By Matt Fotia
For the second consecutive year, the Adelaide Thunderbirds are Suncorp Super Netball premiers, outlasting the Melbourne Vixens in a see-sawing battle.
The climax of a long season, Grand Finals are intense.
Every pass, every shot, every move, every tip.
All of them count for more on the final day of the season.
Here’s all the moments that mattered from Saturday’s epic.
FIRST QUARTER
It couldn’t have started better for the Vixens, with the enormity of the occasion hitting Tayla Williams at the first whistle.
The Thunderbirds centre overshot the first pass of the game and handed the Vixens possession, and their first score.
The Vixens looked slick and capitalised on another sloppy Thunderbirds possession, with Jo Weston grabbing a pick-up, which was converted by Sophie Garbin to open up a 5-2 lead after just five minutes of play.
Two minutes later and Williams was still getting to grips with the pace of the game, this time overshooting a pass to Horjus, which the Vixens converted, forcing Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst to call a time out, with the Vixens leading 8-3.
Obst made her first move at the 11-minute mark.
She brought skipper Hannah Petty into centre, moved Williams to wing defence, rolled Latanya Wilson into goal defence to combat Kiera Austin and Matilda Garrett headed to the bench.
The move paid immediate dividends, with the Thunderbirds going on a three-goal run after some nice defensive work from Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson to bring the margin back to three. But Kiera Austin nailed her first super shot of the game to push the lead back out to five (Vixens 16-11).
With just 45 seconds left in the quarter, the Vixens held a 16-12 lead and had a throw in in attack.
But Petty caused a deflection which came off Hannah Mundy before going out of play. The Thunderbirds then went end-to-end and converted via Romelda Aiken-George to cut the gap to three.
Quarter Time:
Vixens 16 (Garbin 9 goals, Mundy 5 assists)
Thunderbirds 13 (Aiken-George 11 goals, Sterling-Humphrey 4 deflections)
Hannah Mundy started well for the Vixens, with 5 assists in the first quarter.SECOND QUARTER
Roles were reversed to start the second quarter.
Kate Moloney missed a pass to Kate Eddy and handed the Thunderbirds possession.
Aiken-George converted, and the Lauren Frew finished off from the next centre pass and it was back to a one goal game (Vixens 16-15).
The Vixens remained intent on keeping the ball and stayed uber patient in attack, but eventually made the most of Rudi Ellis’ defensive efforts to re-establish a four-goal lead after consecutive goals from Garbin and Austin in the fifth minute (Vixens 20-16).
The Thunderbirds pounced on a couple of sloppy Vixens errors later in the quarter.
In the ninth minute, Latayna Wilson was out of play and the Vixens had a two-on-one in the circle. Moloney found Garbin at the top, but she was hesitant to shoot and with a held ball call looming, attempted a pass to Hannah Mundy but found the hands of Wilson.
Lauren Frew converted to bring it back to two and Aiken-George then made it one the difference, after two misses and two offensive rebounds from under the post (Vixens 24-23).
Wilson sprung back into action on the next play, deflecting a Vixens feed. She was beaten to the loose ball by Moloney, but the Vixens captain ran out of room and was called for stepping.
Aiken-George converted to tie up the scores and the Thunderbirds made the most of the next centre pass to hit the lead for the first time, 12 minutes into the second quarter (TBirds 25-24).
Momentum shifted with 90 seconds left in the quarter, when Aiken-George was called for an offensive contact on Emily Mannix, who had replaced Rudi Ellis on court.
Garbin converted that turnover, before Austin sunk another super shot to get the lead back with 15 seconds to go in the half, but the Thunderbirds levelled things up via Lauren Frew right on half time.
Half Time:
Vixens 28 (Garbin 14 goals, Mundy 11 assists)
Thunderbirds 28 (Aiken-George 20 goals, Wilson 2 gains)
Latanya Wilson won two massive gains for the Thunderbirds in the second quarter.THIRD QUARTER
The move of Wilson into goal defence continued to pay off for Obst.
