Vixens complete fairytale season with upset win over Fever in Super Netball grand final thriller
McKinnis announced mid-season she was departing after 13 years at the helm, sparking a turnaround in form from the Vixens.
Despite taking the scalps of reigning premiers Adelaide and the highly-fancied NSW Swifts during the finals, the closest the fourth-placed Vixens had got to minor premiers the Fever in two meetings was 10 points, back in Round 3.
But the Vixens played a fearless brand of netball in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,013 at Rod Laver Arena to quell the Fever and make amends for last year's grand final loss to the Thunderbirds.
It ended a record run of 13 straight victories for the Fever heading into the decider.
The first quarter was an arm-wrestle as the fierce rivals felt their way, with Fever goal-keeper Kadie-Ann Dehaney hitting the deck in the opening exchanges.
While the Fever edged ahead by two goals midway through the quarter, the Vixens took the honours 17-16, with a two-point super shot by Kiera Austin helping keep her team in front.
It put the Fever in unfamiliar territory - the last time losing an opening quarter back in round three against the Vixens.
The second quarter ended in similar fashion with the home side in front 33-31 with Austin again securing a vital super shot.
While West Coast's Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard still managed to shoot 27 goals for the half she was under plenty of pressure in the circle from Jo Weston, who was a stand-out for the Vixens.
The Fever drew level midway through the third quarter but the Vixens again kicked away after the injection of star wing attack Hannah Mundy, sidelined for the past month with a foot injury, and Melbourne led 48-43 at the break.
Having themselves pegged back an 11-goal deficit in the final quarter to down the Swifts, the Vixens were aware the title was far from won.
The Fever had a few late chances to level the match but Vixens goal-keeper Rudi Ellis managed to keep the ball from the clutches of Fowler Nembhard before Weston also spoilt their attack.
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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Super Netball: West Coast Fever captain Jess Anstiss laments loss of home grand final
West Coast Fever captain Jess Anstiss stopped short of blaming the venue for Saturday night's upset grand final defeat to Melbourne Vixens but admitted it 'would have been nice' to play the decider in Perth. Despite finishing on top of the ladder after winning a league record 13 successive games, with the Vixens fourth at the end of the home-and-away season, the game was played in Victoria. Netball Australia sold the decider to the highest bidder, the Victorian Government, in the pre-season and the game was played at Rod Laver Arena for the first time in front of a record 15,013 spectators. There was a swathe of green sprinkled throughout the stadium who found voice, notably when the Fever staged a thrilling comeback later in the game. 'Obviously we love playing at home at RAC Arena and having the right to potentially have that, but we know that they sell the grand final now, due to sponsorship, or whatever it is, that it was going to be in Melbourne, we knew we had to win away,' Anstiss said after the wrenching 59-58 defeat. 'It's a bit harder that it worked out to be a Vixens home game, but we had so many fans here, and it was actually insane when you walked out and you heard the green army screaming. 'It took me by surprise how many people we had there and how loud that was so that was fantastic. But yeah, I guess I don't agree or disagree whether they sell it or not, but it would have been great to have had it at home.' Anstiss admitted it was 'pretty tough' losing the grand final after their stellar form in the lead up. 'Not the one loss that you want to have,' she said. 'We've done so well all season and we really thought that we could do it (on Saturday). 'We had the belief, we had the confidence, and... we didn't show up and execute and that's what's disappointing. 