Cover Image: Kylie de Souza | Captured by Ky
Writers: Jenny Sinclair, Katrina Nissen, Ian Harkin, Andrew Kennedy
Photographers: Marcela Massey, Kylie de Souza, May Bailey
RESULTS
West Coast Fever 68 def Adelaide Thunderbirds 63
Melbourne Vixens 68 def Sunshine Coast Lightning 65
NSW Swifts 75 def GIANTS Netball 66
Melbourne Mavericks 65 def Queensland Firebirds 54
MILESTONES
Kate Eddy (Vixens) – played her 100th national league game.
INJURIES and OMISSIONS
Hannah Mundy (Vixens) – foot injury.
Cara Koenen (Lightning) – load managed for foot injury.
Verity Simmons (Swifts) – has been omitted for Allie Smith
Teigan O’Shannassy (Swifts) – suffered a knock in a heavy collision with Jamie-Lee Price (Giants). The incident drew blood, but once patched up, O’Shannassy returned to play an important part in Swifts’ win.
Amy Parmenter (Mavericks) – Also involved in a big collision when she was sandwiched between two Firebirds players. She was able to continue on and lead the team to a win.
Once again, we have a situation where there were a couple of very big hits in round 11, balls swiped into faces and elbows thrown, but there were no warnings or suspensions handed out, and the players on the receiving end weren’t sent to the sidelines to be checked by the doctor. It highlights the difference between officiating in Suncorp Super Netball and other competitions around the world.
Cara Koenen is being load managed ahead of the finals and international season. Image: Marcela Massey
LET’S TALK ABOUT:
News of the Week
It’s been an eventful week in netty, with three significant pieces of news dropping…
The first was the huge changes in the operation of the Netball World Cup. It will now be held every two years, with 2029 following on from the Sydney 2027 event. Each event will take place in November, so as not to impact domestic league seasons. Each host city will also run a new biennial event the November prior – meaning a significant netball event will be held every year. In addition, a Mens Netball World Cup will also take place in the to be determined future, while the Fast5 World Netball Series will be paused. Read the statement from World Netball here.
While the news is exciting, it throws up more questions than there are currently answers for. Many of the staff are volunteers, and while bench officials and umpires have their expenses covered, they aren’t paid for their time, and also need to take time off their normal work. Will enough money be generated to pay this large number of people to attend annual events, or will their pool be diluted as they have to pick and choose what to attend?
Will fans have the appetite – and funds – to attend a 12 day event every two years, or will new audiences be attracted? But perhaps the biggest question is how teams will be funded – for lead in qualifying competitions, national training camps and to attend the World Cup – is uncertain. Many nations have struggled in the past, with the Sunshine Girls having to run a crowdfunding operation to attend the last Netball World Cup.
And while we are massive supporters of the men’ s game, care will need to be taken with the introduction of a World Cup. With some of the participating nations part of patriarchal societies where women’s funding runs a poor second to men’s, care will need to be taken that funds aren’t diverted away from a country’s national women’s team.
Secondly, Netball Australia announced that it was entering a three year partnership with the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN), founded by Whoopi Goldberg. AWSN exclusively covers women’s sport, and reaches over 900 million households across the world. 41 SSN matches including finals will be broadcast on AWSN, with the possibility of a huge new audience tuning into the world’s best domestic league.
And in further broadcast news, Netball Australia has joined with global broadcast distributor Inverleigh who will now broadcast all SSN and Australia Diamonds matches, free of charge, across America, Canada and Africa, via their 24/7 ‘linear sports channel’, UNBEATEN. With dedicated ‘Netball Nights’ in premium timeslots, UNBEATEN hopes to stream netball into over 300 million homes. Read the full statement here via Netball Australia.
While there is no information around the financial implications of the AWSN and Inverleigh deals, it is hoped that the deals will broaden the international scope of netball, and provide new sources of revenue for the game.
Blocked shot – don’t mind if I do, says Casey Kopua. Great to see netball being taken to the world. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix
We also wanted to pay tribute this week to Fox Sport, who continue to lift the quality of their broadcast year on year. A recent innovation has been the ability to listen to team huddles without commentary talking over the top of the coaches. And it’s certainly delivered some great sprays, including Tania Obst on Friday night telling her team in the first quarter that they were playing as if they didn’t like each other very much.
The Queensland Firebirds have extended coach Kiri Wills deal by a further year, taking her through to the end of the 2027 season. While wins haven’t come the Firebirds way this season, Wills will have more of an opportunity to build her list for the future, with at least six of their players out of contract after Round 14.
