No hunger, no fight

By Stephanie Smarrelli

There were no excuses from the Melbourne Vixens after their Grand Final defeat to the Adelaide Thunderbirds, with head coach Di Honey and captain Kate Moloney laying bare the shortcomings that ended the club's premiership defence.

"There was no hunger, there was no fight,” Honey said.

Reflecting on the team’s Grand Final loss to the Thunderbirds immediately after the match, the first-year head coach did not sugarcoat the side’s performance.

Neither did captain Kate Moloney, whom Honey praised for her perseverance despite the result.

“We didn't bring it,” Moloney said. 

“Not one player could stand there and say they beat their opponent today.  

“It takes seven or ten who got out there on court to go out and beat their opponent and we didn't do that.”

While the raw emotions were still settling, Moloney said what disappointed her most was not the loss itself.

“The performance we put out there wasn't good enough for the people who turned up to watch,” she said. 

“That's what hurts me the most.

“We've got the most loyal supporters who come every week and to lose by 20-something goals is really tough.”  

Despite the disappointment, Moloney was quick to acknowledge the Thunderbirds’ performance.

“We prepped ourselves to really compete today and we only did it for 15 minutes, that's not good enough,” Moloney said.

“Credit to the Thunderbirds, they were absolutely incredible in the way they adapted during the game.

“It was super disappointing our performance at this level wasn’t good enough.”

The Vixens were leading by a goal at the first break before the game broke open.

“The second quarter killed us,” Moloney said.

“They're a team that when they get on top of you, they really start to come out of their skins and win ball.

“We didn't stand up to it, and we weren't strong enough in that moment.  

“We didn't have enough fight and enough hunger to go and get the ball back.

"Twelve goals down, we were still in it at halftime, and we competed well in the third then we lost it again in the fourth.”

Moloney believes there was one key difference that changed the game.

“Our ball movement was really good early, but the Thunderbirds adapted the way they were defending, and we weren't able to change it in the moment.” she said.

“...they're incredible players and we felt we had the game plan to do it, we just didn't execute.”

Honey echoed Moloney’s assessment, crediting the Thunderbirds’ coaching staff for their tactical adjustments.

“I knew I had to make changes because they changed,” Honey said.  

“They made her [Elmeré] move on Rudi and Rudi probably could contain a holding shooter so that's the reason I moved Mannix because I thought Mannix would be able to contain the moving circle and then [Elmeré] started to hold.  

“It was like playing chess, it was good coaching by them and unfortunately, we didn't have anything to combat that today."  

Honey also pointed to the Thunderbirds’ stars as a decisive factor.

"They've got true athletes,” Honey said.

“Their athleticism is unreal and we played into that today big time, especially with the two Jamaicans in the circle.

“We didn't keep to our game plan.

“We were told not to lift it and don't go cross court and that's everything we did.

“Credit to them, they forced us into that and unfortunately that's what happened.”  

While it was a disappointing end to a campaign in which the Vixens were chasing back-to-back premierships, Moloney said she remained proud of what the group had achieved.

“To make three Grand Finals in a row, to make five in seven years is a pretty incredible feat,” Moloney said.

“The fact we've been consistently at the top is a credit to our club and what they put into it.  

“These girls are incredible athletes, incredible people and teammates.

“I know this is hurting them a lot, I know it won't sit well for them going into next year.

“But I am proud of the consistency that we've been able to have over the past however many years.”