MATCH INFORMATION
Who: Melbourne Vixens v Melbourne Mavericks
When: Sunday 8 June
Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Time: 2pm AEST
Broadcast: Kayo / Foxtel / Binge
The Melbourne Mavericks are gearing up for a massive King’s Birthday long weekend clash, as they prepare to take on their crosstown rivals, the Melbourne Vixens, in Round 9 of the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) season.
The Vixens have had the upper hand in this rivalry so far, winning all three previous encounters, including a 67–59 victory in Round 4 earlier this year. The Mavs will be hungry to turn the tide and claim their first derby win in front of a passionate Melbourne crowd at John Cain Arena.
The Mavs enter the match with a 2–6 record for the 2025 season thus far after a hard-fought 60–67 loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Round 8. Despite a strong final-quarter push, the Mavs couldn’t close the gap, with costly turnovers and missed opportunities proving decisive.
Meanwhile, the Vixens are coming off a confidence-boosting 71–61 win over the Giants, lifting them to fifth on the ladder with a 4–4 record and keeping their finals hopes alive.
This weekend also marks a special milestone for Mavs defender, Kim Brown, who will play her 100th National League match. Brown, who has previously represented the Firebirds and the Fever, has been a key figure in the Mavs’ defensive unit since joining the club for its inaugural season in 2024.
Ahead of Brown’s milestone match, Mavs head coach, Tracey Neville, paid tribute to the 27-year-old.
“It seems surreal that she's actually played 100 games - as many as Shimona [Jok]. You forget the experience [she has] and how long she's been around the SSN and the teams that she's come from and the history that's come before her, and I think that's really important to celebrate.
“Because when she came to us she was young, you sometimes think of her as a new recruit, but she's actually a really established player and you know and that's what's driven us to continue her contract with the Mavericks.”
The Mavs’ last three matches have all been decided by exactly seven goals, including their Round 6 win over the Firebirds and back-to-back losses to the Thunderbirds and Lightning. In fact, seven of the club’s 22 SSN matches have been decided by that margin, with the Mavs winning two and losing five of those contests.
The Vixens have never lost a Round 9 match in Super Netball history, while the Mavs will be looking to break a two-game losing streak and notch their third win of the season. With the likes of Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin in strong form for the Vixens, the Mavs will rely on the energy of Molly Jovic and Amy Parmenter through the midcourt, and the defensive leadership of Brown and Liv Lewis to keep the contest tight.
“It's always exciting to play against Melbourne Vixens,” Neville continued. “There's a lot of derby mentality [that comes into it] when we play them. We know they're coming off a good win last weekend against the Giants, and I think last time, I think we performed really well against them, and we're just looking to build on what we want to achieve, and that's the ‘in-the-moment’ skills."
“Our attack at the moment, I think we're really firing, but we know against this Vixens side, we need to win quite a lot of ball back, so that'll be one of our focus areas this week, about how we can limit possession to the circle and obviously decrease their opportunities.”
With pride, points, and bragging rights on the line, the Melbourne Derby mark two for 2025 promises to be one of the matches of the season.
