The Thunderbirds have made history at a sold-out Adelaide Entertainment Centre, securing back-to-back titles.

The Adelaide Thunderbirds would be entering the Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final as favourites, but defending their championship title would be no easy task. After a commanding start from the Melbourne Vixens had the hometown heroes trailing by 5 goals before quarter time, the Thunderbirds called a strategic timeout to regroup and try again.

The Vixens lead of 13-16 at quarter time was a surprise to spectators, who all season had witnessed the world-class Thunderbirds’ defense stomp out threats from even the strongest offences in the league.

Head Coach Tania Obst would have to make some swift changes to counter Vixens weapon Kiera Austin, whose flawless super shot record was posing an explosive threat to the scoreboard.

The changes, which included the shuffling around of SASI graduates Tayla Williams and Hannah Petty, completely shifted the momentum of the game. At half time, the scores would be level at 28 and the home crowd’s growing roars would begin to test the Vixens’ grit.

Georgie Horjus played a key role in the Thunderbirds second half, who when moved to goal attack from her usual wing attack position, would outpace the Vixens’ defense to shoot 7/8 with 12 assists. Lauren Frew also had a strong impact after ironing out a few early mistakes, scoring 10/10 with 11 assists.

The Thunderbirds would extend their lead out to 6 points at one point in the second half, but also kept a level head when that advantage was chopped down to just 2 points in the closing minutes.

When Vixens’ attacker Sophie Garbin took aim for a make-or-break super shot to level the scores, fans stood to their feet with a potential overtime thriller in sight. But it was not to be.

With a final score of 59-57, the Adelaide Thunderbirds defended their title as Suncorp Super Netball Champions. It makes them one of only two teams in the history of Australian professional netball to go back-to-back, with the last time being the New South Wales Swifts in 2015 and 2016.

Thunderbirds Romelda Aiken-George was the undisputed queen of the court, scoring 42 of Adelaide’s 59 total points and claiming the grand final MVP.

SASI graduate and Thunderbirds captain Hannah Petty spoke after the game on the adaptiveness her team showed, and how that allowed them to pivot after a difficult first quarter.

“Yes, that quarter happened, we’ve got to park it, we’ve got learn from it and move on and that’s pretty much what we had to do. We had to try and get control back on our terms,” said Petty.

“I’m just super proud of the girls to go out there, play their role.

“That’s what this team is all about.”

She was also quick to shrug off a late game hit, saying it is all worth it for the team she loves.

“Nothing hurts at the moment,” Petty said with a laugh.

“You always go out there, you put your body on the line. You see the ball, you get the ball.

“That’s why you play netball, you do anything for your teammates. I know it’s not just me, it’s everyone else on the court that does the same.”