Melissa Woods
The Melbourne Vixens have the chance to claim back-to-back Super Netball titles for the first time, moving into the grand final after a thumping 62-51 preliminary final victory over the West Coast Fever.
The rousing win at John Cain Arena means the reigning champions take on the Adelaide Thunderbirds at the same venue next Saturday night.
It will be the Vixens’ third successive grand final – beating the Fever in 2025, after losing to the Thunderbirds the previous year.
The Vixens entered Saturday night’s grand final qualifier on the back of four-straight losses, including a 64-55 defeat by the Fever in round 14, and a 13-goal major semi-final loss to Adelaide.
But they snapped that streak in style, with first-year coach Di Honey saying her team brought their A-game.
“I was absolutely rapt, we had a really good training week and there was a good vibe and I just felt they would get out and produce that sort of netball that has been missing for a couple of weeks,” Honey said.
“It was so good to see and there was a real connection on court, and just the delivery and execution was so much better than it has been, so absolutely rapt to have made the grand final.”
With their start a key focus, the Vixens steamed to a 17-11 lead after the first quarter, setting the tempo with a blistering mid-court attack.
Kiera Austin had been below her best in recent weeks, but the superstar goal attack looked sharp from the opening whistle.
She and fellow Diamonds goaler Sophie Garbin combined brilliantly in the circle, with Fever coach Dan Ryan making several changes to his defence to try to cap the pair.
Named player of the match, Austin finished with 24 goals from 26 attempts, while Garbin made 35 from 40.
“Kiera played fantastic tonight – when Kiera’s firing, the attack end fires, we’re a different team,” Honey said.
Down the other end of the court, Vixens defenders Rudi Ellis and Jo Weston unsettled Fever shooter Romelda Aiken-George, pressuring the veteran into a number of errors.
With the margin out to 11 goals midway through the second half, Ryan called a timeout to lay down the law to his troops, saying, “Sharpen up. Do you want it or not?”
He got a response, with a Sasha Glasgow two-point shot closing the lead to seven, but the Vixens got four of the next five goals, including a lay-up by Garbin in the final second for a 33-24 half-time lead.
The Fever matched the hosts early in the third term, but the Vixens again kicked away, with Lily Graham replacing Garbin during the Super Shot period to add to the misery with a two-point shot. That put the Melbourne outfit up 51-34 heading into the final quarter.
West Coast came again, but the margin proved too big to overhaul, with Ryan suffering his third preliminary-final loss as Fever head coach.
While Aiken-George added to her many records, scoring her 10,000th national league career goal, she was limited to 36 goals from 42 attempts.
Ryan said his team were outplayed across the court.
“Full credit to the Vixens, that was them back to their very best,” he said.
“They were up and about early and maximised their opportunities off our turnovers.
“They really did come to play, like a hardened team does, so too good for us today.”
AAP
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