By Caitlin Greenwood
With 11,427 fans on their feet at RAC Arena, the Fever powered to a dominant 82-65 win over the Queensland Firebirds.
It was a tightly contested affair early in the opening quarter, with both teams trading goals and showing strong intent. The Firebirds impressed initially with great defensive pressure across the transverse line, while Fever’s Kadie-Ann Dehaney made her presence felt, causing issues for Firebirds shooter Mary Cholhok.
Fever broke first with a three-goal lead, prompting the Firebirds to call a tactical timeout.
Abigail Latu-Meafou provided a crucial spark for the Firebirds with the sides' first super shot of the match, offering a much-needed boost. However, it was Alice Teague-Neeld who dominated the quarter, racking up an impressive 11 assists and 11 feeds, along with a turnover, to help steer Fever to a 21-16 lead at the first break.
The second quarter saw the Firebirds lift their intensity, particularly in defence, as they made Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard work harder for every feed. Young defender Isabelle Shearer stood tall under pressure, putting up a strong contest against the dominant Fever shooter.
Despite the Firebirds’ renewed pressure, the Fever maintained clinical efficiency, boasting a perfect 100% gain-to-goal rate. The visitors managed a run of three consecutive goals and had an opportunity to add a fourth with a centre pass but failed to convert.
Fowler-Nembhard calmly slotted her 32nd goal of the game to notch up her 6500th Suncorp Super Netball goal, becoming the first player in the competition’s history to reach the milestone.
Teague-Neeld was dominant for the Fever, finishing with 24 assists, 29 feeds and three turnovers.As the quarter wore on, the Firebirds briefly closed the gap to within five goals with five minutes remaining, but the home side’s control and conversion proved too strong as they finished 42-31 at halftime.
The Firebirds came out firing in the third quarter, opening with a 4-1 run and applying relentless defensive pressure, contesting every ball and unsettling the usually composed Fever attack. Hulita Veve was instrumental through the middle, driving the Firebirds’ momentum, while Fever found themselves trailing 7-3.
After a shaky start at goal attack, Liv Wilkinson settled into the game and found her rhythm.
Meanwhile, the Firebirds made a tactical switch, bringing on Latu-Meafou for Cholhok, a move that paid off immediately. Latu-Meafou and Emily Moore dropped consecutive super shots, helping the Firebirds to a 17-13 lead for the quarter.
Fever remained composed, content to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Imogen Allison, cleared to play after concussion protocols, was active and aggressive for the Firebirds, consistently hunting and disrupting play.
Wilkinson nailed a timely super shot to level the quarter, before Dehaney came up with a vital deflection on the buzzer to cap off the home side’s late surge and extend their lead to 13 heading into the final term.
Fever delivered a crushing 8-2 run in the opening minutes to blow the game wide open. Their lead ballooned to 19 points in the blink of an eye, prompting a tactical timeout from Firebirds coach Kiri Wills, who called for more focus from her team.
Despite the scoreboard pressure, the Firebirds kept pushing. Moore drained a super shot following a heavy collision between Latu-Meafou and Jess Anstiss. But the Fever’s defence led by a standout second half from Kadie-Ann Dehaney, continued to disrupt any momentum.
With the Green Army in full voice, Fever closed out the quarter with composure and intensity, sealing a dominant 82–65 win.
