Fever clip wings of Magpies

WEST Coast Fever cemented their place at the top of the table after a thrilling five-goal win over the resurgent Collingwood Magpies in Perth.

The Fever now sit a game clear of the second-ranked Melbourne Vixens.

It came down to the final five minutes, with no team going up by more than four at any point. The Magpies were out to a four-goal lead part way through the final quarter, but better management of the supershot period by the Fever saw them take the game away from an impressive Magpies outfit.

With Kelsey Browne wreaking havoc, Sunday Aryang was pushed out to wing defence at the start of the fourth quarter and had an immediate impact, shutting off the easy access to the circle Browne had been enjoying. A key defensive gain by Stacey Francis-Bayman during the supershot period allowed the Fever to press their advantage.

Both teams had late outs, with Magpies goal attack Gabby Sinclair and Fever midcourter Jess Anstiss ruled out with illness and a foot injury respectively. Nyah Allen came into the squad as a replacement for Sinclair, making a cameo in the final five minutes, while Jordan Cransberg got some court time at centre as a replacement for Anstiss.

It was a high quality game with low turnovers and gains. Fever coach Dan Ryan rang the changes during the game in an attempt to stifle the quick ball in attack from the Magpies, who had clearly done their homework.

The feeders from the Magpies were placing their passes into Shimona Nelson with pinpoint precision to avoid the defensive work of Fever goal keeper Courtney Bruce (inset).

The Fever had the best centre-pass conversion of any team coming into the game and the Magpies looked to disrupt it by crowding the centre third and cutting off the run of Fever wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld.

The Fever looked their strongest when they hit the circle edge and could feed the ball to Jhaniele Fowler with ease.