Netball SA reveals Premier League season start date, plus 2020 ins and outs for every club
Netball SA finally has a start date for its top tier netball season - ahead of the 2020 campaign there’s been plenty of moves among players and coaches. Check them out here.
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More than 300 days have passed since some of the state’s top netballers hit the court to compete against each other.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the Premier League netball season start date of May to be put on hold.
As weeks went on without news of when indoor courts would be allowed to reopen, there were fears among players, coaches and presidents that a state top tier campaign would never get off the ground.
But on Thursday, all that changed with Netball SA chief executive Bronwyn Klei announcing the Premier League will start on July 17 with 14 rounds and a three-week finals series.
The season starting next month followed the State Government’s further easing of COVID-19 restrictions, which included allowing indoor contact sport to resume and removing caps on venue numbers, as long as there was one person every 2sq m.
Klei was pleased to kick off the Premier League after giving the Adelaide Metro Netball Division (AMND) – the state’s largest competition for both juniors and seniors – the green light to start on July 18.
“It’s wonderful news for our state’s talented athletes who have worked so hard to earn their spots across the eight clubs,” Klei said.
A fixture, which will include teams playing three games per fortnight instead of weekly match-ups, will be released in the coming week.
Matrics claimed the 2019 top tier grand final, beating arch rival Contax at Netball SA Stadium on September 6.
There’s been some big changes among players and coaches in the off-season and ahead of the 2020 season starting, check out all the ins and outs for each club:
CONTAX
LAST SEASON: First after minor rounds, lost grand final
COACH: Leanne Eichler
IN:
Chelsea Lemke (returned from injury, Adelaide Thunderbird pathway athlete, Queensland Firebird 2010)
OUT:
Molly Affolter (Glenelg SANFLW)
GARVILLE
LAST SEASON: fifth
COACH: Kirsty Leonard-Down (replaces Jackie Blyth)
IN:
Laura Phair (2019 Tasmania Netball League, Karana)
OUT:
Olivia Watts (Matrics)
Nyah Allen (Collingwood, Super Netball League)
Carla Borrego (retired)
MATRICS
LAST SEASON: Reigning premier – second after minor rounds, won grand final
COACH: Peter Thomas (likely to take over Jacqui Illman now a Thunderbirds assistant)
IN:
Steph Sarro (Oakdale)
Olivia Watts (Garville)
Jessie Wooldridge (Riverland Netball Association, Loxton North)
Millie Basedow (returning from ACL injury)
OUT:
Maisie Nankivell (Super Netball League, Adelaide Thunderbirds)
Stacey Hein (Western Australia Netball League, West Coast Warriors
Letisha Heintze (retired)
METRO JETS
LAST SEASON: Sixth
COACH: Trudy Barker (replaces Andrew Plenty)
IN:
Tara Gagliardi (Woods Panthers)
OUT:
Nil
NEWTON JAGUARS
LAST SEASON: Eighth
COACH: Jim Haldane
IN:
Lauren Gibbons (Oakdale, Western Australia Netball League West Coast Warriors)
Georgie Virgo (Oakdale)
OUT:
Rachel Mitchell retired)
OAKDALE
LAST SEASON: Third
COACH: Vanessa Dempsey
IN:
Kim Haydon (Metro Jets)
Laura Ide (Tango)
OUT:
Lauren Gibbons (Newton Jaguars)
Georgie Virgo (Newton Jaguars)
Steph Sarro (Matrics)
Ellie Grimmet (retired)
TANGO
LAST SEASON: Fourth
COACH: Jackie Blyth (replaces Scott Waddington)
IN:
Jessica Paradiso, nee Hazel (returning after having children, 2006 Thunderbird squad member)
OUT:
Kelly Altmann (Super Netball League, Collingwood)
Laura Ide (Oakdale)
Emma Raper (year off)
WOODS PANTHERS
LAST SEASON: Seventh
COACH: Judi Andrewaretha
IN:
Briony Pratt (Queensland Premier League, QUT Wildcats)
OUT:
Megan Wooldridge (retired)