Writers: Jenny Sinclair, Andrew Kennedy, Ian Harkin, Katrina Nissen
Photographers: Simon Leonard, Charlize Leonard, May Bailey, Hannah Howard
Cover image: Simon Leonard
The Thunderbirds defenders pulled off a spectacular hoist lift. Image: Hannah Howard / On The Ball Media
RESULTS
Sunshine Coast Lightning 63 def Queensland Firebirds 62
Adelaide Thunderbirds 66 def West Coast Fever 53
Melbourne Vixens 68 def GIANTS Netball 52
NSW Swifts 70 def Melbourne Mavericks 69
NEWS OF THE WEEK
England Roses head coach Jess Thirlby has resigned effective immediately, just 4 months out from the Commonwealth Games. Citing family reasons, Thirlby leaves after 6 years at the top, having led the Roses to the 2023 Netball World Cup silver medal. Thirlby’s departure comes after a mixed bag of results against top 5 nations in recent months – they lost 2-1 to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, while defeating a depleted Jamaican side 2-0.
Assistant coach Anna Stembridge will head up the coaching team at the Commonwealth Games, a position she’s previously held but been stood down from, and will be supported by new assistant coach Olivia Murphy and specialist coaches Sharni Layton and Jo Harten.
England will have a very new look squad at the Games, with at least five changes to the side that finished second in Cape Town. To then lose their head coach so close to the Glasgow event will increase the challenge facing the team as they face increasingly stiff competition from other sides. And in terrible news for the Roses young goal keeper Jaz Brown, it’s been confirmed that she’s ruptured her Achilles and will miss the rest of the NSL season and the Commonwealth Games.
The very first interstate netball clash between NSW and Victoria took place 100 years ago, and it’s fitting that the event was marked by a double header in Round 2 between the two teams from both states.
The double-header at Qudos Bank Arena was an unqualified success with a crowd of over 13,000 turning up to see the two Sydney teams take on their Melbourne rivals. Surely, it will be back next year and can become a permanent fixture. There were similar double-headers in the early days of Super Netball. And older netball fans will recall that there were Sydney v Melbourne double-headers way back in Commonwealth Bank Trophy days and they also attracted huge crowds at the same venue.
Emily Mannix made her much anticipated return to Super Netball in Round 2 after a year on the sidelines following the birth of her daughter Mabel. Mannix started her preseason last August, and feels that her fitness levels are back to where they need to be. Mabel will travel with her mum to interstate matches, while Mannix is still breast-feeding, and the star defender told Code Sport, “To know that she is in the crowd there, it is kind of emotional.”
Fan favourite and Giant player Tilly McDonell is retiring from netball to focus on her law career. Originally not given a contract for 2026, McDonell was elevated to the side as a temporary replacement player until the injured Jodi-Ann Ward returns from her ACL injury. With Ward on the cusp of making her return, McDonell has announced that she will step back from professional netball, and she played her last game against Vixens in Round 2.
Tilly McDonell played her final Super Netball game in Round 2. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix via Netball Scoop
NEWS OF THE ROUND
Injuries
Gabby Sinclair (Lightning) was omitted from the game day 10, although no word on whether this was due to last week’s calf injury or not.
Maddy Gordon (Firebirds) missed round two due to a hamstring injury suffered at training. The official press release states she will miss ‘several’ rounds.
Kelly Jackson (Firebirds) went from the court in the fourth quarter with a bleeding nose from an accidental elbow to the face.
Kelly Jackson leaves the court after receiving a knock in the final quarter. Image: Simon Leonard
Milestones
Maddy Proud (Swifts) played her 150th National League match.
Sloan Burton (Fever) made her Super Netball debut.
Tilly McDonell (Giants) played her last SSN Game after announcing her retirement earlier in the week.
