Pretty Black and White Wrap Up Melbourne Vixens V Collingwood Magpies Semi Final Sunday 1 September 2019, State Netball Hockey Centre

It was a nervous start for both teams as Collingwood got a turnover that then resulted in a held ball. The Vixen’s wasted no time and scored but were making unforced errors of their own. The Pies took a time out at 9.54 on the clock as they trailed by 5 points. The return to the court produced more of the same for Collingwood but there were a few highlights especially when Brandley bombed the ball into Nelson for a goal. Collingwood struggled to get a call from the Umpires and Browne’s replacement Poi barely showed up in the first quarter placing unnecessary pressure on Medhurst and Brazill. The Pies trailed by 10 goals at the first break.

The second quarter saw both teams scoring goal for goal. Brazill was patient with her feeds into Nelson who was having an average game. Poi got into the game a little more but was still not offering enough and standing flat footed which contributed to the unforced error count. Brazill was shoved out of court with the ball but there was no call her way and her face said it all.
The Vixens led by 15 goals at half time. Nat Medhurst when interviewed by Sharni Layton suggested that Collingwood may have to speak to the Umpires about the physicality and lack of calls in the game.

The third quarter showed the Pies game continuing to break down as Poi drove to the same spot as Brazill leaving the shooters with no options for passing. The Commentators suggested that the Magpies were waiting for calls from the Umpires that were not coming and that they should forget about the umpires and get on with the game. They also commented that the team was playing around Poi.

The Vixens took a time out at 3.16 on the clock and continued to dominate. Nelson struggled to shoot and catch as her bad hands showed up under pressure. Collingwood trailed by 13 points going into the final break.

The final term saw the Pies try to fight back and get back into the game. They had some good moments with intensity but not enough to affect the final score. Thwaites (Vixens) had a fantastic game and found herself in the circle largely undefended. Medhurst and Brandley went to the bench and Sinclair and Garrett came on. Poi was far more relaxed playing with Sinclair but really it was too little too late. Garrett played her usual game and racked up the penalties with only 5 minutes left to play.
The Vixens defeated the Magpies by 13 goals

Final score Vixens  62   Pies  49   Vixens by 13 points
Player of the match Kate Maloney, Vixens

My Take
A few things happened in this game; firstly, this team needed Kelsey Browne and although they worked well together the week before for the win, Poi was completely taken out of the game by Ingles (Vixens). The Coaches needed to replace Poi after or even during the first quarter with either Ravaillion or even Sinclair. Either of those players would have been more effective but I guess we’ll never know.

Secondly, this game belonged to the Vixens from the word go. I think that the Umpires thought this too as there were very few calls for glaringly obvious infringements; think Brazill being shoved out of court and the ball taken out of Brandley’s hands and no call. No calls for the big elbow in the back from Kumwenda and barely a single obstruction call against the Vixens. As a team it’s demoralising to know that it is 9 against 7 and the game just gets harder from there.

Was this Collingwood’s best performance? No. Could they have brought more intensity? Yes; but at Super netball level you cannot have players on court that are dead wood. It places a ridiculous amount of pressure on the rest of the team and the question begs, why wasn’t she replaced or did the Assistant Coach have to stick to what the Head Coach gave her. The lack of deviation was expensive and telling for both the player involved and the Coach. And I probably don’t need to mention that Thwaites was let go from the Pies because we were “going in a different direction”. I’m guessing a few people in Collingwood would be kicking themselves about now. Not sure why you wouldn’t choose international experience and a sure thing over youthful bad hands under pressure, but that is just my opinion.

I still believe that this team had the makings to win the Grand final and hopefully next year there will be a bit more depth for the Coaching staff to work with. What is encouraging is that Maddie Browne will be back next season and hopefully pick up where her sister left off.

The season had its highs and lows, but this team was steady in its race to finals and showed some real promise. Wishing Kelsey Browne a speedy recovery and looking forward to a better season next year. Go Pies!
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