Saturday night, my heart was in my throat.
The Melbourne Vixens were taking on the seemingly unstoppable West Coast Fever in the 2025 Super Netball Grand Final. Top of the ladder, dominant all season, the Fever were expected to win- and win comfortably.
But the Vixens? They had other plans.
They came in fourth. Their season hadn’t started well. They weren’t meant to be here. But they clawed their way into finals, and brought their A-game when it mattered most.
And on that court, they played like a team possessed. Intentional. Disciplined. Determined.
But this blog isn’t just about the final. It’s about the leader behind it.
It was Simone McKinnis’s last match after 13 years as head coach. And her final coaching moments will stay with me forever.
A Moment That Shifted Everything
In the preliminary final the week before, the Vixens were down by 10. They were being beaten by the Swifts. They looked done.
Then Simone stepped in.
She didn’t yell. She didn’t panic. She did what the best leaders do: she calmed the storm and gave her team back their power.
Her words?
“We have nothing to lose here – except throwing our best selves at this contest.”
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That line hit me in the chest.
It wasn’t about pressure. It wasn’t about the scoreboard. It was about possibility. Choice. Identity. A reminder of who they were when they weren’t weighed down by fear.
The result? A comeback for the ages. The Vixens won by one and earned their place in the Grand Final.
Coaching as Empowerment
We often think great coaches are technical masterminds. But the real magic – the legacy stuff – is in how they lead people. And Simone? She leads like few others.
She doesn’t just coach performance. She cultivates belief. She teaches presence. She releases pressure and reminds her players to play their game – not someone else’s.
And it showed.
In a game where every pass mattered, where the margin never blew out, and where the final minute was edge-of-your-seat chaos, the Vixens didn’t blink. They backed each other. They stayed focused. And they brought everything they had.
That’s not just training. That’s leadership.
A Legacy That Goes Beyond Wins
Simone McKinnis finishes her time with the Vixens as a two-time premiership-winning coach, four-time Grand Finalist, and 13-year stalwart of the club. But stats don’t tell the full story.
Her real legacy?
It’s in the women she coached.
The belief she built.
The resilience she modelled.
And the leadership she embodied every single day.
As someone who grew up playing netball – who lived and breathed it until my body said enough – I felt every moment of that game. Every intercept. Every supershot attempt. Every time the momentum threatened to shift.
And when the final whistle blew, and the Vixens were up by one?
Tears. Pride. Inspiration.
Because it wasn’t just a win. It was a reminder of what’s possible when you choose belief over fear. Discipline over doubt. Team over ego. And love of the game over pressure of the moment.
The Leadership Takeaway
You don’t need to be a netball fan to take something from this.
Whether you’re leading a team, running a business, or just trying to stay true to yourself, this is your reminder:
Release the pressure.
Back your people.
And when the moment feels big, ask yourself—
“What would it look like to throw my best self at this?”
That’s how legacy is made.
And that’s how champions rise.