Though undefeated and sitting top of the ladder, Melbourne Vixens had an unconvincing two point victory over the winless Giants Netball in Melbourne, 66-64.
It underscored the very different story for Super Netball’s two new head coaches this season, with Di Honey leading her troops to their best ever start to a season, while Nerida Stewart is presiding over the Giants’ worst.
Before the game, Stewart called for her side to lean into the pressure, but they responded by giving away their first four passages to goal, with the Vixens jumping out to a six point lead within a couple of minutes. With Giants continuing to give up some basic mistakes and converting just 50 percent of their centre passes, three Sophie Dwyer supershots kept the quarter time deficit to the same margin.
The Vixens’ little-seen defensive duo of Jo Weston at goal keeper and Kate Eddy at goal defence, a combination which should help Eddy’s Diamonds’ aspirations, applied the blow torch to the Giants’ shooters from the outset. The experienced Weston forced her opponent Matisse Letherbarrow into two early contacts, and initially gave the young shooter little room to move under the post.
Giants steadied in the second term, with some strong defensive plays by wing defence Amy Sligar and keeper Erin O’Brien. The latter pulled in four enormous gains during the 15 minute period, and while her attacking line continued to throw away some cheap passes, it was enough to send Giants into a one point lead at half time.
O’Brien finished with a match high seven gains, and her efforts were even more impressive, given she and fellow defender Jodi-Ann Ward were up against the polished international duo of Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin. The premier shooting combination in the league, Garbin delivered an accurate 45/48 for the match, although Austin’s accuracy faltered at times.
With Letherbarrow starting to get on top of her opponent and the Giants accurate during supershot time, the Vixens switched their defenders multiple times, while match MVP Kate Moloney was given a rare rest on the bench while managing a cold. Both sides struggled to adapt to the changes in the third quarter, although Vixens settled first to go on a four point run.
The Giants’ story of the day continued across the match as their defenders came up with more intercepts, finishing with 13 gains to the Vixens 12, only to lose it on the journey down court. While the Vixens did just enough to close out the game by two points, albeit playing below their best, Giants will rue their inability to capitalise on the excellent work of their defensive unit.
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