Sunshine Coast Lightning have continued their flying start to the 2021 Super Netball season after defeating the Melbourne Vixens 56-51 at John Cain Arena to leave the reigning premiers winless after two rounds.
The Vixens made a horror start to Sunday s clash between two of the league s most successful franchises and the Lightning looked set to record a lopsided victory after charging ahead by 14 goals in the third quarter.
Malawi international Mwai Kumwenda inspired a fourth-quarter revival to cut the margin to five goals in the closing minutes but it was not enough to prevent the Vixens from losing their opening two games for the first time in the Super Netball era.
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The Vixens were premiers last season.
The Melbourne Vixens knew leading into last season’s grand final that they would have to make some changes in the attacking third with goal attacks Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip both announcing their retirement.
The Vixens sent Thwaites and Philip off in style, winning a thrilling grand final against the West Coast Fever by two points (traditionally it would be goals but with the invention of the Super Shot it is now points. Sorry traditionalists, the Super Shot is still around for 2021).
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The new season of Super Netball is less than a week away and it is shaping up as the closest one yet, with a number of teams clearly in the mix.
I will try and break it down for you, looking at the key storylines, the teams and most importantly where they will rank at the end of the season.
Back to normal home-and-away
COVID played havoc with an abridged season last year, with all teams based in Queensland. We are swinging back into a home-and-away season this year, with the NSW Swifts and GWS Giants set to christen their new home at Ken Rosewall Arena. It adds another layer of difficulty for the West Coast Fever, who will have the heaviest travel schedule in the competition.