Life without Madi Robinson is weighing on the Melbourne Vixens after they fell to a third consecutive loss to leave their trans-Tasman netball title defence looking shaky.
In a clash of last year's grand finalists, the Queensland Firebirds led throughout to beat the Vixens 55-48 on their own Hisense Arena homecourt on Sunday, leaving the Vixens (3-3) third in the Australian conference.
Losing reigning player of the year Robinson to a season-ending knee injury suffered against leaders West Coast Fever last week proved too big a hurdle as the Vixens struggled to find an effective mid-court combination to counter the second-placed Firebirds (4-1-1).
Vixens coach Simone McKinnis made seven changes as she battled to break the dominance of Firebirds centre Kim Ravaillion and to break through the tight defending of Laura Geitz and Clare McMeniman.
But the strength of the Queensland midcourt allowed their shooters Romelda Aiken (37 of 46) and Gretel Tippett (18 of 26) to have 72 shots on goal compared to the Vixens' 56.
It's the first time the Vixens have lost three in a row since 2012.
In a special moment, Kelsey Browne made her debut in the second half for the Vixens, assuming her injured older sister Robinson's wing attack bib.
Share