The Jamaican beat both Vixens goalers to a rebound and set up a two-goal swing for the Thunderbirds (TBirds 30-28).
Eight minutes into the third quarter and Kiera Austin had provided an option at a centre pass and moved the ball on quickly for Mundy who had transitioned towards circle edge.
Sterling-Humphrey, who sensed an opportunity, left Garbin and grabbed the intercept, setting up another Thunderbirds two-goal swing, and a four-goal lead (TBirds 38-34).
The Vixens answered back, with Kiera Austin nailing another super shot to cut the margin in half before Jo Weston forced a turnover which Garbin converted. (TBirds 39-38).
The Vixens then had a chance to take the lead off the next centre pass, but Sterling-Humphrey made another big play on Moloney at circle edge.
She gathered the ball and passed it back to Wilson before falling out of play. Goal attack Lauren Frew converted at the other end to extend the Thunderbirds lead back to two (TBirds 40-38).
Thirteen minutes into the third quarter and veteran Laura Scherian was brought on at wing attack. Georgie Horjus was moved into goal attack and Frew came to the bench.
The Vixens stayed true to their patient game plan, retreating to the transverse line on multiple occasions before Austin levelled the scores with just over a minute left in the quarter (40-40).
Scherian made an immediate impact. She pounced on a loose ball with 15 seconds left in the quarter, which the Thunderbirds converted via Aiken-George (TBirds 42-41).
The Vixens were forced to take the centre pass but were unable to score before the end of the quarter.
THREE QUARTER TIME:
Thunderbirds 42 (Aiken-George 32 goals, Sterling-Humphrey 3 intercepts)
Vixens 41 (Austin 21 goals, Moloney 25 feeds)
Kiera Austin was deadly from long range.FOURTH QUARTER
It was a bad start to the final term for the Vixens.
Kate Eddy worked a one-two with Weston but was unable to control the return pass. Scherian swooped in and the Thunderbirds completed a three-goal run to start the final quarter (TBirds 45-41).
Aiken-George then stood up with a huge take between two Vixens defenders, and grabbed the offensive rebound from a missed Horjus shot. Horjus converted the penalty shot and maintained the Thunderbirds four goal advantage (TBirds 48-44).
Another case of bad hands followed.
Weston was unable to grab hold of an Austin pass. Scherian was there again to capitalise and started another Thunderbirds two-goal swing, which extended the lead to a game high six, with 10 minutes to play (TBirds 50-44).
Kiera Austin hit another super shot to start the final power five of the season and cut the margin to four, before sinking another from the Vixens next centre pass to bring it back to three, with four minutes remaining (TBirds 56-53).
Just over three minutes remained when Latayna Wilson forced a fumble from Austin, which was sent up court to be converted by Aiken-George. The Thunderbirds made the most of the next centre pass and restored their six-goal buffer with 2:45 left on the clock (TBirds 59-53).
Austin then replied with another super shot (TBirds 59-55).
Only a little over one minute remained when Scherian looked laterally for Petty, and it was picked off cleanly by Moloney. Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson doubled up on Austin and forced Garbin to make a super shot attempt.
She missed and was unable to complete a miraculous rebound (TBirds 59-55).
Thirty seconds remained when Aiken-George fumbled under intense pressure from Rudi Ellis, who had replaced Emily Mannix midway through the quarter, and gave the Vixens a throw in.
Eddy launched a long ball, which caused a collision between Mundy and Petty and the ball found its way to Austin in super shot range with less than 10 seconds on the clock.
After a delay Austin shot her seventh super shot for the match, as the siren sounded (TBirds 59-57).
Full Time:
Thunderbirds 59 (Aiken-George 42 goals, Petty 25 feeds, Sterling-Humphrey 3 intercepts)
Vixens 57 (Austin 35 goals, Mundy 35 feeds, Mundy 3 pickups)