'We know that if we did come and play our best game, we would have won, because we lost by one, and we did not come and play anywhere near our best level.' Down five goals at three-quarter time in a physical game in front of a loud pro-Vixens crowd, the Fever nearly snatched victory, with a 15-goal to 11 final term. Star Jamaican goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard shot 52 goals at 100 per cent including one super goal for the Fever. For the Vixens, Kiera Austin finished with 26 goals, including three super goals, had 23 goals assists and was named player of the match. The Fever, who had not lost since round two, trailed the Vixens at every break and Anstiss said the team did some soul searching at half-time. 'We discussed it at half-time in that second quarter we had quite a few opportunities, we had turnover ball and had opportunities to go down and convert that, and we didn't,' she said. 'We knew that after half-time we needed to get on top of that, and we tried. 'It was hard. Like every time we won ball, we felt like it was coming back down. We also knew that the opportunities were far and few in between. So we knew that we needed to convert those and we didn't. 'The Vixens were really good today in trying to stop us and they had their game plan right,' Coach Dan Ryan said the crowd was 'insane'. 'It just felt a little bit chaotic across the board today but they are the things you have to endure and keep your poise in those moments,' he said. 'Even when the the game does feel a little bit disconnected and clunky you still have to find a comfortable flow even if it's not what you're normally used to.' He said the team started to win the 'moments' in the final quarter. 'I think everyone was feeling that, and we did a much better job in the last quarter of nailing those moments, to put real pressure on the opposition to give ourselves every chance of maybe making a bit of a surge,' he said. 'It was a very high penalised game. There was a lot of contact from both teams, which took a lot of flow and tempo out of the game, and it was sometimes difficult to read which way the balls were going. 'And obviously it was chaotic, because the crowd was insane. So I think it just felt a little bit chaotic across the board out there. ' Ryan said it was a 'very different' from the home-and-away season. 'Our younger players who are just starting off their journey at this level will learn a huge amount from today's experience,' Ryan said. 'We will all be disappointed with the quality of the performance that we put out there, but experience is everything in those moments and that is probably where the Vixens had the edge. 'All their players on that court played in a grand final last year, they know how hard it is. We will learn from it and will take the wisdom and experience that we gained from it. 'But certainly over the next couple of weeks won't make the result any less challenging.' Ryan did not think super shots were the difference, with the Vixens putting on scoreboard pressure with them throughout the game, and the Fever hitting only one, in the final term. 'We were in a situation the last quarter, we had to take them because we're chasing a scoreboard,' he said. 'It's not a decision, do you or do you not? And you know, the players have freedom in the game to attack the super shot at any point in time. 'I think probably what hindered that potentially was we weren't in flow. So you don't want to be in a situation where you're forcing super shots because you feel the pressure to have to take them. 'Well, I guess we won one point netball and lost super shot netball. 'So for sure, it plays an element to it. But you know, we still had a chance in that last quarter to level the game and put them under enormous pressure and see what they were going to do. 'We had two cracks at that moment. We didn't nail it. So super shot will always be a talking point in the game, but I don't think it was the difference between either side today.' It was a redemption story for the Vixens who had lost the last two grand finals, to the Fever in Perth in 2022 and the Adelaide Thunderbirds last season. It was also an emotional farewell to their coach Simone McKinnis who is stepping away after 13 years at the helm. They did it after turning their season around from a 2-4 start - the Fever also began 0-2 before they began their winning streak. 'We feel flat, we feel lifeless ... Maybe we just need to go to to the pub,' McKinnis said at the time. Her captain Kate Moloney leaned on that comment in her post-match victory speech, saying: 'We're going to the pub.' McKinnis was not sure if she would miss the job. 'Maybe I won't miss it, maybe I'll enjoy having a life again,' she said. 'I'm looking forward to being unemployed. 'I'll be by the pool.'
