‘Bring it in quickly': The story behind the speech that inspired one of Australian netball's greatest comebacks
'Bring it in quickly,' she said, and they leaned in, eyes on the 59-year-old. The 35 seconds that followed will go down as one of the most rousing rev-ups in Australian sport, inspiring the Vixens to an astonishing comeback victory and a place in Saturday night's grand final against West Coast Fever at Rod Laver Arena.
The story behind her speech is even more remarkable.
The Vixens were in a dire position against the NSW Swifts in the prelim– down 51-41 at the last break. But that was nothing compared with the team's position after six rounds of the season, with only two wins on the board and upheaval behind the scenes.
McKinnis stunned the netball world in May by announcing that she would resign at the end of the season, and now admits that her own issues were affecting the team.
'To be honest those weeks, I don't think I was at my best because of everything going on in the background,' McKinnis told this masthead. 'The girls were playing how I was feeling.'
McKinnis, who represented Australia 63 times and is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and dual world champion, declined to elaborate on the reasons for her resignation, other than to say it came down to a combination of factors. With her contract expiring at season's end, it felt like the right time to hand over the reins.
Her decision to step down after 13 years at the helm proved a turning point for the Vixens. McKinnis says it allowed the team to focus, and they won eight of their next 10 games to reach back-to-back grand finals.
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