The Firebirds started the match with two of the league’s most up and coming defenders Tara Hinchliffe and Kim Jenner dominating in defence. The duo applied tremendous pressure and forced early errors in the Vixens goal ring with the Firebirds quickly capitalising on the mistakes.
There were some early signature Gretel Tippett lay-ups into a commanding Romelda Aiken who shot 14 from 15 in the first quarter.
The Vixens however settled half-way through the first quarter and started to break a tight Firebirds’ defence. Liz Watson and Kate Moloney worked hard and fed well into the circle, leaving the Vixens trailing the Firebirds 15 to 19 at the end of the first quarter.
The Vixens lifted all over the court in the second quarter bringing the scores back to level within eight minutes of play.
In making her return to the Vixens den, Caitlin Thwaites had her eye in with some accurate shooting all throughout the first half, making 21 from 21. This accuracy was mirrored by her off-sider goal attack Tegan Philip who also shot at 100% (14 from 14) in the first half.
The Vixens hit the lead late in the second quarter, but the Firebirds came back strong in the final few seconds to bring the scores back to level going into the main break.
The Vixens started the second half very strong, stretching their lead out to seven goals half way through the second quarter, all kicked off by a strong intercept by Emily Mannix, who was named the Nissan Player of the Match.
It was the pinpoint accuracy of the Vixens that held them in good stead throughout the third quarter with both Thwaites and Philip continuing to shoot at near perfect accuracy, only missing one attempt at goal for the first three quarters. The Vixens took a strong lead into the third quarter break, 55 to 48.
Firebirds captain Gabi Simpson maintained strong defensive pressure throughout the match, making life much easier for her fellow defenders, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to withhold the stable Melbourne Vixens side.
The Vixens found their groove and maintained their lead into the last, holding the Firebirds off to win by 12.
The Vixens also won three of the four quarters to end the match with three Suncorp Super Netball premiership points, plus four for winning the match, finishing with seven in total.
Score breakdown
Q1: Vixens 15 v Firebirds 19
Q2: Vixens 20 v Firebirds 16
Q3: Vixens 20 v Firebirds 13
Q4: Vixens 18 v Firebirds 13
Suncorp Super Netball Premiership Points
Vixens – 7
Firebirds – 1
Vixens shooting statistics
Caitlin Thwaites: 50/51 (98%)
Tegan Philip: 23/24 (96%)
Firebirds shooting statistics
Romelda Aiken: 36/42 (86%)
Gretel Tippett: 23/24 (96%)
Amy Sommerville: 2/2 (100%)
Vixens starting seven:
GS – Caitlin Thwaites, GA – Tegan Philip, WA – Liz Watson, C – Kate Moloney, WD – Renae Ingles, GD – Jo Weston, GK – Emily Mannix
Firebirds starting seven:
GS – Romelda Aiken, GA – Gretel Tippett, WA – Caitlyn Nevins, C – Mahalia Cassidy, WD – Gabi Simpson, GD – Kim Jenner, GK – Tara Hinchliffe.
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