Match Report | Firebirds vs Vixens

Kate Moloney played the ultimate team game with 41 feeds, two pickups and 72 Nissan Net Points to ensure the Vixens executed cohesive netball against a team fired up by the retirement of their captain Kim Ravaillion.

The Vixens’ final ladder position hinges on the remaining Round 14 results, with Fever (3^rd) taking on the Mavericks (5^th) and the Thunderbirds (1^st) facing Lightning (4^th) in a thrilling final round of the home and away season.

Q1 | Firebirds 13–15 Vixens

The Vixens opened with a controlled seven-goal lead, with Hannah Mundy (16 feeds, 1 intercept) owning circle edge in wing attack after a minor quad injury sidelined her last week. Locked into a fierce battle, her opponent Hulita Veve picked off a number of stray passes, but the home side struggled in transition against the full court defensive pressure of the Vixens. Emily Mannix (1 intercept, 2 deflections) and Rudi Ellis (9 gains) silenced Donnell Wallam with their smothering defence, before a Firebirds timeout and Wallam’s two super shots allowed the home side to claw back the lead.

Q2 | Firebirds 23–31 Vixens

The Vixens locked in on their controlled netball to extend their margin at half time, with retiring Firebirds captain Ravaillion’s injection unable to disrupt Moloney’s connection with player of the match Kiera Austin (24 goals, 82%) and Sophie Garbin (38 goals, 97%). Jo Weston, Mannix and Ellis dominated in defence, with long arms over pressure and protection of the space creating disjointed feeds and doubt on the shot.

Q3 | Firebirds 36–46 Vixens

With the Vixens under pressure to further extend their margin, Kate Eddy subbed in at goal defence to tag Tippah Dwan out of the contest, while the Firebirds picked up their intensity with Macy Gardner back at centre. Heavily marked by the energetic Firebirds defenders, Garbin held her own to steady a Vixens attack that at times lost connection as the home side’s desperation grew.

Q4 | Firebirds 52–62 Vixens

Zara Walters entered at wing attack, re-establishing the synergy of the shooting circle with her creative feeds and safe ball movement down court. In a final attempt to send Ravaillion off in style, the Firebirds stepped up their attack with confident long and high feeds into Wallam. However the Vixens defence, marked by the return of Mannix, quickly adjusted their positioning to extract the offensive turnovers and stamp out any hopes of turning the game. The Vixens treasured the ball in the final five minutes to hold their lead and give themselves a shot hosting a major semi final.

THE NUMBERS

• 9: Goal keeper Rudi Ellis was a brick wall in defence, collecting nine gains from her two intercepts, six deflections and three rebounds. Her ability to win ball off the Vixens’ defensive pressure across the transverse line will be crucial against the well-drilled attacking units they'll face in finals.
• 0: The Vixens delivered a dominant win without the need to utilise the super shot. While they’ve increased their use of the two-point shot in recent weeks, playing short, sharp and concise netball was the name of the game today. Going to the post in any situation and being able to win with and without the super shot will serve them well during tense finals matches.

THE COACH SAYS

Head coach Simone McKinnis was pleased with her side’s win after having the contracted team of 10 available for the first time since Round 3.

“It was great to have everybody there and we acknowledged it was the first time we had everyone back together, so we really celebrated it and enjoyed it. But we’ve had some fantastic people that have stepped up for us throughout the year which I’m really super proud of. It takes a squad – it’s not just the 10 across the season,” McKinnis said.

Despite waiting on the remaining Round 14 results to determine their finals position, McKinnis said the Vixens were only focusing on the win.

“Our mindset was not fussed about what was happening around us. We’re in control of our game and what we’re playing today. And we want to enjoy it as the last game of the season, and then deal with what happens from there.”

NEXT UP

The Vixens will await the results of West Coast Fever vs Melbourne Mavericks (Saturday 7pm AEST) and Adelaide Thunderbirds vs Sunshine Coast Lightning (Sunday 4pm AEST) to determine their final ladder position, and hosting rights for next weekend’s semi finals.