The Victorians jumped the Fever with the first four goals of the match before Fever wrestled the momentum back through the energy of Sasha Glasgow and accuracy of Male Training Partner Jerome Gillbard.
Glasgow scored her first super shot which propelled Fever to the lead before the Victorians went on a seven-goal streak to lead by five at quarter time.
The new defensive unit of Courtney Bruce, Kim Jenner and Sunday Aryang combined well to blunt the Victorian attack as well as set up opportunities for Fever to counterattack.
The Fever managed to cut the margin back to one goal during the second quarter before the two Brodie Roberts supershots saw the visitors enter the main break with an eight-goal lead, despite a Gillbard supershot on the buzzer.
The second half saw Fever rotate their line up providing opportunities for training partners Nat Butler and the Cransberg sisters, Jordan and Zoe.
Fever was able to reduce the deficit to five goals in the late stages of the third quarter, before Victoria scored the final six goals to go into the final quarter with an 11-goal lead.
The last quarter saw all three training partners make a seamless transition onto the court, which bodes well for the Fever’s depth leading into the SSN season.
Coach Dan Ryan said Game One was a big challenge and tested a number of parts of the Fever’s game.
“I thought we responded really well throughout the contest, stayed really competitive and chipping away at the things we were working on. It was a really beneficial hit out and we are looking forward to tomorrow,” Ryan said post-match.
Ryan was pleased with the progress of the team as well as the new defensive unit.
“I thought we’ve made great progress in that space over the last couple of weeks and getting use to the new combinations and the versatility of that defence line. I thought all of them played really well against tough opposition today in positive signs for what’s to come.”
Ryan also praised the training partners for their performances which showed they can mix it with the best.
“You are only as strong as the depth of your squad so to speak. We really value having high quality training partners that can get out on the court and continue the quality and calibre of what we need to play the game.
“It was great to see Nat get out there, who hasn’t skipped a beat. It was Jordan’s first little run against tough opposition and she was outstanding and Zoe got some court time too.”
Fever will face the Victorian Men’s again tomorrow with all players from the contracted squad of 10 expected to take the court.