Sophie Garbin (Vixens) brought up 2000 goals in Super Netball
Sasha Glasgow (Fever) brought up 1000 goals in Super Netball
150 games – Maddy Proud with baby Lily, alongside last week’s milestone player, Maddy Turner. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix via Netball Scoop
Matches
Lightning 63 def Firebirds (MVP: Donnell Wallam)
Lightning extended their winning run against Firebirds to eight matches, stretching back to 2022. However, it was far from the easy victory that a lot of people would have been expecting. In fact, the home side was playing catch up for much of the game. The Firebirds started confidently, giving up just five general play turnovers in the first half. Gradually, the pesky, scrambling defence from Sunshine Coast undermined the Firebirds confidence, resulting in 14 deflections in the second half, along with a feast of pickups, to scrape them over the line with a supershot from Donnell Wallam in the last 30 seconds. Cara Koenen had a strong game at goal attack. Her combination with Wallam shows promise. Courtney Bruce was heavily penalised, but came up with some great defensive plays (six gains, 10 deflections). For Firebirds, Macy Gardner was in everything, finishing with 24 feeds, two gains, five deflections, and four pickups. Unfortunately, Kelly Jackson had to leave the court in the final quarter after receiving an accidental knock and losing a lot of blood. Firebirds would have loved to have her experience out on court in the closing minutes.
Lightning’s Donnell Wallam sinks the winning super shot against her former team. Image: Simon Leonard
Thunderbirds 63 def Fever 53 (MVP: Shamera Sterling-Humphrey)
The Thunderbirds put out a near-flawless performance against the Fever as they continue with their record-setting start to the season. Fever started well, winning the first quarter, but in the second term, Thunderbirds put their foot down and increased their defensive pressure, forcing their opponents into ball-handling errors. An incredibly tidy Thunderbirds team ended the game with a Super Netball record of just seven general play turnovers, three of which came in the last 10 minutes of play when Tania Obst put her bench players on. In defence, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey was back to her best (six gains, 11 deflections), and she combined well with Latanya Wilson once again. Meanwhile Georgie Horjus goes from strength to strength, racking up an amazing 37 assists, the most ever by a Thunderbird in Super Netball. Elmere van der Berg shot 58/63, meaning that in her first two games, she has scored the two highest goal totals by a Thunderbirds player in SSN. Alice Teague-Neeld was the best for Fever on a tough night for the visitors.
Elmere van der Berg was 1 goal away from her record set in Round 1. Image: Hannah Howard / On The Ball Media
Vixens 68 def Giants 52 (MVP: Jo Weston)
After a competitive beginning, the reigning premiers gradually asserted their dominance and ran away with a commanding victory. The highlight was the contrast in transition play from both teams, Giants not adapting quickly and labouring through the court, while Melbourne’s polished, organised leads made a lot of plays seem effortless. Vixens’ attack was at its direct and dynamic best, with smart, crisp passing easily slicing through the Giants defenders time and again. Hannah Mundy and Kate Moloney were particularly impressive, relishing the shooters’ drives landing right at the post. Jo Weston came up with nine gains, nine deflections, and four rebounds as she teamed up again with the returning Emily Mannix in the circle. For Giants, early on, Lucy Austin presented a strong target for lovely long range feeds from Sophie Dwyer, but had lapses of confidence on the shot and lost possession when the tactics required her to move out of the circle. Dwyer was the best for Giants, but needs more support in attack.
Jo Weston had nine gains against Giants. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix via Netball Scoop
Swifts 70 def Mavericks 69 (MVP: Helen Housby)
The Swifts dragged themselves across the line in the last moments of an electrifying struggle, where neither team strung together more than three consecutive goals. The connection between Shimona Nelson and Jamie-Lee Price was sizzling in the opening quarter. Price was simply outstanding in a flawless first 15 minutes, and Nelson looked unstoppable. But Swifts lifted in the second, forcing rushed feeds and shots, and they were then able to convert more possession to points. The injection of Gina Crampton and Maddy Proud freed up Helen Housby to hang back and contribute more on the scoreboard, while the tenacity of the Mavericks backline was impressive, earning eight intercepts to the Swifts’ one. The game came to a dramatic conclusion with both sides exchanging super shots in the last five minutes. In the end, the well-rehearsed Swifts tactic of winding the clock down almost failed, but a chaotic and acrobatic exchange finally resulted in the winning goal to Housby. It was a mixture of elation and relief for Swifts at full time. Despite the loss, Mavericks have shown themselves to be a strong unit in 2026.
