The new era of the Queensland Firebirds got underway with a victory on Sunday afternoon in Sydney, edging out the Giants in an entertaining battle at Ken Rosewall Arena.
The Firebirds made some big moves in the off season, most notably recruiting giant Ugandan goal shooter Mary Cholhok and England international midcourter Imogen Allison.
Cholhok’s impact was immediate, and with the Giants unable to match her height with their defensive unit, looked to disrupt the supply of ball coming in to goal shooter.
Rising star Erin O’Brien was given the job of marking Cholhok in what would become her first full game at Super Netball level. O’Brien was conceding a number of penalties in her attempts to take away space from Cholhok, but with an 11cm height difference, you could hardly blame her.
It was a fast start from the Firebirds in the opening quarter, yet it was some of their local players leading the way, with Macy Gardner and Lara Dunkley providing efficiency around the court, while Emily Moore sunk a couple of Super Shots to hand the visitors a handy seven goal lead at the first break.
Needing to change the energy both on the court and in the stadium, Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald handed teenage midcourter Hope White her first court time in Super Netball, slotting into Wing Attack at the expense of Maddie Hay.
To say her impact was immediate would be an understatement. White’s movement around the court and tracking the ball - at one stage she ran out of the court to retrieve a ball which she hurled perfectly into the hands of Matisse Letherbarrow under the hoop - brought the Giants back into the contest, and the crowd were getting loud.
Suddenly a side that had struggled in recent years to reel in a deficit without using Super Shots, had done exactly that, and with a couple of minutes to go, the home team found themselves in front. The Firebirds were not helping their own cause, shooting just 72% accuracy in the first half, however Cholhok’s superiority in the air meant that even when she was missing shots, second chances were created as a result of her rebounding ability, and the Firebirds went into halftime with their nose back in front by one.
The Firebirds looked to make their own change at halftime, with English star Imogen Allison benched as the Queensland side looked to regain midcourt dominance.
There was a scare early in the third quarter for the Giants with Diamonds star Sophie Dwyer forced to leave the court after falling backwards and bumping her head on Hope White’s leg. This saw veteran co-captain Jo Harten injected into the game for the first time, however Dwyer was able to return minutes later during a time out.
The Firebirds started to pull away from the Giants during the third quarter, opening up a five goal lead at the last break.
Despite another big shift from heart and soul Giants co-captain Jamie-Lee Price and an impressive performance from Erin O’Brien in defence, the Firebirds didn’t let the Giants back into the contest in the final quarter. Super Shots, which have so often helped the Giants claw their way back into games, weren’t dropping in the final minutes (Sophie Dwyer 0/4, Matisse Letherbarrow 6/211), and English star Allison returned to the court as the new look Firebirds ran out the game strongly to record a five goal win, much to the delight of their bench and coaching staff as the final buzzer sounded.
Post game, Firebirds coach Kiri Wills said that starting the season with a win was a huge confidence boost for her players:
“To go out there and prove to ourselves that we’ve arrived and we’re ready to go is massive for the whole team.”
For the Giants, coach Julie Fitzgerald said her side probably wasn’t as effective in cutting off the midcourt supply of the Firebirds, saying,
“The midcourt is a real strength of ours, but I don’t think we saw the best of it tonight.”
The veteran coach reserved special praise for the defensive effort of Erin O’Brien:
“I thought she did a tremendous job, I thought she did everything we could ask of her.”