Fever rage to post rousing Super win over Firebirds

Melissa Woods |

Fever centre Jordan Cransberg was named player of the match after dominating through the midcourt.
Fever centre Jordan Cransberg was named player of the match after dominating through the midcourt.

West Coast Fever have regained their top-three Super Netball ladder berth on the back of a thumping 69-51 victory over the Queensland Firebirds.

The Fever had been leap-frogged by the Melbourne Mavericks, who snared a 10-point round 11 win over Sunshine Coast Lightning on Saturday, but that lasted only 24 hours, with West Coast again moving ahead after Sunday’s victory.

The loss leaves the Firebirds back in seventh and ends their hopes of playing finals this season.

Mary Cholhok
Mary Cholhok found her range in the final quarter, but it was too late for the Firebirds. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

After downing the Lightning last round and with the Fever having lost their previous two games, the Firebirds would have fancied their chances, but they were never in the hunt.

West Coast started Sunday’s match at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena with a scoring blitz, racing to a 5-0 lead, and were never headed.

The Firebirds’ centre pass-to-goal conversion rate was only 33 per cent for the opening quarter and they trailed 18-8 at the first break, with Fever wing defence Ruth Aryang causing headaches.

The home side’s performance didn’t improve in the second stanza, and with 11 turnovers to three the Fever moved further ahead to take a 38-18 lead into halftime.

Fever centre Jordan Cransberg was dominant through the midcourt to be named player of the match, while Sasha Glasgow and Romelda Aiken-George controlled the goal circle.

Goal-keeper Kadie-Ann Dehaney also made life difficult for the Firebirds’ shooters.

“It feels so good (to be back to third),” Cransberg told Fox Sports.

“We came into this match saying that we just needed to find a way to win, and we certainly did that.”

With the margin blowing out to 28 points by three-quarter time, the Firebirds risked racking up the biggest loss in Super Netball history.

They already owned that record, having lost by 36 point to the Fever in round five in 2024.

With victory assured, West Coast coach Dan Ryan made a series of changes heading into the final term, but they didn’t pay off. 

Queensland finished strongly, winning the final quarter 23- 13 ,with Mary Cholhok nailing 15 goals from 17 attempts, including four super shots.

Aiken-George headed the scoring with 46 goals from 51 attempts, while Glasgow bagged 15 from 21, including three two-pointers.

AAP