Latest news with #grandfinal
The Australian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Super Netball: Vixens' fourth-quarter miracle seals grand final spot
Melbourne Vixens are one win from sealing a fairytale finish to the career of coach Simone McKinnis after a 66-65 preliminary final win against the Swifts. The Swifts led 31-29 at halftime, before dominating the third quarter to open a 51-41 advantage. But the Vixens stormed back, outpointing their rivals 25-14 in the last to clinch victory and a spot in the grand final against West Coast Fever. Earlier this year, McKinnis announced this would be her final year in charge of the Super Netball team. - Jenny Sinclair Melbourne Vixens are riding high after a last ditch effort to beat the NSW Swifts by 66 to 65 points, to book their place in the 2025 Super Netball grand final. They came from behind in the dying seconds of the game, and will go into next week's match full of confidence having won eight of their last ten games. The Vixens are off to the grand final after an incredible fourth-quarter fightback. Picture: Getty Images Standing in their way however, will be the formidable West Coast Fever, who demolished the Swifts by 32 points in last weekend's major semi-final. 'I'm exhausted but I'm so bloody proud,' said Vixens captain Kate Moloney. 'We were down by ten goals and we found something in that last quarter and they just never stopped fighting.' Coaching her second last match with the Vixens, Simone McKinnis said her side took their shot at victory. 'We weren't going to walk away from here afraid to take risks,' she said. 'They saw a glimpse and a hope and away they went.' Melbourne Vixens head coach Simone McKinnis. Picture: Getty Images It was a dismal end to the season for Swifts, despite the return of inspirational captain Paige Hadley who has missed the last two rounds with a foot injury. While she provided a calm head and safe pair of hands, the Swifts have been bundled out of the finals in straight sets, after looking untouchable as they went undefeated through the first eight rounds. There was immense pressure from the opening whistle, causing fumbles, stray passes and uncharacteristic missed shots. The Swifts were first to take advantage of those errors, going long and high to Grace Nweke in the circle. Despite her athleticism, some balls were sprayed over her head or swatted away by goal keeper Rudi Ellis who finished with six gains, allowing the Vixens to shift gears and take a three point lead into the first break. Helen Housby celebrates a goal for the Swifts. Picture: Getty Images The Swifts hit the front in the second quarter as their confidence grew, with Helen Housby raising the bar after a quiet few weeks. Passes started going in more smoothly to the circle, with Nweke lifting her shooting from a subpar 77 percent in the first quarter to a total of 53/58 at 91 percent across the match. With the Swifts' Sharni Lambden applying enormous pressure at wing defence, Vixens' skipper Moloney did everything she could to pull her side over the line. She had a strong connection with Sophie Garbin under the post, who picked up the slack while the hero of so many victories, Kiera Austin, struggled for influence early on. The Vixens seemed down and out of the contest with the deficit sitting at 11 points and their penalties twice their opponents, until Lily Graham sank consecutive supershots to bring the margin back to single digits. Grace Nweke in action for the Swifts. Picture: Getty Images In an inspirational last quarter Austin finally switched on her radar when it counted, firing in three long range shots to finish with 12/16 including four from five supershots, while her partner Garbin had a solid 46/47. The Vixens found another gear and rolled over the Swifts in highly emotional scenes. MCKINNIS MAGIC Simone McKinnis will make her final appearance as Vixens' coach in next weekend's grand final, after 212 games in charge of the club. Across 13 years, she's taken them to two titles, three minor premierships and a further three grand final appearances, and will leave massive shoes to fill. PAIN FOLLOWS A POINT Remarkably, the previous three Super Netball preliminary finals have been decided by a solitary point, with the Vixens taking out two of those wins, and the Swifts the other. Despite moving on into the grand final, neither side was then able to steal the ultimate victory.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Super Netball stunner as emotional speech sparks all-time Vixens comeback
