A dominant final term saw the Melbourne Vixens beat the Queensland Firebirds 53-42 to claim this season’s ANZ Netball Championship at Hisense Arena on Sunday.
Up by two goals at three-quarter time, the Vixens pulled away as their front-court attack of Tegan Caldwell and Catherine Cox found their range. The premiership win – the Vixens’ first since 2009 – was the perfect send-off for Australian netball legend Cox, who is retiring after a stellar career.
Vixens coach Simone McKinnis praised the professionalism of her players, saying they worked hard for their success all season. “When we started the year it was all about being clinical in the accuracy of our execution, doing drill after drill, where you had to do it for a certain period of time without any drops or without any mistakes,” she said.
“When Bianca (captain Bianca Chatfield) talks about hard work, that’s a groundwork of hard work and expectations, and the girls have built on that throughout the year.”
Chatfield said the Vixens never lost focus when the pressure was on in the grand final. “It was about keeping everything positive out on court and it will eventually come our way,” she said. “I think the second and third quarter they threw at us everything they had, but I still knew we had more to give.”
While the Vixens had plenty to celebrate, there was heartbreak for the Firebirds, who were left to reconcile their second grand final defeat in as many seasons. Firebirds captain Laura Geitz said her team didn’t play well enough to beat the Vixens. “You need to earn a grand final win and we did not earn holding up that trophy today – the Vixens did,” she said.
