By Matt Fotia
Adelaide will be dropping off the holiday destination list for anyone associated with the Melbourne Vixens.
At least for a little while.
The perennial finalists made three trips to the City of Churches in the second half of the season for three losses, including a nail biting Grand Final defeat.
After finishing fourth in 2023 the Vixens lost long time champion Liz Watson to the Sunshine Coast in one of the moves of the summer.
Despite the huge loss, Simone McKinnis’ squad strengthened in the build up to 2024, with Diamonds shooter Sophie Garbin, tall circle defender Rudi Ellis and highly touted youth prospect Zara Walters all joining the club.
Ellis, in combination with Emily Mannix, Jo Weston, Kate Eddy (and replacement player Sharni Lambden), helped the Vixens become one of the best defensive sides in the competition, where they ranked second behind the Thunderbirds.
They were riddled with injuries throughout the year, with Ellis, Hannah Mundy and Weston all missing games, whilst Walters and Eddy both spent lengthy periods on the sidelines.
The fact the Vixens were so close to snatching the Premiership in spite of these sizeable roadblocks is a true testament to the character within the squad, which will be looking to go one step further in 2025.
BEST WIN
When the Vixens went down to the Thunderbirds by 25 goals in the Major Semi Final, few people (if any) were confident they would manage to bounce back against an in-form Fever the next week, especially given Dan Ryan’s crew had pinched a one goal win at John Cain Arena just a fortnight before.
But you doubt the Vixens at your own peril.
Led by skipper Kate Moloney, who combined for 68 feeds and 34 assists alongside mid court partner Mundy, the Vixens put the foot down in the third quarter to lead by seven at the final change, before showing great composure to hold off the Fever late.
Sophie Garbin impressed under the post, shooting at 95%, and Emily Mannix made an enormous impact off the bench in the second half to negate the influence of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and put the Vixens into another Grand Final.
The Vixens held on in a thrilling preliminary final.MVP
There have been a lot of column inches dedicated to Kiera Austin in 2024, but every single one has been warranted.
Mundy, Moloney and Mannix all have genuine claims to be the Vixens MVP this season, but when you look at the consistency of Austin’s performances it is hard to look elsewhere.
Austin finished the 2024 campaign with 292 goals, 70 super shots, 311 feeds and 225 assists, as the key cog in the Vixens intimidating front three alongside Garbin and Mundy.
Her ability to stand up on the big stage is what really separates her from the rest of the pack, as she continues to grow her reputation as one of the best goal attacks in the world, rivalling the likes of Helen Housby, Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Steph Fretwell.
Kiera Austin is pushing her case to be the world's best goal attack.FOCUS AREA
The number one focus for the Vixens this off-season is heavily dependent on Emily Mannix, who is due to have her first child in January 2025 and is unsure whether she will play SSN next year.
A week or so ago, the Vixens would have been odds on to call upon long term training partners Sharni Lambden or Gabby Coffey to fill the defensive void.
Both players have since announced they will be playing their netball elsewhere in 2025, with Lambden joining rivals the NSW Swifts and Coffey heading overseas, meaning the Vixens will have to widen their search should Mannix choose to have a year off the game.
Otherwise, the Vixens are set up well for the future with six players currently involved with the Diamonds program, following the call up of Rudi Ellis to the national side.
While youngsters Lily Graham and Zara Walters will no doubt benefit from another pre-season under the watchful eye of McKinnis and their improvement could be the missing piece that propels the Vixens back to the top of the SSN mountain in 2025.
