Vixens Academy | Round 3 preview

It’s been a great start to the season for the undefeated Vixens Academy, who have tested multiple combinations on court, introduced five debutantes to the league, and claimed the biggest wins of the opening rounds.

In their Round 2 match, Vixens Academy overcame a young but persistent GIANTS Academy sealed by a dominant 20-10 final quarter.

This week, they face Queensland Firebirds Futures, who have one of the most decorated lineups in the league. The Queensland side sit one win from two games this season, after a 3-point loss to Melbourne Mavericks Reserves in Round 1, and a 1-point win over Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures.

In this match, Vixens Academy’s in-form defensive trio of Maggie Caris, Ruby Pekin-Schlicht and Ruby Turner will be tasked with shutting down the dominant hold and accuracy of Queensland Firebirds’ 2026 11th player Elsa Sif Sandholt, who has made four appearances in Suncorp Super Netball (SSN), including a recent impressive Round 3 performance against Adelaide Thunderbirds’ Shamera Sterling-Humphrey. Sif Sandholt sits top of the Reserves league for points scored (78) so far this season and was the 5th-highest scorer in 2025.

In goal attack, contracted Queensland Firebirds athlete Emily Moore has played minutes in the first two Reserves games this season while earning limited court time in SSN. She is known for her graceful movement, high arching long shots, and she has plenty of experience feeding Sif Sandholt in Firebirds training sessions.

Queensland Firebirds Futures have also utilised both Kaylin van Greunen and Kirra Tappenden in the goal circle in their second respective Reserves seasons. Versatile Tappenden shot 120 points at 79% accuracy in 2025 while being a Queensland Firebirds training partner, and van Greunen slotted 225 points at 85% as the league’s 3rd-highest scorer.

Vixens Academy’s co vice-captain Caris has prior experience playing against all three Queensland Firebirds Futures goalers, which she will utilise coming into this game.

Queensland Firebirds Futures also have an experienced midcourt led by two of their SSN training partners, Jessica Laga’aia and Reserves co-captain Sasha Flegler, who both made their SSN debuts in Round 6. Laga’aia is strong and dynamic with ball in hand, and Flegler brings a calming presence to the court with her mature instincts and natural leadership.

These midcourters will likely rotate with third-year Reserves athletes Jayden Molo and Gemma Hutchings, second-year athlete Ellie Brice, and rookie Aaliyah Sheppard. The team’s vice-captain Maddi Ridley is yet to make an on court appearance this year while returning to play after spending 2025 recovering from a second ACL injury, She is originally from Victoria and was the 2019 17/U Victorian State Team captain, before moving to Queensland and making her SSN debut with the Firebirds in 2024.

Watch for the match ups between Queensland Firebirds Futures’ midcourters and Vixens Academy’s captain Ally O’Connor and co vice-captain Zali Anderson, who have both played near-flawless games to start the 2026 Reserves season while balancing Melbourne Vixens training partner and Victorian Netball League (VNL) duties.

In the defence end, Queensland Firebirds Futures have started their SSN training partner and Reserves co-captain Lily Gribble in both opening games. She can play across both circle defence positions and made her SSN in Round 4 this season.

Gribble has been teaming up with both contracted Firebirds’ athlete Isabelle Shearer who has played minutes across goal defence and goal keeper in both the opening Reserves matches, and Hutchings who has moved from wing defence into goal defence. Firebirds training partner Lillyana Rennie is also in the squad but is yet to play this season.

Lily Graham and Mia Lavis will be key players for Vixens Academy for outpacing these tall defenders in this match with their playmaking, change of direction, and long-range accuracy.

Vixens Academy’s game plan will also involve disrupting the feeders’ connections to Sif Sandholt via full court defensive pressure, creating errors before the ball arrives into the circle.

The Vixens Academy Round 3 match squad will be selected following Friday evening’s training session.

Vixens Academy vs Queensland Firebirds Futures

Sunday 10 May, 6.30pm AEST, John Cain Arena (following the Melbourne Vixens vs Queensland Firebirds Round 9 SSN match)

Admission is included with all SSN tickets to this match

Stream all Super Netball Reserves games via Kommunity TV/Code Sports and keep up to date with scores via Play HQ