Firebirds defiant as finals hopes dive

THE finals hopes of the Firebirds are all but cooked after the gut-wrenching 61-59 loss to Collingwood at Launceston’s Silverdome yesterday.

With four rounds left in the Super Netball home-and-away season, the fifth-placed Queensland trail the fourthplaced Magpies by three points (one-and-a-half wins) on the ladder and are staring down the barrel of missing finals for the first time since 2012.

The Firebirds must win their remaining four matches and hope Collingwood get the ‘‘Colliwobbles’’, but the draw for the last month of the season may not allow that to happen.

The in-form and star-studded Collingwood play the bottom three sides on the table – Swifts, Fever and Thunderbirds – after they take on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday night in Melbourne. The Firebirds must play the leagueleading Melbourne Vixens away this weekend and also face the finals-bound GWS in Sydney in Round 13 in a much tougher run compared with the Magpies.

While their top-four aspirations hang by a mathematical thread, Firebirds wing attack Caitlyn Nevins said the reigning champions would keep fighting the good fight.

“We are disappointed with the loss but we are not out of the finals race yet,’’ Nevins said. “We need to make sure that we win every single game from here on in.”

The Firebirds trailed by five goals with four minutes to play but roared home to within one goal with 33 seconds remaining. But Caitlin Thwaites hit her 43rd goal from 45 attempts in the dying seconds to seal the Magpies’ third straight win. Teague-Neeld 2) d QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS 59 (Romelda Aiken 47 Gretel Tippett 12) at Silverdome. GIANTS NETBALL 48 (Susan Pettitt 21 Joanne Harten 16 Kristina Brice 11) d WEST COAST FEVER 45 (Kate Beveridge 25 Natalie Medhurst 13 Kaylia Stanton 7) at HBF Stadium.

Romelda Aiken was a tower of strength in her personal battle with Collingwood defender Sharni Layton and finished with 47 goals from 52 attempts. Layton was still a standout with six intercepts.

Firebirds captain Gabi Simpson was named MVP for her defensive effort.

Collingwood captain Madi Robinson said it was a “a tough grind’’ and “it was really good for us to hold on’’.