History-making Romelda
SUNSHINE Girl Romelda Aiken ushered the Queensland Firebirds to consecutive ANZ Championship Finals Series titles yesterday with a 69-67 win over the New South Wales Swifts, last year’s beaten finalist.
The imposing goal shooter, who was clearly having an off day, scored at an uncharacteristically low 71 per cent, netting only 63 from 89 attempts in the fiercely contested, nail-biting thriller, which was all square at the end of both full-time and overtime.
The Firebirds were locked at 54-54 (12-15, 17-12, 12-15, 13-12) with the Swifts at the end of regulation time, before two seven-minute, extra-time periods were added to break the stalemate. The Firebirds managed to secure a 61-59 lead at the end of the first seven minutes, but the Swifts made a double change and plugged the deficit to level 66-66 at the end of the second seven-minute period.
A sudden-death period then followed, with the first team to reach two clear points over the other set to earn bragging rights.
The New South Wales Swifts fired the first shot to inch ahead 67-66, but Aiken steadied to discharge three-in-a-row to seal the deal for the Roselee Jencke-coached squad.
The Swifts were unlucky losers who shot at a superior 79 per cent against the Firebirds’ 69 per cent. But with 49 of the 69 Queensland goals coming from centre passes — paired with Aiken rebounding five times as many balls as the combined Swifts defence — victory was in the cards.
The Firebirds’ pesky centre Kim Ravaillion was voted the final’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The six-foot-five Jamaican phenom has played in the league since its inception.
In 2011, when Queensland first won the title, she was voted MVP of the finals and named among the ANZ Championship All-star Team. The Brisbane-based star was ranked the top attacker multiple times in 2014, and the Australian Conference MVP in the 2008, 2009 and 2015 seasons. The prolific shooter scored yet another significant accomplishment this season when she brought her career goal tally to an unprecedented 5,000 — a league record.
Aiken’s Firebirds, who have now featured in a peerless four consecutive championship finals, appeared in a record five overall, making them the most successful team in the league’s history. Following yesterday’s victory, they became the only team to cop back-to-back season wins and to secure the title three times since the formation of the league in 2008.
The ANZ Championship Series compromise 10 professional netball teams, five each from Australia and New Zealand, participating in intra-conference return fixtures and top-of-the-table play-offs, as well as inter-conference semis and final matches.
The Firebirds’ victory cap a meritorious eight-year run for the championship, which is scheduled to be replaced by a new league in 2017.