By Pip Turton
A grand final rematch, this time on Fever’s home court in the west, brought a wave of anticipation that they could challenge the ladder-leading Vixens, who arrived with a six-game unbeaten streak.
The opening quarter felt like a bit of a statement from both sides.
Fever came out with serious defensive intent, bringing that high-pressure style that can rattle even the calmest attacking units. But the Vixens didn’t panic.
Sophie Garbin got things rolling early, and from there, it was clear she was going to be a steady presence under the post all night.
At the other end, Romelda Aiken-George answered back, and the game settled into a physically impressive rhythm.
There were little moments that stood out like Hannah Mundy throwing herself into a contest, or Fran Williams working overtime to body up on Kiera Austin.
And then there was Kate Eddy, who single-handedly won player of the match in that first term. She had a huge impact early with a couple of clean intercepts.
By the time the power 5 period rolled around, you could feel the focus sharpen. No rushed plays, no panic, just two teams trying to outthink each other.
The Vixens edged it 12–10 at quarter time, but it felt very much like anyone’s game.
Sasha Glasgow and Kate Eddy in a strong contest for the rebound.
Things began to tilt in the second quarter, just slightly at first. Kate Moloney really stepped into her role, controlling the tempo and feeding the circle with purpose, and it gave the Vixens a sense of control.
Fever, to their credit, kept adjusting. Aside from the game, Ruth Aryang entered the court for the first time in over a year, a moment all netball fans could appreciate. She immediately made life harder for Garbin, while Jess Anstiss just kept doing what she does best, covering ground, applying pressure, and never switching off.
There was also a bit of experimentation in the shooting circle, with Olivia Wilkinson coming on to add a different look.
As the Super Shot window opened, Sasha Glasgow absolutely delivered back-to-back long bombs that brought the crowd right back into it.
Still, the Vixens just felt that little bit more settled. Austin’s feeds were sharp, Garbin stayed strong, and defensively, the changes like bringing on Zara Walters and shifting Eddy worked nicely.
By halftime, the margin had stretched to 27–20, and you got the sense the Vixens were building something.
There was no stopping Garbin as she took control in attack.
The third quarter really underlined that feeling. Fever were still working hard, especially through Williams in defence, but they struggled to generate consistent ball outside of centre pass situations.
Once the Vixens found a bit of flow, they made it count. A run of five straight goals pushed the margin out, and suddenly the pressure flipped.
Kiera Austin was right in the middle of it all, balancing her role between feeder and scorer, while Garbin just kept ticking over.
Wilkinson scored a Super Shot, which definitely gave Fever a spark, but the Vixens didn’t let it turn into a momentum shift.
Heading into the final quarter, they were up by 11 and looking pretty comfortable.
Olivia Wilkinson fires a goal attempt in a high-intensity moment.
That being said, the last quarter had a slightly different vibe.
Maybe it was the crowd, or it was just that “not quite done yet” mentality, but Fever charged again.
It wasn’t flawless, there were still patches where they couldn’t quite get a clean ball to the circle edge, but there was intent.
Players like Jordan Cransberg lifted, and Wilkinson kept backing herself with the long-range shot.
You could feel the urgency build, especially in those final few minutes where every possession weighed heavily.
To their credit, Fever actually won the last quarter.
But the gap they were chasing had been built earlier, and the Vixens had enough composure to close it out without letting things unravel.
The final score was 50–44, extending the Vixens’ unbeaten run to seven straight wins.
