Moloney and Vixens hitting new Super Netball highs
Melissa Woods |
Ironmaiden Kate Moloney has timed a personal milestone well with the Melbourne Vixens hitting a new Super Netball high in the midst of their unbeaten season.
The defending champions haven’t skipped beat in their quest for back-to-back titles with skipper Moloney leading the charge through the first eight rounds of competition.
And Vixens are also celebrating signing up their 10,000th member for the first time – representing a quarter of all Super Netball members across the league.
Moloney will bring up her 200th match when the Melbourne team host the Queensland Firebirds on Sunday, the first Vixens player to reach the mark.
What makes the 33-year-old’s record all the more impressive is that the Diamonds midcourter has only missed one match in 14 seasons since making her Super debut in 2013 – forced out when diagnosed with COVID-19.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky with my body and mu body has been great to me,” Moloney told AAP.
“I’ve only missed one game, and that was due to COVID-19 in 2022 and I think you play with it now, but back in the day you had to isolate for however many days so it doesn’t really count.
“I don’t know if you ever quite think ‘I’m going to get to 200 games’, and it takes a long time as there’s only 13 or 14 rounds a season … it’s pretty special to think that I’ve been able to stay around for so long and it is very special to reach this milestone.”
Moloney shows no signs of slowing down, a lock for Australian selection to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow starting late July, while there is a home World Cup on the horizon in 2027.
Sharelle McMahon clocked 216 national league games and more than 100 Tests but her career was interrupted with a knee injury and ended by a ruptured Achilles, leaving her in awe of her former teammate.
“She’s an absolute professional on and off the court and the work she’s done has let her do that,” said McMahon, now the Vixens high performance general manager.
“Kate’s playing a position where there’s a lot of running, there’s a lot of up and down and physicality in and around that circle edge so her ability to keep herself out on court is amazing.”
McMahon hoped the club could celebrate both Moloney and the membership milestone with another victory at John Cain Arena.
“To officially surpass 10,000 members really is amazing and the support we get and the engagement with our fans is still growing,” the former Diamonds skipper said.
“This really is a huge milestone and it does speak to the club, the passion that our supporters bring to us and the standard we continue to set for netball across Australia.”
AAP