Melbourne Vixens are riding high after a last ditch effort to beat the NSW Swifts by 66 to 65 points, to book their place in the 2025 Super Netball grand final. They came from behind in the dying seconds of the game, having trailed 51-41 after the third quarter, and will go into next week's match full of confidence having won eight of their last ten games. Watch every game of the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season, LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Standing in their way however, will be the formidable West Coast Fever, who demolished the Swifts by 32 points in last weekend's major semi-final. Speaking post match captain and MVP Kate Moloney said, 'I'm exhausted but I'm so bloody proud. We were down by ten goals and we found something in that last quarter and they just never stopped fighting.' Coaching her second last match with the Vixens, Simone McKinnis, added, 'We weren't going to walk away from here afraid to take risks. They saw a glimpse and a hope and away they went.' It was the greatest preliminary final comeback in Super Netball history, beating the nine-goal market the Vixens set in 2022 against the Giants. It was a dismal end to the season for Swifts, despite the return of inspirational captain Paige Hadley who has missed the last two rounds with a foot injury. While she provided a calm head and safe pair of hands, the Swifts have been bundled out of the finals in straight sets, after looking untouchable as they went undefeated through the first eight rounds. There was immense pressure from the opening whistle, causing fumbles, stray passes and uncharacteristic missed shots. The Swifts were first to take advantage of those errors, going long and high to Grace Nweke in the circle. Despite her athleticism, some balls were sprayed over her head or swatted away by goal keeper Rudi Ellis who finished with six gains, allowing the Vixens to shift gears and take a three point lead into the first break. The Swifts hit the front in the second quarter as their confidence grew, with Helen Housby raising the bar after a quiet few weeks. Passes started going in more smoothly to the circle, with Nweke lifting her shooting from a subpar 77 percent in the first quarter to a total of 53/58 at 91 percent across the match. With the Swifts' Sharni Lambden applying enormous pressure at wing defence, Vixens' skipper Moloney did everything she could to pull her side over the line. She had a strong connection with Sophie Garbin under the post, who picked up the slack while the hero of so many victories, Kiera Austin, struggled for influence early on. The Vixens seemed down and out of the contest with the deficit sitting at 11 points and their penalties twice their opponents, until Lily Graham sank consecutive supershots to bring the margin back to single digits. In an inspirational last quarter Austin finally switched on her radar when it counted, firing in three long range shots to finish with 12/16 including four from five supershots, while her partner Garbin had a solid 46/47. The Vixens found another gear and rolled over the Swifts in highly emotional scenes. MCKINNIS MAGIC Simone McKinnis will make her final appearance as Vixens' coach in next weekend's grand final, after 212 games in charge of the club. Across 13 years, she's taken them to two titles, three minor premierships and a further three grand final appearances, and will leave massive shoes to fill. It looked like it was going to be McKinnis' final game in charge at the end of the third quarter but an inspiration and emotional final address helped inspire the Vixens to life. 'We have nothing to lose here! Except for throwing our best selves as this contest,' McKinnis said. Remarkably, the previous three Super Netball preliminary finals have been decided by a solitary point, with the Vixens taking out two of those wins, and the Swifts the other. Despite moving on into the grand final, neither side was then able to steal the ultimate victory.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Netball: Third-time lucky Tactix win their first ANZ Premiership title
Tactix players as they celebrate winning the final. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Nothing pleased Tactix coach Donna Wilkins more than seeing her veteran players win their first ANZ Premiership title in the red dress in Auckland on Sunday night. The Mainland Tactix won netball's ANZ Premiership for the first time by stunning the Northern Mystics 58-46 in the grand final. For Jane Watson, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Erikana Pedersen, and Ellie Bird - they had suffered two heart-breaking grand final losses in 2020 and 2021. They came the closest in 2021, losing by just two goals to the Mystics. By then Karin Burger had joined the side and had well and truly become a stalwart of the team. Wilkins said the thought of winning an elusive title was what kept bringing some of the older players back. "It's pretty special… we don't know who's going to come back next year, our focus has been on finals. For some of those old heads and experienced ones that keep coming back because they want to win a championship, that's what I'm most proud of now they've got it," Wilkins said. Tactix captain Pedersen embraced Selby-Rickit straight after the game. "She just said that she felt relief - was her first emotion and it is a bit like that because I know we deserved to be here and deserved to win, we've worked so hard. "We had a lot of people doubting us, you know as they should, we came to Mystics territory, they were number one but we knew we could do it, we had the full belief, we've trained our butts off. The last few weeks in particular our intensity at trainings have been unreal… we've been coming out of them exhausted." Karin Burger and Jane Watson. