The Thunderbirds opened the game up in the second quarter, outscoring the Fever Reserves by eight goals to go into the main break with a 10-goal lead.
Jasmah Haywood continued her strong tournament leading the way with 42 goals from 45 attempts and was well supported by Sloan Burton who shot 10 goals at 100 per cent.
Captain Jordan Cransberg contributed 30 Feeds and 25 Goal Assists, while Vice Captain Caitlyn Brown lead the way in defence with three Gains, an Intercept and a Rebound.
The Fever’s ANC campaign started with a tight encounter, where Fever showed moments of quality netball in attack and defence. They weren’t able to convert critical moments in the second half which let the Firebirds Futures gain control and secure a four-goal win.
Back-to-back strong performances over the Territory Storm and Tasmania Wild put the Fever Reserves in a great position to qualify for one of the two major semi finals.
With it all to play for in the final pool match against the Victoria Fury, the Fever Reserves came to play and secured an all-important six-goal win. Trailing by a goal at quarter time, the Fever Reserves took control in the second quarter to lead by five at half time and then three at the final change.
A strong final quarter, saw them secure a spot in the semi final and a chance at the Gold Medal Match. Defender Liz Dronfield was exceptional with seven Gains, while Numi Tupaea and Cransberg had 36 and 25 Feeds respectively. Haywood put in another top shooting performance with 42 goals at 91 per cent.
Unfortunately, in their way of a grand final berth was eventual champions Collingwood, who started the semi final strongly to lead by six at quarter time and controlled the contest throughout.
Haywood contributed another 23 goals to finish the championships with 186 goals at 92 per cent and Dronfield and Jess Repacholi combined for seven Gains in defence.
Coach Guy Keane said he was excited to see the emergence of future WA talent on the National stage.
“I am so proud of how this group of young and developing athletes came together and how connected they were on and off the court, Keane said.
“We had so many positives to come out of the week and many learnings to implement into the training environment for 2024.
“Jasmah Haywood built throughout the championships stepping up to the challenge and performing outstandingly on debut against some strong physical defenders,” Keane said.
“Jordan Cransberg combined strongly in both attack and defence with Jess Repacholi and Numi Tuapaea while demonstrating her leadership on and off court.”
Keane praised the efforts of debutant defender Liz Dronfield who was elevated into the team as a replacement for Ruth Aryang.
“Liz proved her prowess defensively, winning plenty of ball for our team across the week.”
Results
Pool Matches
Firebirds Futures 60 defeated West Coast Fever Reserves 56
Territory Storm 26 lost to West Coast Fever Reserves 78
West Coast Fever Reserves 57 defeated Tasmania Wild 42
West Coast Fever Reserves 63 defeated Victoria Fury 57
Semi Final 2: West Coast Fever Reserves 47 lost to Collingwood Magpies 60
Bronze Medal Match: West Coast Fever Reserves 57 lost to Adelaide Thunderbirds 69
