrate with a five-goal lead and eight minutes to play. The margin stood at three goals to the Vixens entering the power five, with Fever picking up two turnovers and converting quickly. Straight out of a Vixens tactical time-out Ellis picked up a clutch intercept and the home crowd erupted, with a nailbiting finish in sight. As the final seconds of the season ticked down, Fowler sunk a super shot on her third attempt to bring the margin to one with a minute to play. The Vixens played every second to perfection as they kept the ball in their possession. With five seconds remaining, the Vixens stayed composed and were officially crowned the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball champions.

THE NUMBERS
212 – In an extraordinary career including 13 years at the helm of the Vixens and 212 national league matches, Simone McKinnis has coached her final match for the club. With a remarkable record now including three premierships from five grand final appearances, McKinnis leaves a proud legacy of high performance standards, a peerless commitment to the development of Victorian talent, and the enviable club culture the Vixens have become known for under her leadership. More via the club’s mid-season announcement.

THE COACH SAYS
In her final press conference as head coach of the Vixens, Simone McKinnis was ecstatic with her team's united performance, impressed with every player's contribution.

“Rudi and Jo were outstanding, but also I think the work of Keddy, Kate, Kiera, Hannah and Zara across that transverse was the key for us.”

“At different times of the game I was just watching, and I was like ‘wow that’s really good’, because you could just see their pressure and that was one of our objectives – to put Fever under pressure.”

ALL IN. ALL VIXEN.