After three days of match play, the Magpies came out of their pool matches with two wins and a loss, taking down the West Coast Fever, NSW Swifts and losing to GIANTS Netball to finish on top of their pool ladder.
The Grand Final was a fierce cross-town battle. The Vixens lead early with 13 first-half goals by the deadly accurate Tegan Philip, but the relentless Magpies pressure saw them fight their way back into the contest to trail by just three at the half-time break.
The second half saw the Magpies come flying on to the court, outscoring the Vixens 23 to 13 on their way to a six-goal win.
New recruit Geva Mentor suffocated the Vixens shooters while the un-guardable Shimona Nelson continued her incredible tournament, pouring in 35 more goals and sealing the game for the Magpies.
For her outstanding efforts Nelson was named the Accor Most Valuable Player in the Grand Final, showing that she’ll be a force to be reckoned with throughout the 2019 Suncorp Super Netball season.
“..this is just the start and part of the building blocks with seven weeks of pre-season to go.”
Magpies Netball co-captain Madi Robinson says her team is thrilled to take home the inaugural Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup.
“It’s very nice to be bringing something back to the Holden Centre to put it in the trophy cabinet,” she said.
“This tournament has been fantastic, it’s been a really good test for us to see where we’re at against the best in the competition – this is just the start and part of the building blocks with seven weeks of pre-season to go.”
While the Melbourne Vixens couldn’t get across the line in the Grand Final, they also had a great tournament, going through their pool matches undefeated against the Queensland Firebirds, Adelaide Thunderbirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning to also finish top of their pool.
In rounding out the weekend, Sunshine Coast Lightning had a strong tournament, finishing third overall ahead of GIANTS Netball, claiming the victory 46-44 in the bronze medal decider.
Earlier in the day, the West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds played out a thrilling 27-all draw and, in an equally as exciting match, the NSW Swifts survived a late come back by the Queensland Firebirds, taking the win by one goal, 42-41.
Almost 7,000 attended the Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup throughout the three days of on-court action and thousands more tuned in to the live streaming of all matches on the Netball Live Official app and Telstra TV, as well as the Grand Final on Channel 9.
All matches can be replayed on the Netball Live Official app.
SESSION FOUR – FINAL SCORES
Adelaide Thunderbirds 27 drew West Coast Fever 27
NSW Swifts 42 def Queensland Firebirds 41
Sunshine Coast Lightning 46 def GIANTS Netball 44
Magpies Netball 39 def Melbourne Vixens 33
