After being turned around at the airport due to Covid fears, the Giants have made a seamless restart to their Super Netball campaign against the Vixens.
The Giants have made a seamless restart to their Super Netball campaign, maintaining their spot at the top of the ladder with a 52-45 win over the Melbourne Vixens at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena.
The Giants had an even more disrupted preparation for their Round 12 clash than most of the teams forced to relocate from the Adelaide hub for the remainder of the competition.
While at the airport waiting to check in for their flight north, the Giants were advised they had visited a tier one exposure site when hubbed in Melbourne a week earlier and would have to remain in South Australia in isolation.
But once visit times for the positive case were revised, the Giants won a reprieve and were able to join the rest of the competition in Brisbane.
The rejigged schedule meant the Sydney side had not played for 11 days before their clash against the Vixens on Wednesday, a break coach Julie Fitzgerald said seemed like “forever”.
Fitzgerald saw signs of rust, saying her side was not moving like a well-oiled machine.
And while that may have been the case in the first quarter – when the last-placed Vixens stayed within two goals of their rivals – they exploded in the second term, restricting the Victorians to just eight goals in the second term.
The Giants started Wednesday in first place on the ladder but locked on 28 points with the Sunshine Coast Lightning, NSW Swifts and West Coast Fever.
Their win maintained their place at No.1 on the ladder and gave them a four-point buffer over the other three, although the Lightning had a chance to draw level in Wednesday’s late match against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
The Vixens are well out of finals contention but their effort cannot be questioned, despite the team failing to push over 50 for the third game in succession.
The opening term has been an achilles heel for the defending premiers this season but they stuck with the Giants for most of the first quarter, going to the break trailing by just two points.
But they could not maintain the effort – partly due to the inexperience of some of their players and combinations but mainly due to the efforts of the Giants, particularly in defence.
Amy Parmenter, April Brandley and Jamie-Lee Price presented an orange and black wall across the transverse line, with the Vixens having to work like demons just to get the ball into the circle.
Their efforts were so strong the Giants were able to inject both Kristiana Manu’a and Matilda McDonnell into the defensive line in the final term without losing anything.
KUMWENDA OFF THE BOIL
Mwai Kumwenda is a Vixens favourite and normally reliable asset in the goal circle but she was off the boil on Wednesday, having been frustrated by the Giants defence.
Kumwenda was outstanding in her 100th game for the Vixens last week despite Melbourne’s loss to the Fever, finishing with 39 points on 35-of-41 shooting and an 85 per cent success rate from regular range.
She improved slightly in the second half as she attempted to rally her team but was starved of ball as the Vixens struggled to get the ball down the court.
GIANTS YOUNGSTERS IMPRESS
Young goalkeeper Matilda McDonnell made the most of her time on court in the final term, showing her talent as coach Julie Fizgerald decided to rest top defender Sam Poolman.
McDonnell finished with three gains, three intercepts and two deflections as she continued to frustrate Kumwenda in the final term.
At the other end of the court, goaler Sophie Garbin continues to flourish in the absence of Kiera Austin (ACL), with her combination with goal shooter Jo Harten continuing to develop.
With the game firmly in the Giants’ grasp, young goaler Matisse Letherbarrow also got a run in the final stages, showing the depth of talent within the club.