Firebirds fall to Mavericks

THE Queensland Firebirds have fallen to a seven-goal Suncorp Super Netball loss in Hobart to the Melbourne Mavericks.

Led by an inspired 61-goal display from Shimona Jok, the Mavericks pulled away from the Firebirds after an equal first quarter to claim a 71-64 win at MyState Bank Arena.

The Firebirds began brightly with Emily Moore combining well with Mary Cholhok in the goal circle as both teams went toe-to-toe with the quarter finishing 18-all.

Errors at crucial moments however allowed the Mavericks to snatch a lead in the second term, winning the quarter 18-12 to be six clear at the halftime break.

A bruising third quarter, which featured co-captain Ruby Bakewell-Doran being forced to the bench following a heavy collision with Mavericks’ goal attack Sasha Glasgow, ended with the Mavericks holding a 10-goal advantage heading into the final quarter.

Bakewell-Doran returned to the court for the final term, with the Firebirds finishing strong to cut the margin on the back of Suncorp Super Shots from Abigail Latu-Meafou.

In the end though, the gap was too wide for the Firebirds to realistically threaten a comeback as Kiri Wills’ team slipped to a fourth loss in a row.

Moore finished with 17 from 22 to continue her impressive start to the 2025 season while Latu-Meafou hit four two-pointers in her 21 minutes on the court.

The Firebirds return home next weekend to host the Melbourne Vixens in a First Nations Round clash at Nissan Arena.