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Tactix shooter Ellie Bird capped off a superb season by shooting 50 from her 53 attempts, and even pulled off two intercepts. Just two weeks prior, the Mystics had beaten the Tactix by 14 goals to win the minor premiership and advance straight to a home grand final. Everything was stacked against them - the Mystics have won every grand final they have appeared in, and six of the eight grand finals had been won by the team who claimed the minor premiership. But the Tactix showed a lot of fight when they beat the Pulse in the elimination final and Wilkins philosophy? "Finals netball is getting into it and giving yourself a chance." The former Silver Ferns defensive pairing of Burger and Watson picked up where they left off from that Pulse game. Ellie Bird has been a Tactix stalwart. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Watson unsettled Australian import shooter Donnell Wallam, who had not looked flustered all season. "They are big game players, they are experienced, they are used to playing against tall shooters. I told them they needed to get touches early and Jane did right from the get-go so it made it a little bit doubtful for them to just let rip and throw that ball in," Wilkins said. "They were doing one or two more passes before they would launch it in, whereas a couple of weeks ago it was just 'catch-boom', so we needed to nullify that connection between Peta [Toeava] and Donnell and I think we did a good job of that. "And because we are so clinical in looking after our own possession off our centre pass, even if teams hit a couple of two point shots, they don't make headway and we showed that on Monday night." Once again Wilkins stuck with her starting seven, apart from a brief period where Pedersen had to come off the court due to cramping. "Everything was going, my toes, my calves, my quads, my hips… but we knew we needed to prepare for a tough game, I think Teeps [Selby-Rickit] started cramping as well," Pedersen said. Despite the cloud hanging over the domestic competition, with Netball New Zealand still trying to pin down a broadcast deal for 2026, Wilkins said none of that was a distraction. "We had an opportunity to win a championship, that's been our focus, it's been about us." She was looking forward to taking the trophy to Christchurch. The Tactix and their National League predecessors, the Canterbury Flames, had not won a title since the introduction of franchise netball in 1998. The Flames played in four Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup finals but lost all four to the Southern Sting. "It's a long time coming, enjoy just being together as a team and enjoy the moment with our family and friends and we'll worry about next year next week," Wilkins said. The Tactix may look a little different next year. Bird is off to Australia and doesn't plan on coming back for another season. It remains to be seen whether the likes of Pedersen and Watson might call it a day. Selby-Rickit had one of her finest seasons and the 33-year-old may well be on the radar of an Australian team. Coach Robyn Broughton and captain Bernice Mene after Southern Sting beat Canterbury Flames in the 2001 Coca Cola Cup domestic final. Photo: Photosport To guide the Tactix to the title in her first season as head coach is a dream start to Wilkins' elite coaching career. Pedersen was full of praise for the former Silver Fern and Tall Fern. "Donna's been in our position, she knows what it's like to play in high pressure matches. She's very disciplined in the way that we play on attack but she's just brought this winning mentality, like even warm up games, she's is all about winning and I love that because I think that's what our Tactix team needed." Competitive, clinical with possession, and sticking with a starting seven are all traits associated with the late great Robyn Broughton, one of New Zealand's most successful netball coaches. Broughton became an icon of Southland netball during her long tenure with the Southern Sting, where she was head coach from 1998-2007, winning a record seven Coca Cola/National Bank Cup titles during that time. Wilkins played many seasons under Broughton, as did Tactix assistant coach Te Huinga Selby-Rickit. When Wilkins was asked what the legendary coach would have made of it, she shared that she treasures a photo of her old friend. "Well I actually brought [the photo of] Robbie with me, I normally talk to her before we play our home games but this week I thought I