By Charlotte Knoke
A thrilling Round 1 match-up sees the reigning premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds defeat the Queensland Firebirds 63-62 to kick off their 2024 Suncorp Super Netball campaign.
To start off the game, some uncharacteristic nerves, mistakes and hesitation came from players on both the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Queensland Firebirds in light of the first round, and it took a few minutes for both teams to steady.
Thunderbirds goal attack Lauren Frew made her Suncorp Super Netball debut and although she started off with some understandable nerves, once she settled into the game she impressed with her height, agility and unorthodox playing style, making it difficult for the Firebirds players to defend her.
Shamera Sterling-Humphrey proved she was back in full force this season, picking up plenty of intercepts and rebounds against Firebirds shooter Donnell Wallam.
Wallam impressed with her long-range shooting skills and scored the first supershot of the game for the Firebirds, allowing them to start to claw back the slight deficit they had.
But the Thunderbirds seemed to prove they were picking up right where they left off last season and ended the first quarter with a slight lead, with the score sitting at 18-14.
Former Thunderbird Tippah Dwan pulled out all the stops against her old team.Romelda Aiken-George was a pinnacle player for the Thunderbirds in her first game in the pink dress, with her wealth of experience essential in Adelaide’s shooting circle alongside newcomer Lauren Frew.
Veteran player Laura Scherian also made her debut for the Thunderbirds, and her speed and strength aided in getting the ball down to the shooters seamlessly.
Former Thunderbird Tippah Dwan’s new combination with Wallam was strong, with Dwan doing a wealth of work both inside and outside of the circle to help the Firebirds’ midcourters find Wallam easily.
At the end of the second quarter, Frew slotted in a massive Suncorp Super Shot, helping the Thunderbirds to extend their lead further. Meanwhile, Wallam and Dwan responded with back-to-back Super Shots of their own, but the clinical play from the Thunderbirds meant they maintained their four-goal lead heading into the second half (37-33).
Homegrown South Australian favourite Georgie Horjus impressed in both wing attack and goal attack.
After a hard-fought first half, the Firebirds really started to push to the next level, trying to shift the momentum into their favour.
Georgie Horjus’ connection with the Thunderbirds shooters was extremely strong, and her feeds into both Aiken-George and Frew were confident and well-placed.
Meanwhile, after suffering a significant injury in the off season, Queensland Firebirds captain Kim Ravaillion returned to the court to notch up her 150th national league game.
Dwan continued to put up Suncorp supershots to keep the Firebirds in reach and put pressure on the Thunderbirds. In response, supershot expert Lucy Austin entered the court for Adelaide to keep the advancing Queensland team at bay.
The Firebirds ended the third quarter with momentum, heading into the final quarter down by just one goal, 52-51.
A hard-fought win was the perfect present for birthday girl Tayla Williams.
All locked up, Remi Kamo picked up a loose feed for the Firebirds but Sterling-Humphrey immediately reciprocated with an intercept to regain possession for the Thunderbirds on their centre pass.
The Thunderbirds’ defence intensity really lifted in the final quarter, with both Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson gaining much-needed ball, but the Firebirds maintained their calm and remained goal-for-goal with them.
The final Power Five was the deciding period in the game, with both teams stepping up in both defence and attack. A missed supershot on the buzzer from Wallam meant that the Adelaide Thunderbirds took out the game by just one goal, winning 63-62.
