Simone McKinnis says her team ‘is in a good place’.
MELBOURNE Vixens coach Simone McKinnis says her young group is determined to “go all the way” in their Super Netball campaign after securing the minor premiership and a home semi-final this week.
The Vixens cemented top spot on the ladder with a 26-goal win over West Coast Fever in Perth on Saturday night to put themselves in prime position for the Super Netball finals.
The team will now host the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the major semi-final at Margaret Court Arena on Saturday afternoon, with the winner progressing straight to a home grand final.
Simone McKinnis says her team ‘is in a good place’.Source:AAP
The Vixens enter the finals as the form team of the competition on the back of big wins over the Thunderbirds and Fever, for a combined winning margin of 47 goals.
While McKinnis acknowledged the finals were a new ball game, she said her players were focused on capitalising on their home semi-final to book a path straight to the decider.
“We’ve earned that top spot and we feel good about that and we just have to refocus now … but I think they are in a good place,’’ McKinnis said.
“You want to be going in to finals (in good form), we’ve had a couple of good wins at the back end, you just want to go in positive.
“Finals is a whole new ball game, but I am happy to be having a home semi given that we just had the trip to Perth.
“Anything can happen in finals and we’ve got ourselves this far and we haven’t come this far just to come this far, we want to go all the way.’’
After losing leaders Madi Robinson and Geva Mentor to rival teams, the Vixens’ young line-up was not widely considered serious title challengers at the start of the year, but they have thrilled the league with their exciting brand of netball.
The Vixens have split their games against the Lightning this year, suffering a six-goal loss on the Sunshine Coast in round two before scoring an 11-goal win over the new franchise in round 10.
The Lightning closed out their season with a thrilling one-goal win over the Giants to ensure their place in the major semi-final.
“I think the last game we played in Melbourne, we had a really good win, it was probably one of our better performances for the year,’’ McKinnis said.
“I’m sure they will have no doubt looked at that and it’s going to be a really tough match no doubt. You can’t have players like (Geva) Mentor, (Laura) Langman and (Caitlin) Bassett, they are just a top quality line-up who are playing really good netball.’’
Substitute goaler Emma Ryde missed the trip to Perth after sitting out the previous week with an ankle sprain, but is expected to be back for this week’s final.
“We’ll just wait to see this week with Emma Ryde, but hopefully she’ll be back on deck now that she’s had that extra weekend,’’ McKinnis said.
“She wasn’t right to be playing. You could have pushed it, but we didn’t want to, especially with the travel as well, so just probably being a little bit extra cautious and giving her the best chance of being in really good fitness heading into the finals.”
Jo Weston keeps the Fever at bay as the Vixens dominate out west.Source:Getty Images
SUPER NETBALL SEMI-FINALS
Major semi-final
Melbourne Vixens v Sunshine Coast Lightning
Margaret Court Arena, Saturday June 3, 4pm
The story this year
Round 2, Lightning 58 d Vixens 52, Sunshine Coast
Round 10, Vixens 70 d Lightning 59, Melbourne
Minor semi-final
Giants Netball v Magpies Netball
Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, Saturday June 3, 7pm
The story this year
Round 3, Magpies 51 lost to Giants 59, Melbourne
Round 9, Giants 56 lost to Magpies 59, Sydney
Finals progression
The winner of the major semi-final (Vixens or Lightning) progresses straight to the grand final, earning the right to host the decider on Saturday, June 17.
The loser of the major semi-final will host the preliminary final against the winner of the minor semi-final (Giants or Magpies) on Saturday, June 10. The loser of the minor semi-final ends their campaign.
The winner of the preliminary final progresses to the grand final, hosted by the winner of the major semi-final on Saturday, June 17.
Originally published as Vixens ready to make most of finishing first
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