West Coast Fever have demonstrated that they are not yet on par with the top two teams in Super Netball, following their defeat in the grand final rematch against the Melbourne Vixens.
Match Overview
The highly anticipated clash fell short of expectations, with the undefeated Vixens cementing their status as premiership contenders after a 50-44 victory at RAC Arena on Sunday. Fever entered the game with an impressive home record, having won their previous 10 matches at the venue. However, they failed to resemble the polished outfit they had become known for under coach Dan Ryan, playing disjointed netball under pressure from the elite Melbourne side.
Key Moments
It was not until the final quarter, when they scored 15 goals to eight, that Fever managed to compete with the visitors, having trailed by as many as 14 goals at the start of the period. Fever’s only two losses this season have come against the top two teams: Melbourne Vixens and Adelaide Thunderbirds, highlighting a clear gap between them and the competition's best.
West Australian shooter Sophie Garbin delivered a masterclass for the Vixens, netting 36 goals from 40 attempts, while Kate Moloney dominated in centre with 30 feeds. Fever struggled to find answers, with wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld sorely missed for a second consecutive week due to a back injury. In her absence, Fever had difficulty connecting with their shooters, converting only 57% of centre passes into goals.
Coach's Reaction
Ryan tried various strategies across the four quarters to build momentum, rotating players and even benching captain Jess Anstiss for the final quarter. Fever fought back to narrow the gap, but they had left themselves too much to do and relied heavily on super goals to close the deficit.
Ryan lamented his team's failure to execute the basics across the court, which put immense pressure on their defence. “While the start wasn’t great, it wasn’t dire. It became a little bit frustrating as the game went on and unfolded. I don’t think we were handling what we needed to handle well enough,” he said. “Our errors were way too high, our centre-pass conversion was nowhere near standard, and we were putting our defence under enormous pressure. Credit to our defenders, they were winning the ball back, but the ball they were winning back was quite often off our centre pass, and we were just going back-to-back turnovers, unable to execute at a standard that you need against a team like the Vixens. Frustrating, disappointing. It was a great finish to the game, but you can’t just have seven minutes of good quality and expect to get a win against a team like the Vixens, who are on song in all parts of their game.”
