Fowler-Nembhard perfect game not enough as Vixens defeat Fever by one point to win Suncorp Super Netball title

The Melbourne Vixens have been crowned 2025 Suncorp Super Netball champions after beating the heavily favored West Coast Fever 59-58 in an enthralling grand final on Saturday.

The victory was redemption for the Vixens, who lost last year’s decider to the Adelaide Thunderbirds by two goals and were beaten soundly by the Fever in their previous final back in 2022.

But, buoyed by a sold-out Rod Laver Arena, the Vixens held their nerve to snap the Fever’s 13-game winning streak and lift the trophy for the first time since 2020.

The Fever were surprisingly tentative early for the form team in the competition, who had not lost a game since April 12.

Despite not missing a shot in the first half, they still found themselves down by two at the long break before the Vixens opened up a 48-43 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Fever goal keeper Kadie-Ann Dehaney came up with a crucial deflection late in the term to keep her team in the fight, prompting the Vixens to use their last timeout, with captain Kate Moloney imploring her team to “throw everything you have at these last few minutes”.

The win was made more tense when Jhaniele Fowler-Nembard made the Fever’s only super shot of the game to get within one goal with 56 seconds left, after defensive obstruction calls on two successive long-range misses.

But the Vixens held on to the centre pass for long enough to run out the clock and send out departing coach Simone McKinnis with a third title after 13 years in charge of the team.

It was the third grand final showdown between the Vixens and Fever after Melbourne won by two goals in 2020 and West Coast romped home by 11 in 2022.

Fowler-Nembhard finished with a perfect 50 goals from 50 attempts while Shanice Beckford had four goals and 10 assists for the runners-up.