By Phina Newton
The Queensland Firebirds came out ready to play, and starting strong through Donnell Wallam they got themselves an early lead. On the defensive end, the twin towers of Remi Kamo and Ruby Bakewell-Doran were making it difficult for the Adelaide Thunderbirds to feed their shooters.
Without Georgie Horjus out on court, their conversion rate from the centre pass to goals was down and the Firebirds made sure to take advantage.
Romelda Aiken-George was given a sub for Lucy Austin who played alongside Lauren Frew, the young combo providing some relief for their team and didn’t let the lead stretch out any further.
The Firebirds weren’t the only ones who were aggressive defensively, as the Thunderbirds' transition up the court began to slow down due to the Firebirds plugging the middle channel and the length of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson put doubt in the feeders’ minds.
For the Firebirds to remain in control and maintain an advantage, they needed Emily Moore to step up and provide more movement outside the circle. This allowed Donnell Wallam to free up with the likes of Lara Dunkley and Macy Gardner able to find her more easily.
Donnell Wallam played an important role up against Shamera Sterling-Humphrey.The Thunderbirds played around with their shooting combinations, but nothing stood out as something that could get them back in the game. Down by seven goals at halftime, it was clear they had some changes to make at the main break.
It was the Firebirds, however, that brought the energy and were determined not to let this game slip away from them. Wallam continued to thrive, and Tippah Dwan was also brought into the action in GA.
Down the other end, young gun Kayla Graham made her debut for the Thunderbirds, and she slotted right in with a few goals to her name. Her speed and handy footwork showed great promise, but between her and Austin, they couldn’t do enough to bring the margin back.
Despite being the team that was more likely to capitalise in the Power Five, they just couldn’t take advantage and therefore could not eat into the Firebirds' margin.
As consistent as the Firebirds’ shooters were, it was the work down the other end by Bakewell-Doran that proved to be the difference and was ultimately how the Firebirds managed to upset the reigning champions. The deficit stayed at ten goals for most of the second half, so it would have been interesting to see how Horjus’ impact could have affected the result had she been out there.