MVP Helen Housby attempts a super shot. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix via Netball Scoop
PLAYERS THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE
At 201cm, Ugandan import Mary Cholhok is the tallest player in the competition. Despite her height and reach advantage, Cholhok’s inaccuracy under the post is a growing concern for the Firebirds. In their match against the Lightning, Cholhok finished at just 71%, down from 79% in round one, shooting 48 from 68. Cholhok’s smoothest shots come when a defender is out of play, suggesting she might be rushing or off balance on the attempt in general play – which goal keepers will doubtless be studying to take advantage of in 2026. Indeed, coach Kiri Wills was heard to be reminding her shooter of the composure and arc required. In some good news however, Cholhok continues to be switched on and dominant in rebounding, finishing with 14, cut her turnovers from six last week to only one, and was more available under the post.
After a fightback from being down 14-21 in the first quarter, it was in large part the well-timed substitution of fresh legs and experience of Maddy Proud in her 150th game, that lit the fuse for the Swifts and earned them an inspiring victory. Proud’s hunger for the ball and fantastic depth in attack took much of the load away from Helen Housby, allowing the English star to sit further down the court and use more craft and finesse around the circle. The effect was a noticeably lessened impact of the Mavericks defenders in the second half, along with more variety and assurance on the feed to Grace Nweke. Ever the team player who leads by example with a huge grin from the centre circle or skidding across the floor, Proud finished with 12 goal assists and only one turnover lost in 30 minutes.
While a lot of focus is on the superstar bookends of the Adelaide Thunderbirds, their dutiful midcourt engine kept the team beautifully connected for success. Kate Heffernan and Latanya Wilson provided a gritty adaptive defensive zone and very long arms over at three feet. Fever’s usually strong momentum and confident options across the transverse line were stifled, causing lifted slower feeds, backplaying to reset, extra preliminary moves and reoffers, and handling errors. The Thunderbirds transition to attack to the magic hands of Georgie Horjus saw everything the Fever were searching for – strong and varied drives to space, good depth, and very safe hands with only three turnovers from the trio for the match. Their amazing work was polished off with quick feeds to exceptionally good positioning and timing from the shooters, chalking up a fantastic 81% centre pass to goal conversion.
Georgie Horjus was outstanding once again for Thunderbirds. Image: Hannah Howard / On The Ball Media
STAT CHAT
How many penalties are too many? Is any number okay if you’re getting the defensive gains? Defence is often a fine balance of disrupting the opposition and avoiding the whistle, as a hard contest is required to win ball and to undermine the attacking plan. Two teams have run up large numbers of penalties so far this season; Lightning and Mavericks. But they both have an impressive tally of gains, so they may feel the extra whistle is worth it. This week, Mavericks’ back four players were penalised a total of 67 times, but came up with 11 gains. So the jury is out.
This is how each team is travelling regarding penalties and gains this season. Look at Thunderbirds; the second-lowest number of penalties, but still a very impressive 26 gains, showing that it is indeed possible to be clean and also effective in defence.
Team / Penalties / Gains
Lightning – 144 / 25
Mavericks – 132 / 30
Vixens – 109 / 29
Firebirds – 107 / 23
Giants – 103 / 21
Swifts – 100 / 15
Thunderbirds – 92 / 26
Fever – 77 / 16
In the first two rounds, Lightning’s Courtney Bruce has played well, but she has conceded a staggering 47 penalties. She’s on target to rack up the most penalties in a Super Netball season; a record she already holds with 316 in 2018. Here are the top ten players for penalties so far this season. And then the top ten for possession gains.
