The Adelaide Thunderbirds have shown there is life after Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, as the reigning premiers overcame a slow start to defeat the Queensland Firebirds by nine goals on Saturday.
The Firebirds put up an epic fight in front of their Nissan Arena crowd, sparking both Adelaide coach Tania Obst and skipper Hannah Petty – in her 100th match – into a stunning final quarter rev up at a time the Tbirds held just a one-goal buffer.
Watch every game of the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season, LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
“We attack this game … we are not defending this, we are attacking this game,” Obst urged.
“We demand the ball.
“Take it on!
“Heads up, shoulders back, attack the game.”
Petty then followed that up with her own motivating speech – complete with an expletive picked up by Fox Netball mics.
“This is the moment we stand tall, this is what we do pre-season for,” she told her teammates with just over eight minutes to play.
“It’s about grinding out wins like this.
“We walk out there, look at each other in the eye and we back the f**k out of each other because that’s what we do in this team.”
The motivating speeches certainly inspired the Thunderbirds as they piled on 12 of the next 16 goals to claim a 62-53 result away from home – and their first win without inspirational defender Sterling-Humphrey who has returned to Jamaica after announcing she’s pregnant with her first child.
“I think this is one of the most impressive wins for the Thunderbirds,” Fox Netball’s Keirra Trompf said.
“You can only imagine the types of conversations they’ve had in terms of their confidence, losing the best player in the competition.
“They probably wondered whether or not they could regain that form – I think today they showed everyone that they can get out there and really rough it and win.”
MVP Latanya Wilson proved the difference as she racked up 10 gains for her side to ensure the Firebirds slumped to a third consecutive loss.
Both sides had a jittery start, with the Thunderbirds’ Romelda Aiken-George unusually inaccurate at the post. It allowed the Firebirds to shoot out to a five-goal lead, but a quiet second quarter, in which they scored just 11 points, saw them rapidly overhauled and down by half time.
The home side stayed in the match through 22-year-old goal keeper Isabelle Shearer, despite giving away almost 16 years of experience to opponent Aiken-George, came up with six gains as she hassled the veteran into shooting just 34/46 at 74 percent.
The loss means the Firebirds could drop as low as 6th place by the end of the round.
FEVER ROLL ON AS MAVS ‘MURDERED’ BY ERRORS
The West Coast Fever have continued their dominant return to form, with a comprehensive 17-goal victory over the Melbourne Mavericks in Perth.
The 78-61 demolition sees them push up into the top four for the first time this season – more comfortable territory for a team that hasn’t missed finals since 2019.
It was always going to be an uphill battle for the Mavericks who lost skipper Amy Parmenter pre-game due to an ankle injury.
And it was a loss they couldn’t cover – summed up by coach Tracey Neville’s three-quarter time spray.
Fever star Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard took hits from every direction as the frustration showed on her face early in the game. But the physical pressure did little to rattle the Jamaican superstar who finished with 60/62 at 97 per cent accuracy in a joint MVP performance, alongside skipper Jess Anstiss.
As the penalty count continued to rise against the Mavericks, they were forced into several changes in an attempt to stay in the contest. But their physical presence was to no avail, as the Mavericks finished with only six gains – all in the second half, despite averaging 12 per game so far this season.
Speaking post-match, Neville was upfront about the poor performance.
“Our unforced errors absolutely murdered us, where we lost the ball was silly mistakes which we’ve talked about,” Neville said.
“We’re good enough to run with these teams for two and a half quarters but we just can’t finish. That first quarter destroyed us, and then our ability to execute those basic skills to finish off the game wasn’t good enough.”
Shimona Jok continues to be a shining light for the Mavericks, dominating the goal circle and often providing a ‘get out of jail free’ card’ with her ability to take an aerial ball and convert to goal, finishing with 40 from 42.
But there was little else for the Mavs to get excited about in an “absolute thrashing”, according to Fox Netball’s Sue Gaudion.
“You were expecting a little bit more from this team – they basically went nearly three quarters without getting an intercept. They were struggling on converting – it was just not the Mavericks side that we have seen in these first three rounds,” Fox Netball’s Nat Medhurst said.
“They would be so incredibly disappointed.
“I listened to the three-quarter time pep talk by Tracey Neville and it was an absolute spray.
“And fair enough. They weren’t playing good enough netball.
“They were giving far too much space to the Fever attack line and she asked for more.”
The result leaves the Mavericks sitting with just one win from five games in a disappointing start to 2025.
Discussion about this post