But with four teams jostling for the remaining three finals places on offer, alongside trying to score a 2nd place finish and a Major Semi-Final position, a first-quarter ambush by the Thunderbirds may be costly to the Firebirds’ ambitions.
Few gave the Thunderbirds much hope in this match, given they are without a win all season and were dealt a further blow this week with goal attack Charlee Hodges being ruled out of the last two matches of the season with a foot injury.
That meant Chelsea Pitman was thrust into the foreign role of goal attack to partner shooter Shimona Nelson in the circle.
The two made it their personal mission to stick to defenders Laura Geitz and Kim Jenner like glue, body-on-body play that gave them plenty of possession in attacking positions.
The end result? No bonus point was issued for the first quarter as both teams went into the huddle with 15 goals each.
That could prove critical with just one round left to play and the Sunshine Coast Lightning firmly entering the finals reckoning, after their clean sweep over the NSW Swifts on Saturday.
The scoreboard indicates a thrashing, but for the first two quarters, this was a match that shaped up to be anything but.
The Thunderbirds desperately need a win to show for their season and to send Head Coach Dan Ryan out on a bang.
That intensity showed in the first quarter, as the Thunderbirds nullified the Firebirds normally bulletproof defence and claimed a shock lead.
In fact, the Thunderbirds were desperately unlucky not to have won the term with a Nelson goal on the buzzer – ruled to have splashed in the net a fraction of a second too late.
Geitz and Jenner were racking up penalties at an alarming rate as Nelson and Pitman locked arms with them and frustrated the two out of their usual brand of defence.
Late in the second quarter, the Firebirds found the stops they needed to edge ahead, but at halftime, the match was still very much up in the air.
Finally, the Firebirds broke the game open in a huge 18-9 third quarter which sucked all the wind out of the Thunderbirds’ sails.
The intercepts began to stick for Geitz, centre court marshal Gabi Simpson began to control proceedings again and Nissan MVP Caitlyn Nevins was able to dish off the feeds and assists needed to get the scoreboard ticking over.
It left the Thunderbirds 15 goals in arrears heading into the final term and once again staring down the barrel of certain defeat.
Cathrine Tuivaiti and Abigail Latu-Meafou replaced Nelson and Pitman but they were unable to halt the Queensland surge.
The equation for the Firebirds remains simple – defeat the Collingwood Magpies at home in the last round and a finals berth is theirs.
But where they finish in that top four is still very much up in the air and the Queensland club may be left to rue the bonus point that got away here.
Q1: Firebirds 15 v Thunderbirds 15
Q2: Firebirds 18 v Thunderbirds 12
Q3: Firebirds 18 v Thunderbirds 9
Q4: Firebirds 16 v Thunderbirds 10
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
Firebirds 7
Thunderbirds 0
*No bonus point for drawn first quarter
Firebirds shooting statistics
Romelda Aiken 45/54
Gretel Tippett 22/27
Thunderbirds shooting statistics
Shimona Nelson 33/35
Chelsea Pitman 3/5
Cathrine Tuivaiti 3/3
Abigail Latu-Meafou 7/8
Firebirds starting seven
GS: Romelda Aiken, GA: Gretel Tippett, WA: Caitlyn Nevins, C: Mahalia Cassidy, WD: Gabi Simpson, GD: Kim Jenner, GK: Laura Geitz
Thunderbirds starting seven
GS: Shimona Nelson, GA: Chelsea Pitman, WA: Bongi Msomi, C: Hannah Petty, WD: Fiona Fowler, GD: Leana de Bruin, GK: Kate Shimmin
Nissan MVP: Caitlyn Nevins
