From finals longshots to champions: Why Vixens' win was a triumph for Australian netball

The Age

3 days ago

'You'd be hard pressed to beat it,' McMahon said.
Melbourne finished fourth on the ladder and were underdog finalists, but they pipped the red-hot favourites 59-58 in front of a boisterous and energetic crowd of 15,013. It was also the farewell moment for Vixens coach Simone McKinnis, who had already announced her resignation after 13 years at the helm.
On Sunday morning at the spiritual home of netball in Melbourne, Royal Park, the Vixens, slightly bleary-eyed, happily signed autographs and posed for photos with their loyal fans.
It was a far cry from earlier in the season, when their campaign was in peril with a 2-4 win-loss record.
Vixens captain Kate Moloney knew the odds were stacked against them, but they never gave up.
'I got told there was a stat that it was a 14 per cent chance we could finish fourth at that stage after around six,' Moloney said on Sunday.
'Pretty incredible that we're able to get on a good run and got ourselves in the top four. And once you're there, anything's possible.
'The group just fought every week. We had challenges week in, week out, to make sure that we could get to this grand final. But I think it really match-hardened us.'
The magnitude of what the Vixens achieved took a moment to dawn on McKinnis.
'I think maybe I was in a little bit of shock because you know it's there in the distance … and you know that that's what you're after, but you're never really thinking about it,' McKinnis said on Sunday.
McMahon, who led the Vixens to the 2009 title, and now serves as netball's high-performance chief in Victoria, said: 'I'm just incredibly proud of this team and what they've been able to achieve this year.
'To have a start like we had, backs against the wall, and be able to fight our way out of that situation and find ourselves holding up the trophy at the end of the season is a great testament to their resilience and just their drive and passion.'
The drama of the finals series and the sold-out grand final crowd was a landmark moment for a sport that was dogged by an ugly pay dispute in 2023, which was eventually resolved when a collective agreement was signed that included players sharing revenue with Netball Australia for the first time.
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And only two months ago, Netball Australia announced it had entered a three-year broadcast deal with Whoopi Goldberg's All Women's Sports Network (AWSN) that will expose Australian netball to more than 65 countries.
'There's been a lot of work done behind the scenes over the last 18 months to two years,' Ellis said.
'I think a lot of the credit has to go to our CEO Stacey West, who came in at a particularly difficult moment for the sport, and she steadied the ship.
'We've got a great story to tell. The story that was told a couple of years ago ... probably wasn't great. That's not to say that everything's perfect [now, but] there is an awful lot of work going on behind the scenes.
'I keep saying to everyone 'let's not carried away, there's still plenty to do in the next 18 months to make sure that we put our game on the best footing possible for the next 10 years'.
'Certainly, it would be nice to ... look at last night and put the line in the sand, and say, 'right now, all eyes towards the future, we are telling a story of optimism and growth and excitement'.'