This Fever is running hot

By Phina Newton.

It was always going to be a challenging game, but the Firebirds had shown signs that they were up to the task. It was the Fever, however, who came away with a commanding win and who remain undefeated this season. 

The Firebirds needed a good start if they were going to have a chance against the dominant Fever, and they were able to stay with them for the first 10 minutes. Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard was always going to be difficult to defend – even for the twin towers of Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Remi Kamo, and she was in fine form yet again tonight. This made it hard for the Firebird defenders to have an impact as there were no missed shots for them to rebound.

Despite sticking with them in the beginning, the Firebirds couldn’t be as efficient or capitalise when the Power Five sounded. Shanice Beckford on the other hand, was happy to step up and nail a couple – the two Fever shooters finished the quarter 100 per cent from the field.

Unfortunately for the Firebirds, what was a 10-goal margin at the end of the first, snuck out to 20 goals quickly. To change things up, Isabelle Shearer was put on as GK, but little worked to stop the likes of Fowler-Nembhard. Donnell Wallam on the other hand was starting to feel the pressure and began to miss easy shots underneath the net. She saw her first sub for the season as the Firebirds opted for a moving circle, the likes of Emily Moore in alongside Tippah Dwan. This wasn’t the only change for the Firebirds, as Lara Dunkley put on the C bib, between her and Hulita Veve, they had a solid impact on the game. In saying this, the Fever were still in control of the game and maintained their 21-goal margin.

The Firebirds faced an uphill battle to get back in this game, but with the lead at risk of being stretched further out – they put their best foot forward in the third and showed some very promising signs. They almost won the quarter and very much challenged the Fever.

It was a standout game for youngster, Olivia Wilkinson, who across the third and fourth quarters was in the shooting circle and provided an exciting spark for the Fever.

She wasn’t the only young gun who made a statement, all eyes were on Ruth Aryang who made her debut for the Fever in the absence of Kelsey Browne. It was like seeing double; the younger sister of Sunday Aryang possesses many of the same qualities in the defensive end.

Chasing their record-breaking win from last year, Fever coaches were happy to take Fowler-Nembhard off and keep Wilkinson on. She shot an impressive 15/17 and only fell just short of beating the 97-goal score line, the Fever ending the game on 94 goals.

Ultimately, the Fever had better depth across the board and was far more efficient than the Firebirds. It’s easy to attribute the credit to the likes of Fowler-Nembhard, but in WA, Alice Teague-Neeld showed great poise in her delivery of the ball and was a huge factor in the Fever’s success. She led both teams in goal assists, centre pass receives, and feeds – showing she truly was everywhere on the court.