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Experience and loyalty are paying rich dividends for the Melbourne Vixens heading into their Super Netball finals campaign. The Vixens' three finals rivals weren't even in existence this time last year and coach Simone McKinnis believes the extra time her players have been together has been the key to their success. The minor premiership-winning Vixens are the only one of the five sides from the old trans-Tasman competition to make it through to the last four of the inaugural tournament. They host second-placed Sunshine Coast Lightning in the major semi-final on Saturday, while Giants and Collingwood clash in Sydney in the elimination minor semi-final later the same day. Vixens weren't left unscathed by the recruiting frenzy surrounding the new teams, with their captain and Diamonds' midcourt lynchpin Madi Robinson pinched by cross town rival Collingwood. Rather than bemoan their losses and try to poach prominent players from other clubs, Vixens have prospered by putting their faith in the players who stayed loyal. 'It's been three to five years for some of them that have been working as part of the Vixens program," McKinnis told AAP. "It's their team, they are creating the success and driving that themselves." Playing finals is something of a novelty for Sunshine Coast spearhead Caitlin Bassett, even though she has accumulated plenty of big-match experience at the Diamonds. Bassett played just one finals match in over a decade with former club West Coast Fever. "I've been playing netball for 12 years at an elite level now and I can still get excited and there's still new things for me," Bassett told AAP. 'I think the fact the three new franchises are in the top four shows that we do have the depth in Australia to field extra teams." Collingwood have the momentum going into the elimination semi having won six of their past seven games, while the Giants have dropped their last two. Shooter Jo Harten said the Giants needed to generate more momentum in the middle quarters. "We can't leave it till the last quarter to try and take a game away," Harten told AAP. "Especially in finals, things really do hot up as the game closes out." Harten is likely to spend a good part of the game on Collingwood goalkeeper Sharni Layton, one of the premier defenders and highest profile players in the fledgling competition.
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