The Melbourne Mavericks were defeated by the Adelaide Thunderbirds - known as Tanrtanya Karntu during First Nations Round - to wrap up Round 7 of the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) season.
The game opened with a moving performance by the Djirri Djirri Aboriginal Women's Dance Group, setting the tone for a celebration of culture and reconciliation. The Mavericks proudly wore their First Nations dress - designed by Merindah-Gunya (Bayley Mifsud) - as they ran out on court.
Q1: Mavs 16 – 20 Thunderbirds
The game opened at a level of high intensity, with both teams' midcourters oozeing agility and speed. The thrilling battle of Jamaican teammates Shimona Jok and Latanya Wilson was exciting, with Wilson’s leap and Jok’s dominant holds challenging each other. Mavs Captain, Amy Parmenter, set the tone early for defensive efforts, however, Lauren Frew from Thunderbirds scored two Super Shots near the start of the Power Five, giving them the upper hand heading into quarter time. Sasha Glasgow responded with a two point shot of her own narrowing the gap back to four at the first break.
Q2: Mavs 31 – 37 Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds opened the quarter strong with a turnover from the Mavs’ centre pass. Jessie Grenvold entered at GK, aiming to stop the flow into Romelda Aiken-George and bring more gains for the Mavs. There was a change in pace and the crowd heard Molly Jovic echo, ‘Yes, Shim!’, commending Jok’s efforts in adjusting to Wilson’s sharp defensive presence. The Thunderbirds whole-court defensive pressure was a tough challenge but clinical plays by the Mavs were evident as the whole team broke through their set up. Uneeq Palavi made her entrance, awakening the Palavi-Glasgow Super Shot duo. Frew also continued to shoot accurately from the two-point range whilst Palavi brought a level of confidence in nailing three of her own bringing the score difference back to six.
Q3: Mavs 40 – 52 Thunderbirds
Once again, the Thunderbirds started the quarter on the front foot with an intercept off the centre pass. Jok and Olivia Lewis stepped back onto the court, however the Thunderbirds continued to push away, stretching their lead to 10. Lewis had instant impact with an intercept, and the combination with Kim Brown caused turnovers. The Thunderbirds defensive unit remained hard to break in the middle. Palavi came back on the court in GS, scoring another Super Shot. Defensive pressure picked up from both ends with a rebound from Wilson leading into a Tayla Fraser intercept in transition.
Q4: Mavs 59 – 66 Thunderbirds
In a last push for a comebacK, the Mavs made strategic changes. Jovic was back in the C, Parmenter to WD and Maisie Nankevill came into WA. Grenvold and Lewis held the defensive circle whilst Jok returned to GS. The Mavs struggled to take the lead from the start of the quarter, where the Thunderbirds capitalised, extending their lead to 17. With ten minutes to go, the Mavs' momentum needed a shift – it came from Grenvold with an intercept, followed by another shuffle in the midcourt, sparked hope for the last five minutes. Parmenter led the final minutes in centre, utilising Fraser’s fast drives onto the circle. Brown entered again, creating strong pressure with Lewis. Glasgow with an intercept leading into the power five, where the Palavi and Glasgow show took place. Glasgow securing three super shots and Palavi scoring two of her own, they were back to 7. The final fight was just a little too late.
Mavs head coach, Tracey Neville, spoke on the pressure the Thunderbirds conceded throughout the game.
“I think last week we played with so much freedom and with confidence to release the ball. The pressure the Thunderbirds put on defensively was brilliant – they smothered, they made us feel like we couldn’t release the ball, and full credit to them,” Neville said.
“What I was really please about is, we have talked about finishing off quarters and not letting games blowout [and] today we still came back on the attack,” she added.
Midcourter, Tayla Fraser, commended the goalers efforts, particularly in the Power Five.
“I think our shooters shot so well and I think we had more of a structure and a plan around it this week and they executed it beautifully,” said Fraser.
“We let the gap get out too much tonight, if it was maybe seven or eight at the end, we could have maybe pulled that back, but we didn’t get to do that,” added Fraser.
Mavs Reserves
The depth of the Mavs family is evident with the Reserves side securing a 55-41 win against the Thunderbirds Futures on Sunday night. In a defensive, hard-fought contest, the win came down to a battle of the ball, highlighting collective intensity by all the Mavs Reserves players.
The Mavs will be back on court next week, Saturday 31 May, at UniSC Arena on the Sunshine Coast where they are playing their first rematch of the 2025 season, against the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
