Mentor v Thwaites to be decisive match-up on Monday: Chatfield

Having played with and against Geva Mentor and Caitlin Thwaites, former Melbourne Vixens premiership co-captain Bianca Chatfield has nominated the goal circle duel as the decisive match-up in Monday’s derby against the Magpies at Melbourne Arena.

The Vixens have won all four matches between the Netball Victoria establishment club whose motto has been "we make champions" and the three-year-old footy-backed start-up whose philosophy, by necessity, might be better characterised as "we handpick champions and relocate them".

Caitlin Thwaites and Geva Mentor in action for the Magpies and Lightning, respectively, in 2018.Credit:AAP

The problem has been getting so many stars to align. In some respects, it still is.

Thwaites, a former Magpie, was one of four in the black and white to have played in each Super Netball clash with the Vixens. The club she represented from 2008-10 is where the in-form shooter has returned this year after her tenure at Collingwood was surprisingly not extended at the end of 2018.

"I’m all too aware that the Magpies haven’t beaten the Vixens in a regular season game and I don’t want to be on the losing side of that – again," said Thwaites before her first official clash with her former team, now rival.

"Any of the feelings of nerves or anything like that have probably been gotten out of the way from playing them a couple of times in the pre-season. So my focus will be on doing my job for the team, and making sure we’ve got that connection in attack."

Chatfield, her gold medal-winning teammate at the 2015 Commonwealth Games, backs Liz Watson, Kate Moloney and Tegan Philip to help limit the influence of Mentor, the international superstar with whom the Vixens’ stalwart once shared the defensive circle.

"That is going to be a huge match-up," Chatfield said. "I know that Geva can get in Caity’s head with the way she plays, and I know from when I used to play that is one of Geva’s best assets. But, in saying that, Caity’s been in great form and she’s kept standing up no matter who’s been playing on her.

"Geva is unique in the way she moves around the body and the way she gets her hands to balls that you just don’t think she’s going to get – and she does it all the time with a smile on her face.

"She does her role around the back of players when the ball gets lifted in the air, and it’s just a bit unusual compared with what other defenders do. Caity’s aware of that, and the feeders that she’s got out in front of her this time will be very helpful, because they will put the ball in the right spot – not in Geva’s eyesight."

As much as the Vixens are proudly undefeated in what the marketing types have dubbed "The Battle", the average winning margin of just four goals is indicative of how tight the clashes have been. And as much as the no-love-lost saying is always trite, it is also true in this case to say there is little affection between the teams.

Having spent her playing career with the Melbourne Phoenix and then the Vixens under the Netball Victoria umbrella, Chatfield was a player welfare consultant for the newborn Magpies in 2017, and thus is well-qualified to compare both environments.

"The rivalry reminds me of what it was like when it was [Melbourne] Phoenix and Kestrels, in that you don’t like the other team, and you want to be the No.1 team in Melbourne," she said.

"So as much as there’s the bigger picture worrying about the rest of the clubs in Super Netball, one eye is always focused on your cross-town rival. And from being a part of both these teams at different stages, I know the feeling is very mutual."

The Vixens arrive with the more impressive form (a 10-goal away defeat of the Lightning, compared with the Pies’ 16-goal thrashing from the Swifts), superior ladder position after six rounds (second versus fifth), and enough momentum to persuade Chatfield to tip a Melbourne win.

Thwaites, despite the distressing nature of her departure, still has close friends among the Magpies – including Diamonds World Cup teammate April Brandley, who will partner Mentor in defence.

"With the club allegiances, once you’ve been around for a long time and make those solid friendships, as soon as you step off the court you can put those differences aside," Thwaites said. "But when we step onto the court, then we’ll be sharpening our elbows, I tell you!"

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