By Phina Newton.
In the second Victorian Derby of the season, the Melbourne Vixens faced off against the Melbourne Mavericks. This time, the Mavericks in their debut season, had a bit more experience under their belt. In saying this, they were at a disadvantage playing without Eleanor Cardwell, and the Vixens were ready to exploit it.
To begin the game, both teams traded turnovers, but it was the Mavericks who were able to score three goals before the Vixens managed their first. However, the experienced Vixens made a quick adjustment and were able to restore the scores to even at six a piece.
While Shimona Jok was a force early on, often being doubled, the ball was finding its way to Gabby Sinclair. A competent shooter herself, but it was clear she felt intimidated by the taller defenders in Emily Mannix and Rudi Ellis. By quarter time, scores were level at 18 all.
As the game progressed, we saw the Vixens show off their familiarity with one another, particularly between Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin.
They protected each other’s space and made the flow of the ball look easy. The midcourt movement between Kate Moloney and Hannah Mundy looked effortless and soon the Vixens were on a roll.
Down the other end, the Mavericks shooters couldn’t create with the same ease. Firstly, the feeders were losing confidence in Jok, hesitating to pass the ball in, and on occasion, Jok fumbled the ball.
Combine this, with Sinclair struggling with the Vixens' length, meant that the Mavericks’ offence slowed down, but only to the point of being down by five goals at the main break.
Physicality was shown by both teams.With two Victorian teams going head-to-head, it was only expected that it would be a physical game. With penalties already high in the first half, things didn’t change as the game continued.
The Mavericks came out of the break with a sense of urgency and as a result, they were able to get within three goals of the Vixens. It was through their defensive hustle that they started to cause problems for their opponents.
The Mavericks began to shut down the middle channel, intending to force the Vixens wide and to provide them with a better chance at getting hands on ball.
Offensively, thanks to Sinclair keeping Mannix busy outside of the circle, Jok was left one-on-one with her defender, and feeders had better luck giving her the ball.
Despite this promising start, towards the end of the third quarter, things changed. The Mavericks kept making errors and crucial times, allowing the Vixens to capitalise off these - a series of dropped balls and poor passes plagued the Mavericks.
As frustration built amongst the players, the lead continued to stretch out into the fourth quarter.
Molly Jovic never stopped trying to win ball.It wasn’t for lack of effort from the Mavericks, their intensity never dropped. When any Vixens player drove for the ball, the Mavericks were all over it, doing their best to earn an intercept. It wasn’t enough, however, as they just couldn’t make the most of it – often turning the ball over after.
Austin was on the receiving end of a few intercepts, her active hands making her out to be a defender rather than someone who shot seven from seven super shots for the game.
The Vixens finished out the game with mixed emotions, on the one hand, they were able to get young player Lily Graham into the game, where she shot her first goal – a super shot – of her career.
At the same time, however, Ellis who had been key to the Vixens’ win, went down with an ankle injury. The only positive was that Sharni Lambden was able to get valuable time on the court.
While the 19-goal winning margin doesn’t fully encapsulate how close the game was, it gives an idea of why the Vixens now sit on top of the ladder.