better take it with me and I think it might have helped. She's always there, God she coached me and Hu [Te Huinga Selby-Rickit] and a lot of the players, it's pretty special," an emotional Wilkins said. Donna Wilkins Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2025 The Mystics were denied a historic three-peat and were denied a chance to play their best netball. Despite easily beating the Tactix two weeks prior, Mystics coach Tia Winikerei said they knew the visitors were going to bring some venom. "When you get beaten like that and you're a quality side like they are, you come back fierce and you want to win. "Tactix came out very very strong and we didn't cope with that very well… we let them over power us, we actually just didn't execute what we should have in that first quarter and that hurt us for the rest of the game. "I didn't see any momentum shifts throughout the game and so the story of the first quarter was almost the story of the whole game." Mystics captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson said they were not blindsided - "They did exactly what we thought they were going to do." The Tactix have now become the fourth franchise to win the title, since the competition began in 2017. The Steel have won twice, and the Pulse and Mystics three times each. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Daily Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
Melbourne Vixens stun NSW Swifts in preliminary final comeback, grand final vs West Coast Fever
Don't miss out on the headlines from Netball. Followed categories will be added to My News. Melbourne Vixens are riding high after a last ditch effort to beat the NSW Swifts by 66 to 65 points, to book their place in the 2025 Super Netball grand final. They came from behind in the dying seconds of the game, having trailed 51-41 after the third quarter, and will go into next week's match full of confidence having won eight of their last ten games. Watch every game of the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season, LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Standing in their way however, will be the formidable West Coast Fever, who demolished the Swifts by 32 points in last weekend's major semi-final. Speaking post match captain and MVP Kate Moloney said, 'I'm exhausted but I'm so bloody proud. We were down by ten goals and we found something in that last quarter and they just never stopped fighting.' Coaching her second last match with the Vixens, Simone McKinnis, added, 'We weren't going to walk away from here afraid to take risks. They saw a glimpse and a hope and away they went.' It was the greatest preliminary final comeback in Super Netball history, beating the nine-goal market the Vixens set in 2022 against the Giants. It was a dismal end to the season for Swifts, despite the return of inspirational captain Paige Hadley who has missed the last two rounds with a foot injury. While she provided a calm head and safe pair of hands, the Swifts have been bundled out of the finals in straight sets, after looking untouchable as they went undefeated through the first eight rounds. Melbourne Vixens players celebrate. (Photo by) Simone McKinnis inspired her players. (Photo by) There was immense pressure from the opening whistle, causing fumbles, stray passes and uncharacteristic missed shots. The Swifts were first to take advantage of those errors, going long and high to Grace Nweke in the circle. Despite her athleticism, some balls were sprayed over her head or swatted away by goal keeper Rudi Ellis who finished with six gains, allowing the Vixens to shift gears and take a three point lead into the first break. The Swifts hit the front in the second quarter as their confidence grew, with Helen Housby raising the bar after a quiet few weeks. Passes started going in more smoothly to the circle, with Nweke lifting her shooting from a subpar 77 percent in the first quarter to a total of 53/58 at 91 percent across the match. With the Swifts' Sharni Lambden applying enormous pressure at wing defence, Vixens' skipper Moloney did everything she could to pull her side over the line. She had a strong connection with Sophie Garbin under the post, who picked up the slack while the hero of so many victories, Kiera Austin, struggled for influence early on. The Swifts couldn't believe it. (Photo by Mark) The Vixens seemed down and out of the contest with the deficit sitting at 11 points and their penalties twice their opponents, until Lily Graham sank consecutive supershots to bring the margin back to single digits. In an inspirational last quarter Austin finally switched on her radar when it counted, firing in three long range shots to finish with 12/16 including four from five supershots, while her partner Garbin had a solid 46/47. The Vixens found another gear and rolled over the Swifts in highly emotional scenes. MCKINNIS MAGIC Simone McKinnis will make her final appearance as Vixens' coach in next weekend's grand final, after 212 games in charge of the club. Across 13 years, she's taken them to two titles, three minor premierships and a further three grand final appearances, and will leave massive shoes to fill. It looked like it was going to be McKinnis' final game in charge at the end of the third quarter but an inspiration and emotional final address helped inspire the Vixens to life. 