And while on the Firebirds, they hosted their Pride Match against the Melbourne Mavericks. They were the first club to host a dedicated Pride Match in Suncorp Super Netball history in 2021 and have maintained the tradition since, even though the league no longer has an official ‘pride’ or ‘inclusion’ round. Mavericks embraced the theme with a special pride dress while the Firebirds used dedicated artwork inspired by Keith Haring for the match.
Sasha Glasgow said the dress was a symbol of the values of the Mavericks. “We want Mavs to be a space and environment where anyone can play netball and where they can step into our environment and be authentically themselves. We just love everyone and we want anyone who steps in the door to be 100% genuine. I think that’s how our relationships have grown at Mavs so getting around Pride and Inclusion Round is so easy for us because we do that every day in our environment. And, I think it is beautiful that we have a platform like netball to represent and show people that.”
Mav’s coach, Tracey Neville hinted that the club’s owner, Craig Hutchison has a few Pride themed ‘things up his sleeve’ for next week’s home match.
Many Firebirds athletes wore Pride laces and hair ribbons as well as the traditional Progress Pride bibs for the Round 11. Image: Kylie de Souza/Captured by Ky.
The NSW Swifts and GIANTS Netball competed in the Sydney Derby which commentators have now dubbed the Battle of the Bridge. They competed for the Carol Sykes Memorial Trophy which is awarded every time the teams meet, whether in Sydney or not. Since it’s inception the Giants have won it 5 times, and the Swifts 15 times.
SSN Reserves
After seven weeks of competition, SSN Reserves came to its conclusion this week with West Coast Fever Reserves winning the grand final against Melbourne Mavericks Reserves at Waverley Netball Centre. This week, Capital Darters, Tasmania Wild, and Territory Storm joined the eight SSN teams in a series of matches which provided them with valuable experience. All results from the tournament can be found here.
Mavericks’ Eleanor Cardwell, who hasn’t taken the Super Netball court since knee surgery late last year made her first appearance of the season – in the Reserves grand final!
Results:
Swifts Academy 77 def Capital Darters 63
GIANTS Netball Reserves 69 def Territory Storm 45
Vixens Academy 81 def Tasmania Wild 31
Swifts Academy 62 Qld Firebirds Futures 60
GIANTS Netball Reserves 53 def Tasmania Wild 49
Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures 85 def Capital Darters 36
Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts 73 def Territory Storm 32
Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures 85 def Tasmania Wild 27
Vixens Academy 68 def Territory Storm 47
Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts 61 def Capital Darters 60
Grand Final:
West Coast Fever Reserves 67 def Melbourne Mavericks Reserves 57
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This week’s guest was Imogen Allison.
STATS OF THE WEEK
Firstly this week, a few notes about some of the round 11 matches. Fever won their ninth straight match. That equals their best ever winning streak in SSN, and is just one short of the record of 10 held by Thunderbirds. At the other end of the scale, Firebirds lost their ninth straight match and that puts them in second spot for longest losing streaks in SSN.
Meanwhile, Swifts came from 12 goals down to defeat the Giants. That is the biggest comeback win of the season. And it’s not a one-off. Swifts also have the second and third biggest comebacks of the year (10 goals & 8 goals). Both were against the Thunderbirds.
In the game against Giants on the weekend, Swifts scored 47 goals in the second half. That is the most goals Swifts have ever scored in a half of netball in SSN, and the equal third highest overall. Fever has the record with 50 goals in a half.
In round 11, three teams had centre pass to goal rates of 80%+. They were Fever (84%), Vixens (85%), and Swifts (84%). All three went on to win, thus continuing that run of success. Every single team that has recorded a centre pass to goal rate of at least 80% this season, has won the game.
Jordan Cransberg ran centre for Fever. Their centre pass conversion rate sat at 84% for the game. Image: West Coast Fever/Chyon Kondylas
Now, we’re going to go through some of the statistics which perhaps don’t get a lot of attention, and see how this year’s numbers compare to the history of Suncorp Super Netball.
Feed with an attempt
We know that circle feeds are important, but how many feeds produce an attempt at goal? Over the course of SSN, Liz Watson is well ahead in this statistic with 3,307. Next is Alice Teague-Neeld with 2,206, then Maddy Proud (2,078). And Watson is leading once again in 2025.
