Round 1 Match Report | Thunderbirds vs Vixens

Kicking off season 2025 with a grand final rematch in midcourter Hannah Mundy’s 50th game, in-form defender Kate Eddy and the Vixens’ youngsters in debutant Maggie Caris and 19-year-old shooter Lily Graham offered silver linings in an otherwise disappointing loss.

Q1 | Thunderbirds 16–13 Vixens
The visitors put out a strong start, showing patience and their signature work rate to get ball to circle edge and meet a composed Kiera Austin under the post. Skipper Kate Moloney seemed to take every second pass, while Rudi Ellis was locked in a physical contest with Romelda Aiken-George at the other end. Eddy (3 intercepts, 3 pickups) had hands over everything around the circle, making life hard for the Thunderbirds’ feeders.

Q2 | Thunderbirds 37–23 Vixens
Coach Simone McKinnis swapped Eddy into goal defence, Jo Weston (5 gains, 5 deflections) swinging to wing defence with immediate effect – Weston took an intercept in the centre third early, while Sophie Garbin (17/21, 81%) offered a steady option under the post. A string of turnovers saw the home side push the margin out, and Zara Walters came on in centre while temporary replacement player Maggie Caris came on to make her SSN debut in goal keeper.

Q3 | Thunderbirds 51–37 Vixens
Caris repaid her coach’s faith with a clean intercept early in the term and another midway through the quarter, her footwork and floating style confusing the space for the Thunderbirds’ attackers. The Vixens looked to stabilise with Moloney back in the middle, and while some errors in attack lowered the visitors’ conversion rate, the side’s energy lifted off the back of a couple of super shots from Graham (13/15, 87%) who was moving well with Austin in the circle and the quarter ended evenly at 14-all.

Q4 | Thunderbirds 66–53 Vixens
McKinnis shuffled her defensive lineup again in an effort to combat the free-flowing ball speed of the reigning champions, with Weston showing her versatility across goal keeper and wing defence. With Graham confident to go to post despite the efforts of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson over the shot, the Vixens ended the match on a positive, winning the quarter by one.

THE NUMBERS
32 – In her milestone match, 50-gamer Hannah Mundy played the full 60 minutes in wing attack and delivered 32 feeds.
66 – Maggie Caris etched her name in club history books, becoming Vixen #66 when she took the court in the second quarter.

THE COACH SAYS
Simone McKinnis was full of praise for Lily Graham post-game.
"I thought she was brilliant, she took it on, and that's exciting for us. Backing herself on the shot, strong on the takes... I'm really pleased for her."

NEXT UP
The Vixens will play their first home game for the season in Round 2, taking on GIANTS Netball at John Cain Arena on Sunday 13 April. Tickets for the Mini Vixens Day Out are available now via Ticketek.

ALL IN. ALL VIXEN.
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