'We have nothing to lose here! Except for throwing our best selves as this contest,' McKinnis said. PAIN FOLLOWS A POINT Remarkably, the previous three Super Netball preliminary finals have been decided by a solitary point, with the Vixens taking out two of those wins, and the Swifts the other. Despite moving on into the grand final, neither side was then able to steal the ultimate victory. Originally published as Super Netball stunner as emotional speech sparks all-time Vixens comeback
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Vixens' fourth-quarter miracle seals grand final spot, crushes Swifts' premiership hopes
Melbourne Vixens are one win from sealing a fairytale finish to the career of coach Simone McKinnis after a 66-65 preliminary final win against the Swifts. The Swifts led 31-29 at halftime, before dominating the third quarter to open a 51-41 advantage. But the Vixens stormed back, outpointing their rivals 25-14 in the last to clinch victory and a spot in the grand final against West Coast Fever. Earlier this year, McKinnis announced this would be her final year in charge of the Super Netball team. - Jenny Sinclair Melbourne Vixens are riding high after a last ditch effort to beat the NSW Swifts by 66 to 65 points, to book their place in the 2025 Super Netball grand final. They came from behind in the dying seconds of the game, and will go into next week's match full of confidence having won eight of their last ten games. Standing in their way however, will be the formidable West Coast Fever, who demolished the Swifts by 32 points in last weekend's major semi-final. 'I'm exhausted but I'm so bloody proud,' said Vixens captain Kate Moloney. 'We were down by ten goals and we found something in that last quarter and they just never stopped fighting.' Coaching her second last match with the Vixens, Simone McKinnis said her side took their shot at victory. 'We weren't going to walk away from here afraid to take risks,' she said. 'They saw a glimpse and a hope and away they went.' It was a dismal end to the season for Swifts, despite the return of inspirational captain Paige Hadley who has missed the last two rounds with a foot injury. While she provided a calm head and safe pair of hands, the Swifts have been bundled out of the finals in straight sets, after looking untouchable as they went undefeated through the first eight rounds. There was immense pressure from the opening whistle, causing fumbles, stray passes and uncharacteristic missed shots. The Swifts were first to take advantage of those errors, going long and high to Grace Nweke in the circle. Despite her athleticism, some balls were sprayed over her head or swatted away by goal keeper Rudi Ellis who finished with six gains, allowing the Vixens to shift gears and take a three point lead into the first break. The Swifts hit the front in the second quarter as their confidence grew, with Helen Housby raising the bar after a quiet few weeks. Passes started going in more smoothly to the circle, with Nweke lifting her shooting from a subpar 77 percent in the first quarter to a total of 53/58 at 91 percent across the match. With the Swifts' Sharni Lambden applying enormous pressure at wing defence, Vixens' skipper Moloney did everything she could to pull her side over the line. She had a strong connection with Sophie Garbin under the post, who picked up the slack while the hero of so many victories, Kiera Austin, struggled for influence early on. The Vixens seemed down and out of the contest with the deficit sitting at 11 points and their penalties twice their opponents, until Lily Graham sank consecutive supershots to bring the margin back to single digits. In an inspirational last quarter Austin finally switched on her radar when it counted, firing in three long range shots to finish with 12/16 including four from five supershots, while her partner Garbin had a solid 46/47. The Vixens found another gear and rolled over the Swifts in highly emotional scenes. MCKINNIS MAGIC Simone McKinnis will make her final appearance as Vixens' coach in next weekend's grand final, after 212 games in charge of the club. Across 13 years, she's taken them to two titles, three minor premierships and a further three grand final appearances, and will leave massive shoes to fill. Remarkably, the previous three Super Netball preliminary finals have been decided by a solitary point, with the Vixens taking out two of those wins, and the Swifts the other. Despite moving on into the grand final, neither side was then able to steal the ultimate victory.
