By Matt Fotia
Consistent injuries have hit the Melbourne Vixens during the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball season, but Simone McKinnis’ side has once again qualified for the finals.
The Vixens will travel to Adelaide 36ers Arena on Saturday afternoon to take on the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Major Semi Final, having beaten out a fast-finishing West Coast Fever for the double chance.
More importantly for Vixens fans their side was able to field their contracted 10 for the first time since Round 3, with Hannah Mundy returning to the side after missing their Round 13 loss to the Fever.
Mundy finished the game with 16 feeds and 10 assists from 44 minutes of court time.
14 players have taken the court for the Vixens this year, with Sharni Lambden, Gabrielle Coffey, Ruby Barkmeyer and Emily Andrew some of the names called upon at various times during the campaign.
McKinnis congratulated her side on its ability to roll with the inconsistency of selection across the season.
“It was great to have everybody,” McKinnis said.
“We acknowledged it was the first time we had everyone back together, so we celebrated and enjoyed that fact.
“We’ve had some fantastic people that have stepped in and stepped up for us across the year which I’m really proud of.
“It takes a squad, it’s not just the 10 across the season.”
Kate Eddy has missed a sizeable chunk of the 2024 SSN season through injury.The Vixens went into the game with the Firebirds off the back of two consecutive losses and with obvious focus on team defence.
Six Vixens finished the game with a gain, goalkeeper Rudi Ellis leading the way with nine, as they kept the Firebirds to just 36 goals in the first three quarters.
Goal shooter Sophie Garbin spoke about the emphasis McKinnis had placed on the Vixens defensive output heading into the match against the Firebirds.
“Going into the last couple of rounds we’ve really wanted to be a strong defensive team,” Garbin explained.
“If you look across the league everybody’s got strong attackers, and anyone can beat anyone on any given day.
“Simone’s talked about it throughout the whole season, about defence from everyone on the court.”
The Vixens have missed the finals just twice since the inception of the Suncorp Super Netball league and have finished in the top two on three occasions.
McKinnis spoke about the pressure of playing before the chasing West Coast Fever, especially off the back of those two losses.
“Our mindset was to not be fussed about everything that was happening around,” McKinnis said.
“We were in control of our game and what we were doing today and then we deal with what happens from there.
“We’re excited, we’ve had a win, so we get to celebrate, because it’s been a couple of weeks.
“We’re excited about the week ahead.”