2025 so far:
1 – Liz Watson 289
2 – Alice Teague-Neeld 266
3 – Macy Gardner 231
(Teams: Fever 757, Swifts 726, Lightning 685, Mavericks 679, Thunderbirds 668, Vixens 667, Firebirds 666, Giants 658)
Deflection with gain
We often talk about deflections, but how many deflections in netball actually result in a gain for the team? In the history of SSN, Courtney Bruce has the most “deflections with gain”. She sits on 194, ahead of Sarah Klau on 170 and Geva Mentor on 148. Bruce is once again leading the list in 2025.
2025 so far:
1 – Courtney Bruce 15
2 – Kadie-Ann Dehaney 13
3 – Latanya Wilson 12
3 – Matilda Garrett 12
(Teams: Thunderbirds 47, Lightning 44, Fever 38, Firebirds 29, Mavericks 26, Vixens 25, Swifts 24, Giants 22)
Pickups
Loose ball pickups are very important to the success of the team. Over the course of SSN, Kate Moloney has established herself as the “bin chicken queen” with 299 pickups. Paige Hadley is next on the list with 260, then Jo Weston on 241. And Moloney is in the top spot again.
2025 so far:
1 – Kate Moloney 23
2 – Liz Watson 21
3 – Paige Hadley 20
(Teams: Lightning 115, Thunderbirds 107, Vixens 107, Firebirds 99, Fever 96, Giants 85, Mavericks 79, Swifts 78)
Molly Jovic has been effective through the midcourt for the Mavericks. Image: Kylie de Souza/Captured by Ky.
That’s some of the good news, now onto the not so good. Turnovers…
Bad Hands
Unfortunately, one player stands out in this category which relates to fumbles. Shimona Jok has had 186 “bad hands” turnovers in SSN. Next on the list are Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard on 133 and Romelda Aiken-George 123. Jok is once again at the top of the list in 2025.
2025 so far:
1 – Shimona Jok 15
2 – Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard 9
3 – Shanice Beckford 8
3 – Mary Cholhok 8
(Teams: Mavericks 39, Fever 30, Thunderbirds 23, Giants 23, Firebirds 22, Vixens 17, Swifts 18, Lightning 14)
Bad Pass
These are the turnovers where fault is attributed to the passer rather than the receiver. The retired Laura Scherian tops this list in SSN history with 103. Next is Jo Harten on 91, then Alice Teague-Neeld, Helen Housby, and Liz Watson all on 75. So far in 2025, Sophie Dwyer is on top of this unwanted stat.
2025 so far:
1 – Sophie Dwyer 12
2 – Kiera Austin 9
2 – Uneeq Palavi 9
(Teams: Mavericks 41, Giants 37, Swifts 32, Lightning 31, Vixens 27, Firebirds 27, Thunderbirds 24, Fever 19)
MATCH WRAPS:
Fever v Thunderbirds
It was an anxiously tight tussle between Fever and Thunderbirds in Friday’s opening match. Both ends of the court were drawing the eye as it was a case of Jamaican teammates against each other. At times the battle between Romelda Aiken-George and Kadie-Ann Dehaney got spicy as both looked to maintain dominance over the other. After pocketing eight gains last week, Latanya Wilson had a quieter outing against Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard (63/66) with only two rebounds and zero intercepts.
Thunderbirds looked like they were going to run down the win off the back of some spectacular super shot shooting from Lauren Frew. However, her radar went off when it counted in the fourth quarter and Fever’s work rate and safe hands sealed the five goal win. Interestingly Fever’s team stats have been trending upwards this season, rather than downwards as fatigue sets in. In this match, Fever had just 11 turnovers, converted 84% of their centre passes, 70% of their gains, and 88% of their turnovers.
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard pulls in a sky ball. Image: West Coast Fever/Chyon Kondylas
The match up between Romelda Aiken-George and Kadie-Ann Dehaney became slightly heated. Image: West Coast Fever/Chyon Kondylas
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard topscored with 63/66. Image: West Coast Fever/Chyon Kondylas
Lightning v Vixens
After languishing near the bottom of the ladder for the first half of the season, the Vixens have hit a hot streak of form and look all but set to host the minor semi final after a convincing win over the Lightning. While the margin was only three points in the end, thanks to Lightning’s supershot prowess (Steph Fretwell 9/12, Reilley Batcheldor 3/6), Vixens comfortably led by up to 12 goals for the second half of the match.
