The 5000-day curse broken by netball's Thunderbirds
The Adelaide Thunderbirds have bounced back into the Super Netball top four, kept their three-peat dream alive and ended one of the longest droughts in Australian sport with a gritty 56-53 victory over the Melbourne Vixens.
Remarkably given all their recent successes, it was the Thunderbirds' first away win over the Vixens since June 6, 2010 - 5511 days ago - snapping a 12-game losing streak against Melbourne in their own backyard at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
Adelaide (6-6) set up their drought-breaking triumph with a barnstorming start and miserly finish after being challenged by the third-ranked Vixens (7-5) in the middle.
Georgie Horjus was shifted from wing attack to goal attack midway through the second quarter and finished with seven goals without a miss - including two super shots - as well as nine assists to help end Melbourne's five-game winning stretch.
"We probably didn't play our best netball but we grinded it out," Horjus said.
"We knew we had to win, so now we're still in the hunt for finals, which is exciting for the next couple of weeks."
"We've had some really close games but this gives us confidence we can do it ugly."
With Romelda Aiken-George presenting a strong target and Tayla Williams impressing through the centre, Adelaide burst out to an 18-10 lead.
Kiera Austin's quickfire two-pointer on the quarter-time siren dragged the margin back to 19-14 and gave the Vixens the momentum entering the second term.
Melbourne's defensive trio Jo Weston, Kate Eddy and Rudi Ellis upped the physical pressure and the T'birds dropped off their hot early level as the Vixens trimmed the deficit to 30-29 at half-time.
Big buzzer beater to keep Vixens in touch 🔥Watch every game live on Kayo Sports, Foxtel and Binge. pic.twitter.com/VFXqRTnfCf
— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) June 29, 2025
Adelaide superstar Latanya Wilson was creating havoc at goal defence but she lacked support as the home side continued to impose themselves.
Sophie Garbin hit 11 without a miss, including the goal which gave Melbourne their first lead, 46-44 at the final change, which they held onto.
The Vixens' frontcourt coughed up repeated turnovers in the fourth term while misfiring from long range.
Horjus's two-pointer over Weston and Ellis gave Adelaide the lead for good as the visitors swamped Melbourne 12-7 i
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