The Queensland Firebirds have claimed their first victory of the season 68-57 over the Adelaide Thunderbirds in a thrilling contest on Mother’s Day at the Queensland home of netball – Nissan Arena.
The Queensland side showed depth and versatility across the court against the Thunderbirds, using last week’s tight loss against the Swifts as motivation to furnish an 11-point win.
A typically fast start from the Firebirds saw them establish a seven-goal lead at quarter time – holding the lead throughout the game. The Firebird’s team showcased great circle depth at both ends rotating the GS position between Tippah, Gretel and Romelda in the shooting circle and using Tara, Rudi and Kimberley in the defensive circle without missing a beat.
Fabulous pressure by the Firebirds circle defenders turned the game in the last 5 minutes of the second quarter and with great shooting, the Firebirds held a 10-goal advantage leading into the third. Keeping their composure in the third quarter, great vision for the ball and some superb cut out passes found their way from the centre court into the shooting circle with pinpoint precision.
Romelda Aiken proved her strength under the post hitting a milestone of 2,000 Suncorp Super Netball goals and opening the shooting in both the third and fourth quarters. Vice-Captain Tara Hinchliffe came out to WD in the final quarter using her distinctive height advantage to rattle the Thunderbird’s circle feed.
“We were so hungry in defence and we're more settled this week,” Hinchliffe said.
“The versatility in our defence end is something new for our team. We managed to use our defensive speed and that really helped close out the Suncorp Super Shot opportunities for the Thunderbirds circle.”
“I’m glad we could bring home the win to make today extra special for our mums.”
Head Coach Megan Anderson was pleased with the team’s tenacity and defensive pressure all the way down court - from the attackers through to the defenders.
“Lots of times the Thunderbirds came back at us and we held strong. I was really proud of how many times our team managed to claw back that ten-goal lead.”
“We’ve got a really solid ten players and that gives us some great depth in our on-court matchups for next week against the Giants.”
The Firebirds next match is the first of the team’s away games against the GIANTS on Sunday, May 16 in Sydney.