Kiera Austin was sublime for the Vixens, but Zara Walters was perhaps their unsung hero. Despite limited court time this season, she played her 60 minute role to perfection, and ending with 37 feeds and a gain. The Vixens defence confused space in the Lightning circle perfectly, with the long arms of Rudi Ellis (4 gains) and Jo Weston (2 gains) creating havoc.
Lightning had issues all over the court – a shooting circle which had difficulty finding space, a midcourt that gave up far too much ball, and a disconnected defensive end that struggled for impact. Their changes were far too reactive, with Ash Ervin for example not subbed in until the second half. She picked off two gains in her 30 minutes, but desperately needs more court time if she’s to challenge for the Diamonds. She sits equal sixth this season for gains, despite sitting 61st for the amount of court time she’s received (297/600 minutes). Will she consider a move for 2026?
Kiera Austin put in another MVP performance for the Vixens. Image: Marcela Massey
Reilley Batcheldor’s 3/6 supershots helped close the gap. Image: Marcela Massey
Jo Weston takes a pass under pressure. Image: Marcela Massey
Swifts v Giants
Today’s chills came not from the winter weather but from the intense roar of the capacity Swifts home crowd, as they were treated to the largest comeback of the 2025 season, scoring 47 in the second half alone. That is their highest scoring half of netball in SSN history, and puts their title hopes back on track in an emphatic way.
Giants had the opening quarter all their own way, with Allie Smith giving Jamie-Lee Price way too much space, and the variety, and speed of ball movement between the shooters impressive. In contrast, Helen Housby couldn’t get free of excellent double-teaming, as Swifts shot at a woeful 60% from a mere 15 attempts. Casey Kopua’s strong reach and perfect positioning gave her and Erin O’Brien ample rebounds and interceptions to celebrate.
The second quarter saw a steady, inexorable shift in momentum towards the Swifts. The injection of Grace Whyte at wing attack was a positive move, while substituting Teigan O’Shannassy at the back caused mayhem in Giants’ attacking flow. Grace Nweke gave herself more space and better angle on the hold, becoming an unstoppable target. It took two brilliant intercepts in a row from Amy Sligar and some composed shooting to partially staunch the bleeding, yet the Swifts adaptability and burgeoning confidence could not be shaken.
NSW Swifts take home the Carol Sykes Memorial Trophy. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix
Amy Sligar tries to keep a ball in play. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix
Jamie-Lee Price on the drive. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix
Firebirds v Mavericks
The Firebirds were unable to overcome a disastrous first quarter (where they gave away 10 general play turnovers) that allowed the Mavericks to get out to an 11 goal lead. Despite mounting a comeback in the second term, Mavericks were able to withstand the pressure and win every quarter from then, maintaining an impressive 80% gain-to-goal rate. The Firebirds, meanwhile, were only able to manage a 30% gain-to-goal rate and a measly 30% missed shot conversion, despite having the tallest goal shooter in the league.
Shimona Jok dominated the circle for Mavericks, shooting 60/62, and the Firebirds didn’t have an answer to her. At the other end, Kim Brown pounced on Firebirds’ numerous errors, while Molly Jovic was once again a standout in the midcourt. The centre was involved in everything, putting in 41 feeds and collecting two intercepts. Jovic’s hustle to the ball allowed her to get to four pickups The most consistent on court for the home side was Lara Dunkley who had 25 feeds, three deflections and two pickups. She and Emily Moore were the only Firebirds who played consistent minutes without any turnovers.
Kiri Wills has signed a contact extension with the Firebirds. Image: Kylie de Souza/Captured by Ky.
Amy Parmenter pulled in a pass over Hulita Veve. Image: Kylie de Souza/Captured by Ky.
Lara Dunkley and Abigail Latu-Meafou try to block Amy Parmenter’s access to the ball. Image: Kylie de Souza/Captured by Ky.
PLAYERS OF THE ROUND
Lauren Frew (Thunderbirds)
For 55 minutes Lauren Frew was the standout on a court brimming with international talent. Her maturity, confidence and game smarts showed experience beyond her years. It was only in the last five minutes of the match where her confidence and accuracy waivered. Yet she still didn’t give away a general play turnover. After a season full with similarly high quality performances, we expect her to be a Diamonds camp invitee or at least in the Diamonds pathway this year.
