The young Life side were just the one point down at quarter time with their centres and wingers of Farrah Staniforth, Millie Lenehan and Ella Robbins feeding the ball quickly towards goal, at times cutting the Vipers' defence apart with lightning-fast passing.

When the Vipers took control of the ball last year's runners-up slowed the ball down, and with taller and more experienced bodies on the court were able to take control in the second quarter and turn their run of form around after losing their past two games.

WATCH: Patience and height, the two key factors in Vipers' win, on show ...

Life coach Mardi Aplin said that second stanza was the difference, with her charges changing tack from quick ball movement to trying to pass over the top - a strategy Aplin said was the main reason the side only netted five goals for the quarter.

"That second quarter we tried to go over the top with our passing and with their few tall girls it was never going to work," Aplin said.

"That second quarter killed us, we won the last quarter and only lost the third by three points."

The second quarter let Vipers storm to a 21-15 half-time lead after scores were nearly level at 11-10 at the first break, with 14 points going the way of the more experienced side in the third.

However, Aplin said she was happy to have kept the margin to nine points.

Aplin said her girls would take a lot of knowledge and confidence out of the match-up, especially with a significant age and size deficit over their opponents.

"We know we can compete against those teams," she said.

She lauded the work of her mids, saying they were "really good" all day and - like the rest of the side - never gave up and continued to put together impressive pieces of play, with Robbins especially firing passes to challenging positions for the Vipers' defence.

However, Vipers wing defence Jacqui Lyden was one of those instrumental in repelling Life's thrusts forwards, playing a crucial role in springboarding the ball back forward.

Lyden has only just come into the Vipers side after not initially planning on playing netball after a knee injury over summer, but she said it was "really good to come back".

Vipers focused on "patience" during the week and they made it a priority after the fast first quarter.

""When we had the ball the wanted to secure the ball, obviously for them they were chasing and we wanted to secure and convert all our centre passes," Lyden said.

"I think we concentrated on defence all the way through the court and driving hard."

In the other games, the Life derby leaving Life Studio undefeated in four rounds, beating their club-mates Life Studio Sportspower 67-40, while OHS Hornets were too strong for Hawks Royals, running out 15-point victors 46-31 and Orange City Craig Harvey Mechanical defeated Orange City Epiroc 61-35.