Blitz brings super netball

THE Melbourne Vixens netball team brought some Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) action to the city last weekend for the Ballarat Blitz event.

More than 5,400 spectators descended on Selkirk Stadium for the pre-season meeting to see the Vixens compete, as well as the Adelaide Thunderbirds, GIANTS Netball and West Coast Fever teams. The Victorian Men’s League’s under 23 and reserve sides also put on an exhibition match.

As part of the tournament, the Thunderbirds defeated the GIANTS, 52 to 56, and the Fever beat the Vixens 62 to 66. The GIANTS claimed defeated the Fever 71 to 66 on Sunday, and the Vixens were not good enough for the Thunderbirds, going down 56 to 60.

“You come into weekends like this with certain objectives you want to work on, and things that you’re looking to find out and learn, so you have to maximise those opportunities,” said Vixens head coach, Simone McKinnis. “I think Zara’s done a really good job across the weekend. Gabby [Coffey] stepped out there and did really well, and it’s nice to see the likes of Emily Andrew and Lily [Graham] out there on court experiencing what SSN is.”

“We’ve loved Ballarat, it’s been so exciting having the supporters here – when we walked in for the start of our game [on Saturday] it was so loud, it was just a great crowd to play in front of and we’ve really enjoyed it.”

As part of the program, the Vixens ran junior netball clinics, meet-and-greets, question-and-answer sessions, and signings on the Saturday, before Netball Victoria coaching and umpiring workshops with former Australian Diamonds head coach Lisa Alexander and A-Badge umpire Trent Morison on Sunday.

Fans could also have their photo taken with the Super Netball trophy. The Ballarat Blitz had State Government and City of Ballarat support.