WebMail
My BigPond
The Melbourne Vixens have leapt to the top of the ANZ Championship ladder through a percentage-boosting 41-goal victory over the Central Pulse on Saturday afternoon.
Looking to keep their hopes of a home semi-final alive, the Vixens were in brutal touch, dominating the bottom-placed Pulse at Hisense Arena in an 80-39 result that gives the Victorians a 12-1 win-loss record after the competition's final round.
The Vixens temporarily move atop the Championship ladder but their chances of playing their semi-final in Melbourne next week will rely on the result between the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic and third-placed Adelaide Thunderbirds, who clash in Adelaide on Sunday.
If Adelaide beats Magic, the Vixens will finish top of the table and host the major semi-final against the Waikato/Bay of Plenty side next week.
The Magic are currently 11-1, but can secure home court advantage for next week's semi-final with a victory big enough to lift their goal percentage above Melbourne.
The Southern Steel, meanwhile, has done all in its power to make the play-offs after a hard-fought 55-48 win over the NSW Swifts in ANZ Championship netball action in Invercargill.
Equal on points with the Queensland Firebirds heading into the last round, the Steel now have to wait until Monday to know their fate. The Firebirds meet the West Coast Fever in Perth in the last match of the regular season. A win to the Firebirds means fourth spot will be decided by goal differential.
Donna Wilkins continued her run of impressive form to guide the Steel to their do-or-die outing. With 36 shots from 38 attempts and a strong all-round performance, Wilkins was in top form against the battling Swifts.
In the end, the first quarter proved the difference as the reigning champions signed off a miserable season with their eighth straight loss.
It was the Steel who slotted into the groove quickest, picking up from where it left off in its upset win over the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the last round.
The experienced heads of Megan Dehn, Wilkins and Adine Wilson ensured a steady stream of quality ball into the Steel circle as the home team steadily built its momentum through the first quarter.
The timing between Dehn and Wilkins was pivotal to a clinical and efficient start for the Steel as their attacking line exuded confidence in putting the ball into space.
The Swifts had few answers to the Steel's flow through court and the finishing of Dehn and Wilkins. The visitors could not match the Steel for consistency with wing defence Wendy Telfer proving a thorn with her disruptive defensive abilities.
Having the upper hand throughout the quarter propelled the Steel to a healthy 17-10 advantage at the first break
With the Swifts becoming increasingly frustrated, a strong late surge by the Steel put the home side in the box seat at the end of an eventful second quarter.
Showing plenty of fight, the Swifts produced a forceful start to the stanza with centre Kim Greene prominent as she tracked all over the court.
Pegging back the deficit to just three goals, all the Swifts good work came unstuck via the umpires' whistle as the Steel pounced with a withering burst ahead of half-time.
Lacking the same amount of ball as the Steel and unable to match their accuracy under the hoop, the Swifts found themselves back in catch-up mode as the home team shot out to a 30-22 lead.
The Steel made the best of starts on the resumption as the Swifts continued to be haunted by missed opportunities. Defenders Megan Hutton and Katrina Grant swooped on the spoils under goal to help the Steel stretch out to a 10-goal advantage before shooter Catherine Cox found her range on the back of some strong form from the visitors.
Enjoying their best passage of play during this quarter, the Swifts made inroads to reel back the margin as the home team went into the final break with a 40-34 lead.
The visitors threw everything into a torrid final stanza, narrowing the margin to four goals with eight minutes to go but could not sustain the momentum.
The Steel repelled the challenge with a proficiency it had shown throughout as it forged on to the all-important win.