Jess Anstiss (Fever)
Like most wing defences, Fever’s captain doesn’t often receive the chocolates, so it’s time to give her some. Matched against creative playmaker Georgie Horjus, Anstiss was able to reduce some of her impact – a comparison that is often the only way to measure a wing defence’s worth. While Horjus still finished with 33 feeds, only 17 of them were feeds with an attempt, and she finished with a game high 4 turnovers. Anstiss took a crucial intercept late in the game, and also finished with two pickups, for just five penalties.
Zara Walters (Vixens)
While Kiera Austin rightfully won the MVP, Zara Walters was outstanding. She’s had limited court time all season and so could have been excused a nervous outing in Hannah Mundy’s absence. However, her role at wing attack was outstanding. She finished with 37 feeds, supplying her shooters with quick ball that caught the usually outstanding Lightning defence flat footed. Walters also chimed in with a pick up, a deflection and gave up just three turnovers.
Teigan O’Shannassy (Swifts)
Not for the first time this year, the introduction of O’Shannassy into the Swifts line up has led to a change in fortune. After a poor first quarter, Swifts found themselves trailing by as much as 12 goals against Giants. Picking up two gains in each of the last three quarters, it was O’Shannassy’s ability to disrupt the Giants’ attack that helped turn the game. In particular, she wore down the effectiveness of Jo Harten, who had started the match brilliantly. Despite receiving a knock in a fourth quarter clash with Jamie-Lee Price, she finished the game strongly.
Kim Brown (Mavericks)
In perhaps her best game of the year, Brown finished with eight gains for a tidy nine penalties, an improvement on where she’s sat in recent weeks. She was also industrious in attack, driving down court in support of her midcourters. She is consistently the circle defender with the greatest number of centre pass receives, and once again, she had eight against Firebirds.
Kim Brown puts the pressure on Mary Cholhok. Image: Kylie de Souza/Captured by Ky.
QUOTES CORNER
Dan Ryan (Fever coach)
The impact of travel after four of five weeks on the road
We have spoken a lot about how tough the past five weeks have been on the road, but we haven’t tried to use it as a form of excuse for our performance. I thought tonight cognitively we were quite sluggish in comparison to what we have been – the bodies kept working but some of our decision making was a bit off.
On teams employing a super shot strategy to try and beat Fever
We are always strong in one point time when we put scoreboard pressure on the opposition, so the strategy to go for twos is what they have to do. It’s not new, we have to find ways to get better to counteract and combat that…we expect that every week, and I think every team is experiencing it….it’s a big part of the game at the moment.
Kadie-Ann Dehaney (Fever)
On getting under Romelda Aiken-George’s skin
I felt good, but sometimes you don’t want to be in that battle, Dan kept me composed in this game…Sometimes it’s hard not to get in the battle but you have to because you know you are winning the one percenters and that’s when you know you are in their head or you are taking them off their task.
Tania Obst (Thunderbirds coach)
When asked to reflect on the game
Frustrating. Annoying, I think we did enough to win the, well, we didn’t do enough to win the game..There was a patch in the fourth quarter which was enough to lose the game. Other than that I thought we were in really good control of the game.
How Shamera Sterling-Humphry is keeping in touch.
She jumps on our review sessions at times, she is still on all our group chats, she is very supportive and engaged with the team and it is lovely to see her growing belly and we feel very supported from her from afar.
Kiri Wills (Firebirds) on having her contract renewed despite the lack of wins
“When you are not winning games as a head coach, it is a pretty big punt for the club to take. But, I am just really pleased that they have shown some support of me and the work that we have done as a group. This group is coachable. They have responded very well and I think part of the instability is because we are trying to lay a foundation and we aren’t quite where we want to be. Our issue is consistency. That is time and we now have some freedom to actually try to enjoy what we are doing out there and let rip next week.”
LADDER
Team / Pts / %
Swifts . 36 . 110%
Fever . 36 . 107%
Vixens . 28 . 102%
Lightning . 24 . 105%
–
Thunderbirds . 20 . 104%
Mavericks . 12 . 95%
Giants . 12 . 91%
Firebirds . 8 . 89%
NEXT WEEK
(Round 12)
Sat, Jun 28
5pm – LIGHTNING v FEVER
7pm – MAVERICKS v SWIFTS
Sun, Jun 29
2pm – VIXENS v THUNDERBIRDS
4pm – FIREBIRDS v GIANTS
Five prosepective Diamonds had a post match catchup after their Round 11 match. Later joined by Stacey Marinkovich. Image: Marcela Massey
Scottish Thistle Emma Barrie was called into the Lightning’s squad in place of Cara Koenen. Image: Marcela Massey
