The Melbourne Vixens have retained their perfect start to 2026 Super Netball season, holding off an invigorated NSW Swifts side by seven points.
The Sydneysiders blew a six-point lead, with the loss signalling trouble as they are now sitting 1-5 to start the season and in seventh place on the ladder.
The Vixens’ 66-59 victory was helped along by the absence of almost 300 games’ worth of experience in the Swifts line-up following injuries to key players Helen Housby and Sarah Klau. Speaking before today’s Heritage Round match, Swifts coach Briony Akle confirmed that their clutch queen, Housby will be sidelined for an indefinite period due to a back injury.
In her stead, youngster Grace Whyte was given the starting goal attack bib. Whyte’s connection to shooting partner Grace Nweke has gone from strength to strength this season as she has played wing attack. On Saturday, however, she showed her shooting chops by sinking seven from 15 including three super shots, to accompany her astronomical 40 feeds.
The Vixens cycled through the defence in an effort to stem the aerial balls going into Nweke. For her part, Rudi Ellis was the most effective, collecting three gains, while Jo Weston also added four deflections.
With three pathways athletes out due to injuries, the Swifts had to dig into their archives to find a replacement player for Klau, who is rehabbing a quad injury and expected to be out for a few more weeks. Enter former Silver Fern and Swifts premiership athlete, Katrina Rore, who last donned the red dress in 2019, and finished with three gains.
Vixens’ goal attack, Kiera Austin, was the clear target for the Swifts defence as the agile attacker was barely given an inch of space throughout the match. While her numbers were below her usual 20 plus goals per game, she was able to find the ball when it counted, contributing 14 from 20, including five super shots. Defensively, Austin also added two gains and three deflections.
Both sides traded the lead throughout the match with the score locked at three-quarter time, but a mammoth, 18-11 final quarter from the Vixens shut the door on the Swifts hopes of a home crowd win, sealing them the seven point victory.
Vixens captain and match MVP, Kate Moloney, credited the versatility of the team’s bench for their ability to grind out the win.
“We have had these players in the group for a few years,” she said. “As they get more experience and court time we are able to do that. The seamless rotations have been really good the last few weeks.”
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