Fusion open campaign with two wins

2012 Australian Netball League

The Queensland Fusion kicked off their Australian Netball League (ANL) campaign with two wins from three games in Canberra last weekend.

To come away with two wins and a loss was a good return for the Fusion, who just missed out on a Grand Final birth last year after going down to the Western Sting in a preliminary final.

Fusion captain Jacqui Russell was pleased with her team’s performance across the first round.

“Playing three games in one weekend was always going to be tough and I am really happy with how the team went in Round One,” she said.

“We only dropped one game and by such a small margin, it just goes to prove that Queensland Fusion will be one of the teams to watch this season.

“We have finished this round knowing we will be able to handle the pace and we are looking forward to Round Two.”

Looking to improve on their third place in last year’s tournament, the Fusion opened their account with a 60-51 defeat of Tassie Spirit in the second Friday night game.

In what was an evenly matched contest, very little separated either side for much of the first three quarters before the Fusion pulled away to win.

Next for the Fusion was a clash with the NSW Blues, a team that features many of that state best young state league and representative players.

After a strong opening quarter where they scored 16 goals to NSW’s seven, they were consistent for the next three quarters to win 63-41.

In their final game of round one, the Fusion lost a thriller against the AIS 55-53 in a game where neither side was able to stamp their dominance.

West Coast Fever feeder team Western Sting have set the early pace after a strong opening round performance.

The Sting defeated the AIS 43-40, Tassie Spirit 66-37 and Canberra Darters 76-31 to sit atop of the competition ladder with six points from their first three games.

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