Thunderbirds prove too classy

By Alexander Dabb

For the first time this season the Adelaide Thunderbirds have faced a fierce challenge, battling a fired-up Melbourne Mavericks all the way at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Saturday night.

But it was the Thunderbirds that emerged with the chocolates on Easter weekend, proving too polished to prevail 55 to 48 in the face of a spirited Mavericks challenge, starting the season with four straight wins for the first time since 2006.

It was goal for goal early between the two sides, with the Mavericks looking for another hot start which has become somewhat of a trademark, winning all three first quarters from their opening three Suncorp Super Netball clashes this season.

But the first break went the way of the undeniable Thunderbirds, with a period of errant play from both sides seeing Kate Heffernan and Georgie Horjus combine to find Elmerè van der Berg inside the circle, with the South African coolly converting to send the visitors ahead 6-4.

It is a lead they kept for the rest of the quarter, stretching it out to three goals at one stage after van der Berg slotted the opening Suncorp Super Shot of the contest to go ahead 10-7, however the Mavericks were more than up for the fight.

Jessie Grenvold and Kim Brown showed glimpses down back, Grenvold reeling in multiple intercepts while Brown racked up 25.5 net points, while in attack Reilley Batcheldor and Shimona Nelson were on song in the shooting circle.

A Batcheldor Super Shot saw the lead cut to 11-12 in the dying seconds of the term, but it would be van der Berg with the last say, however, sending the Thunderbirds ahead 13-11 at the break to end the Mavericks streak of hot starts.

Grenvold continued her solid work in the second term with an early intercept resulting in a Mavericks goal, as the home side cut the lead back to one goal, down 13 to 14 in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

As they have done all season so far, though, the Thunderbirds had all the answers when needed, with Lauren Frew converting her first goal of the contest, while Shamera Sterling-Humphrey become more involved, exerting her physicality to win plenty of tough balls.

Van der Berg would soon reestablish the 18-14 lead for the Thunderbirds, prompting Gerard Murphy to call his Mavericks into the huddle for the first tactical time out of the game.

Uneeq Palavi was injected for the Mavs and immediately looked threatening, goaling with her first possession and then providing an assist to Batcheldor as the home side looked to mount a comeback, back to 16-20 down, but the Thunderbirds, led by Heffernan in centre, looked too slick.

The threat of Palavi was constant, though, as she converted two super shots in a row to get the home side back with two, down 22-24, however the Thunderbirds continued to do what was needed, with van der Berg’s accuracy and Latanya Wilson’s continued intercepts seeing the visitors safely ahead 27-22 at the half.

As the two sides ran back out on court in the third term, it looked as though the Thunderbirds were on track to a fourth straight double-digit victory, slowly stretching the Mavericks across the court as the margin reached a game-high eight goals at 31-23 early.

The home side managed to steady, though, going goal for goal as they regained some standing on court, before the game was flipped on its head.

Unable to find good depth with their feeds, the Mavericks decided they would go long, with both Palavi and Batcheldor only shooting from range in the Power Five, and it was a successful strategy, as they each nailed super shots to get back within three goals at 33-36.

The Thunderbirds lost control of the ball off the next centre pass, handing possession back to the Mavericks, however, it proved a wasted opportunity, with the Thunderbirds intercepting to break the run and reinstate a four-goal lead.

Batcheldor and van der Berg would trade super shots at either end, however a Wilson intercept went the length of the court for the Thunderbirds, ensuring the visitors led by five at the final change, although it set up a thrilling finale with the Mavs within striking distance at 35-40 behind with a term to play.

The Mavericks challenge fizzled out as the Thunderbirds looked to put the game to bed early, shooting out to a game-high 11-goal lead halfway through the term.

Palavi and Batcheldor continued to shoot, though, firing the Mavericks back to a respectable seven goals down at the final buzzer, but the Thunderbirds class prevailed.

Coach Tania Obst was thrilled with the way her side was able to work through the challenge, especially against a Mavericks defence they struggled to penetrate early.

“I thought our centre pass conversion was pretty good throughout the game,” Obst said.

“But we were probably getting caught up a little bit with a different style of defence we hadn’t seen previously, and we struggled to work our way through that…

“I thought when we started to mix up the change of timing and release, it started to pay dividends for us.”

Wilson led the way for the Thunderbirds in what really was an even performance, racing up 90 net points from her five intercept, eight deflection effort, while Sterling-Humphrey (82.5 net points), Heffernan (74) and van der Berg (74) weren’t far behind, the latter shooting 44 of her side’s 55 points.

Batcheldor and Grenvold were equally as good for the Mavericks, racking up 73.5 and 71.5 net points respectively, with Grenvold recording a game-high six intercepts as a rock in defence in the absence of the injured Tara Hinchcliffe.

The undefeated Thunderbirds will return home to face the GIANTS on Saturday night, with co-captain Horjus keen to get back in front of a vocal Adelaide crowd.

“Obviously having the home crowd will be nice again, the Adelaide fans are super loud and get around us,” she said.

“We’ve had a bit more of a challenge being away the last couple of weeks and not having the crowd behind us, but I think that’s been a big learning for us.”

Meanwhile, the Mavericks will travel to face the Sunshine Coast Lightning next Sunday at 2pm, where they will hunt their first win since Round 1.