Player / Penalties
Courtney Bruce (Lightning) – 47
Kim Brown (Mavericks) – 36
Amy Parmenter (Mavericks) – 31
Rudi Ellis (Vixens) – 30
Kelly Jackson (Firebirds) – 27
Sarah Klau (Swifts) – 27
Kadie-Ann Dehaney (Fever) – 26
Shamera Sterling Humphrey (Thunderbirds) – 25
Matilda Garrett (Thunderbirds) – 22
Jamie-Lee Price (Mavericks) – 22
Player / Gains
Jo Weston (Vixens) – 11
Tara Hinchliffe (Mavericks) – 10
Courtney Bruce (Lightning) – 9
Kelly Jackson (Firebirds) – 9
Amy Parmenter (Mavericks) – 8
Shamera Sterling Humphrey (Thunderbirds) – 8
Jane Watson (Giants) – 8
Kadie-Ann Dehaney (Fever) – 7
Kim Brown (Mavericks) – 6
Rudi Ellis (Vixens) – 6
It’s noteworthy that the top two players for gains, don’t appear in the top 10 for penalties. One of them is Mavericks’ vice-captain, goal keeper Tara Hinchliffe who had this to say. “You can feel that a penalty breaks any pressure that we’re building, it’s a balance though, you want to have some contest pressure – I’m never going to say to the girls to stop flying for the ball. The silly ones in two-point time are the ones we want to clean up inside the circle, that gives them a second shot…
“We want that fierce pressure, we want people to be scared to play Mavs, they know it’s going to be physical and a hard contest – there’s a balance, we want to clean it up at critical moments”.
Tara Hinchliffe had a tough match up with Grace Nweke in round 2. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix via Netball Scoop
There was an unwanted record broken in the exciting round two clash on the Sunshine Coast between Lightning and Firebirds. Firebirds’ shooter Mary Cholhok had the most misses in a Super Netball game with 20 (48/68). As a result of that inaccuracy, she was able to take 14 rebounds during the game, which is also a record for SSN. This is not really a record she will be celebrating either, as we’re sure she would much rather be sinking the goals on the first attempt.
The Queensland derby also provided a great contrast in use of the super shot. In recent years, Firebirds have struggled when using the super shot. In Round one, they shot 5/14 (36%) from two-point range, which won’t really cut it in this competition. So, in this week’s match, it was an explicit directive from coach Kiri Wills to not go for them, unless the scoreline had a wider than four-goal margin. As a result, the Firebirds made just one (unsuccessful) two point attempt all game. Meanwhile, Lightning shot 3/7, including what turned out to be the match-winning super shot from former Firebird shooter Donnell Wallam.
Firebirds’ problems with the super shot has seen them regularly outscored during the power five. And so it was again in round two. Over the course of the match, Firebirds actually outscored Lightning 44-37 during the 40 minutes of regular play, but Lightning reversed that, scoring 26-18 during the 20 minutes that the super shot was in play. For a comparison, this is how both Queensland teams are travelling over the first two rounds. This stat is very telling. Lightning is using the power five to good effect, while Firebirds don’t seem to be able to come to grips with that period of the game. With the strong rebounding power of Cholhok and Te Paea Selby-Rickit, they may soon need to experiment again with new tactics to notch up some wins in pressure games.
Team / Regular play / Power play
Lightning: 74-86 (-12), 54-44 (+10)
Firebirds: 78-78 (+0), 33-45 (-12)
Mary Cholhok gets two hands to ball over strong pressure from Courtney Bruce. Image: Charlize Leonard
LADDER
Team / Pts / %
1 Thunderbirds . 8 . 130.8%
2 Vixens . 8 . 126.7%
3 Mavericks . 4 . 106.6%
4 Lightning . 4 . 98.5%
–
5 Fever . 4 . 92.4%
6 Swifts . 4 . 86.7%
7 Firebirds . 0 . 90.2%
8 Giants . 0 . 80.6%
NEXT ROUND
Sat, Mar 28
5pm AEDT – MAVERICKS v VIXENS
7pm AEDT – LIGHTNING v SWIFTS (6pm local time)
Sun, Mar 29
2pm AEDT – FIREBIRDS v THUNDERBIRDS (1pm local time)
4pm AEDT – FEVER v GIANTS (1pm local time)
Happy netball retirement, Tilly. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix via Netball Scoop
