Melissa Woods
Melbourne Vixens have a chance to win back-to-back Super Netball titles for the first time, advancing to the final after a 62-51 preliminary win over West Coast Fever.
The John Cain Arena win means the defending champions will face the Adelaide Thunderbirds at the same venue next Saturday night.
It will be the Vixens’ third straight final – hit fever in 2025after losing to the Thunderbirds last year.
The Vixens entered Saturday night’s final on the back of four straight losses, including a 64-55 loss to the Fever in round 14, and a 13-goal loss in the grand final to Adelaide.
But they took the streak in style, with first-year coach Di Honey saying her team brought their A-game.
“I was quite the rapper, we had a good week of training and there was a good vibe and I felt they were going to come out and produce the kind of netball that has been missing for a couple of weeks,” Honey said.
“It was great to see and there was a real connection on the court, and just the delivery and execution was better than it was, so you were really happy to get to the grand final.”
With their start on target, the Vixens jumped out to a 17-11 lead after the first quarter, sparking a hot streak in the middle of the court.
Kiera Austin has been below par in recent weeks, but the star’s goal attack looked sharp from the opening whistle.
She and fellow Diamonds goalkeeper Sophie Garbin combined well in the circle, with Fever coach Dan Ryan making several changes to his defense to try and lock the pair up.
Named man of the match, Austin finished with 24 goals in 26 attempts, while Garbin scored 35 of 40.
“Kiera played really well tonight – when Kiera hits, the attack stops, we’re a different team,” Honey said.
At the other end of the pitch, Vixens defenders Rudi Ellis and Jo Weston harassed Fever forward Romelda Aiken-George, forcing the veteran into several mistakes.
With the score tied at 11 midway through the second half, Ryan called a timeout for his troops, saying, “Show it. What?
She got an answer, with Sasha Glasgow’s two-point shot to cut the lead to seven, but the Vixens scored four of the next five, including a layup by Garbin in the final second for a 33-24 halftime lead.
The Fever matched the hosts early in the third term, but the Vixens started again, with Lily Graham replacing Garbin during the Super Shot period and adding to the misery with a two-pointer. That put Melbourne up 51-34 heading into the final quarter.
West Coast came back, but the margin was too much to overcome, with Ryan losing for the third time in his first game as head coach of the Fever.
While Aiken-George added to his many records, scoring his 10,000th career National League goal, he was limited to 36 goals from 42 attempts.
Ryan said his team played on the court.
“Full credit to the Vixens, that was back to their best,” he said.
“They were up early and maximized their opportunities from our sales.
“They really came to play, like a tough team does, so it was really good for us today.”
AAP
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