It was a fifth straight win for the Vixens and a clean sweep of the bonus points, which means they have leapfrogged Giants Netball on the ladder – who lost to the Queensland Firebirds earlier today.
The Vixens were well rewarded for their recent form when the Samsung Diamonds squad for the upcoming Quad Series and Constellation Cup was announced earlier in the day, with Renae Ingles, Tegan Philip, Kate Moloney, Liz Watson, Jo Weston and the injured Emily Mannix all being selected.
They showed no mercy against a Thunderbirds outfit that has yet to win a game this season, blowing them off the court 21-9 in the first quarter and never looking back.
Match Ups
The numbers
| |
Vixens |
Thunderbirds |
| Mins in possession |
32 |
27 |
| Gain |
16 |
6 |
| Intercepts |
9 |
2 |
| Deflections |
17 |
11 |
| Goal shooting % |
87 |
88 |
Wing attack Liz Watson was Nissan MVP with 31 assists, Kadie-Ann Dehaney was huge on the defensive end and finished with five intercepts – while goal shooter Mwai Kumwenda potted 52 goals at a clip of 93 per cent.
One shining light for the Thunderbirds was Cat Tuivaiti, who returned in the last round following knee surgery and played three quarters this week, claiming 28 goals with just one miss.
Despite being heavy underdogs, it was the Thunderbirds that started the stronger with skilful ball movement to get past Vixens goalkeeper Dehaney, to take a slender 5-4 lead.
The pendulum quickly swung however, with the Vixens scoring eight of the next nine goals to push out to a six-goal lead.
From there the Melbourne team took complete control to run away with the quarter 21-9, easily taking the bonus point and posing plenty of questions of the Thunderbirds team.
Tuivaiti was injected into the action in the second quarter, while Bongi Msomi replaced Chelsea Pitman at wing attack in the first term.
Tuivaiti’s influence was immediate, not just on the offensive end but in gelling the entire Thunderbirds squad together.
Halfway through the second quarter, both sides had scored eight goals each and the Adelaide visitors were playing much better than they did in the first term.
It was a better effort, but the Thunderbirds still conceded 45 penalties to 20 in the first half and the Vixens claimed another bonus point and took a 40-23 lead into the main break.
Compounding the Thunderbirds pain, the home team reeled off the first six goals of the third quarter to take full control of the match.
Emma Ryde’s injury replacement Sam Gooden got her shot in the third quarter, brought on to replace Philip with the match already won and done.
The Adelaide team fought hard for the bonus point in the final quarter, but the Vixens were able to hold them off for the clean sweep – which could prove to be crucial come the end of the season.
Q1: Vixens 21 v Thunderbirds 9
Q2: Vixens 19 v Thunderbirds 14
Q3: Vixens 17 v Thunderbirds 12
Q4: Vixens 16 v Thunderbirds 13
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
Melbourne Vixens 8
Adelaide Thunderbirds 0
Vixens shooting statistics
Mwai Kumwenda 52/56
Tegan Philip 17/20
Samantha Gooden 4/7
Thunderbirds shooting statistics
Cathrine Tuivaiti 28/29
Charlee Hodges 13/15
Shimona Nelson 7/9
Vixens starting seven
GS: Mwai Kumwenda, GA: Tegan Philip, WA: Liz Watson, C: Kate Moloney, WD: Renae Ingles, GD: Jo Weston, GK: Kadie-Ann Dehaney
Thunderbirds starting seven
GS: Shimona Nelson, GA: Charlee Hodges, WA: Chelsea Pitman, C: Kaitlyn Bryce, WD: Fiona Fowler, GD: Leana de Bruin, GK: Kate Shimmin
Nissan MVP: Liz Watson