Sydney Morning Herald
8 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Vixens complete the fairytale finish for their departing coach, winning by a single goal
The Melbourne Vixens completed their fairytale finish for outgoing coach Simone McKinnis, defeating the powerhouse West Coast Fever by a single goal, 59-58, to win the Super Netball grand final on Saturday night in her final game after 13 years at the helm. Vixens captain Kate Moloney paid tribute to McKinnis and her enormous legacy in the post-match presentation. 'You've taken us to five grand finals, you've now won your third premiership – you are an incredible leader. This club would not be the same without you,' she said. 'When you walked in the doors 13 years ago, you taught us how hard we had to work, you showed us some tough love, but most importantly you cared for us, you believed in us, and you nurtured every single athlete that walked through those doors and you made them better.' It was the Vixens' first Super Netball title in five years. McKinnis announced mid-season she was departing, sparking a turnaround in form from the Vixens. 'It was just about going out there again as we have been – that they had to work hard for it ... I thought we were the one team that could beat them,' McKinnis said. Vixens star Jo Weston expressed the jubilation best soon after the final whistle. Almost overcome with a combination of joy and relief, she said to Fox Sports: 'I think we're going to head to the pub.' By contrast, a shattered Fever captain Jess Anstiss said: 'Pure devastation, to be honest.' And it's little wonder. The dominant Fever (12 wins and two losses) finished on top of the ladder, and were riding a 13-game winning streak into the season finale, while the Vixens (8-6) just scraped into fourth. Just last week, the Vixens only advanced to the decider after somehow overcoming a 10-goal three-quarter-time deficit in the preliminary final against a red-hot NSW Swifts. In front of a soldout crowd 15,013 at Rod Laver Arena, the Vixens took an early lead, with Moloney delivering a flawless centre pass, allowing star goal shooter Sophie Garbin to take the opening goal. The Fever countered quickly, delivering to Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, the competition's best shooter. Fever defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney was a formidable obstacle to Garbin, interrupting and intercepting her several times. At the end of the first quarter the Fever had a two-goal lead heading into the super shot period, however the Vixens managed to score with a brilliant long shot. The third quarter saw the Vixens pull in front, much to the delight of the roaring, parochial crowd. Play intensified in the fourth quarter, with the Vixens pulling ahead. Frustration in the Fever team saw them fumble some crucial passes as the clock ticked down and the pressure grew. But they continued to target Fowler-Nembhard, and she continued to loom as the potential heartbreaker for the Vixens until the home side regained their composure in the dying minutes and held on to possession for dear life. At the final whistle there were smiles, tears and cheers as the Vixens rushed from all corners to embrace each other. In their third grand final against the Fever since 2020 (with the two sides locked at a win apiece, in 2020 and 2022), the Vixens won by the slimmest of margins.
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Perth Now
Vixens coach McKinnis leaves mark in fairytale finish
While Simone McKinnis hasn't closed the book on her coaching career, her Melbourne Vixens captain Kate Moloney says she will leave an enduring legacy at the Super Netball club. The Vixens sent McKinnis out with a fairytale finish, coming from fourth on the ladder to upset the minor premiers West Coast Fever in the grand final 59-58. They led after every quarter to end the Fever's 13-game winning streak in front of a raucous record crowd of more than 15,000 at Rod Laver Arena. With her team struggling at 2-4 after six rounds the popular coach announced her 13th season would be her last and said that cleared the air, sparking a huge turnaround in form as they won their next five straight. Looking for a solution to their woes she famously joked at that time that, "Maybe we just need to go to the pub". They did, but not for a big booze-up, but as a team bonding session, which strengthened the connection between the teammates. Moloney, 32, has played all of her career under under McKinnis and said the coach deserved the highest praise. "She's given everything she possibly could to our club and to me and to every athlete that came through this door and to be able to send her off like this... "Our club will be different without her but she will leave a legacy that lives on forever and ever at our club. "From her very first day to her last she's driven standards - she demands a lot of her players but we have so much respect and love for her and she will absolutely back you to the end of the earth when you play underneath her. "She's taken us to five grand finals and now three premierships and that's a pretty amazing legacy to leave behind." McKinnis, 59, said she felt she still had more to give to the game but was looking forward to taking a rest. "I'll have a break and see what it looks like post (break), I don't know," she said. "I'm open to having a rest that's it, but it's not that I don't want to coach and I've had enough. "If opportunities are there, I am a coach, that's what I do, that's what I love - or maybe I won't miss it, maybe I'll enjoy having a life again." The Vixens only managed one training session after travelling back from Sydney, where they beat the NSW Swifts in their preliminary final. But McKinnis sensed something special was brewing after their final training run. "I knew that they knew what they were doing, that they felt prepared and they had clarity around it and I just I knew that they could do it, and ultimately they believed that they could do it as well," McKinnis said. "At different times in the game I was just watching and I was just like, 'Wow that's that's really good' because you could see the pressure and that was one of the objectives, just put them under pressure, put them under pressure."
