Net Gains: Adelaide Thunderbirds locked out of home Super Netball final

Adelaide may not have a home final after finishing in second position on the ladder thanks to a scheduling clash with Disney on Ice.

Adelaide may not have a home final after finishing in second position on the ladder but it’s unlikely that they will be too fazed.

After missing the playoffs for the past decade, the Thunderbirds have already made a massive stride by just making the semis and after pushing into the top two, they will have a double chance in the finals.

After playing in front of 9000 fans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre last week, the T-Birds would have been forced back to Netball SA Stadium if they’d won hosting rights for next weekend.

With Disney on Ice being held at the Entertainment Centre next weekend, both Saturday and Sunday timeslots were unavailable for the T-Birds.

But they’re in the best possible position now.

Beat the Swifts in next week’s major semi and they’re straight through to the grand final in Melbourne on July 8.

Lose, and they lock in a home game for the preliminary final - and they’ve got a tentative booking for the Entertainment Centre.

The Thunderbirds have been locked out of their home court. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty

PLENTY TO PLAY FOR

West Coast Fever’s loss to Collingwood on Saturday night did more than just allow the Magpies players a fairytale finish in the club’s Super Netball finale.

The defending premiers had plenty on the line - needing to win to secure second place and a double-chance in the finals.

Instead, they finish in third and meet the Melbourne Vixens in the knockout semi.

It’s something of a surprise match-up, with the pair pre-season favourites to head to the decider again.

The season will finish for one of them next week, taking out either the defending premiers, or the team that could host a home grand final.

With the decider to be held at Rod Laver Arena, it will be interesting to see the crowd if the Vixens are missing.

BELIEF STANDS OUT FOR SWIFTS

Few outside the NSW Swifts’ inner sanctum believed the two-time Super Netball premiers would be in a position to make the top four this year, let alone end the regular season as minor premiers.

While their nine-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night with the Adelaide Thunderbirds breaking a three-quarter time deadlock to win 60-57 and seal second place, the Swifts would be more than content with their position at season’s end.

Long before it was known that outstanding shooter Sam Wallace would miss the entire season due to continued rehab on her reconstructed knee, the Swifts were written off by most.

But co-captain Paige Hadley and coach Briony Akle have revealed there was always belief within the team.

Swifts captain Paige Hadley. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty

“I think the inner sanctum always have that belief,” Akle said after the Swifts sealed top spot with a 78-65 victory over the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane.

“And I really think the culture at our team is ingrained.

“Why play at the top level if you don’t think you’re going to get there and be in the top four, let alone be minor premiers.”

Hadley spoke before the season of her belief that the Swifts could rise again after a tough 2022 to be real contenders.

“The core group have been together for quite a while now and I think every addition we get it’s just adding something new and something little bit different for us,” Hadley said.

“Like adding Romelda (Aiken George) this year, it’s just something different for us in that goal circle.”

BRIGHT HORIZONS FOR ROOKIE COACHES

Belinda Reynolds and Bec Bulley may have missed the finals with their Lightning and Firebirds squads in their first season leading Super Netball sides but there is plenty of light on the horizon for both sides.

Reynolds’ Lightning finished the season in fifth place after their 66-60 victory in the Queensland derby on Sunday, showing glimpses of the form that had many rating them finals hopes early in the year.

If they can strengthen their midcourt in the off-season, there’s every reason to believe the two-time premiers can be back in the playoff race again next year.

The Firebirds end the year in seventh place on the ladder in what could seem a disappointing season.

But after mass personnel changes, the loss of Diamond Gretel Bueta to pregnancy in the off-season and a change in coaching staff just weeks from the first game of the year, the Firebirds have possibly over-achieved given many believed Bec Bulley’s side could struggle to win a game.

If Bueta returns and the Purple Birds retain Donnell Wallam as well as captain Kim Ravaillion and impressive defenders Remi Kamo and Ruby Bakewell-Doran, they will be feared by many next year.

CHAOS REIGNS

Without a Super Netball CPA in place, chaos reigns for 40 players in the competition whose season has finished but have no certainty about their place in next year’s league.

Teams are able to hold discussions with their own players but with no CPA - which means no idea of salary caps and no capacity to make offers - they cannot contract anyone for next year.

Netball Australia and ANPA came to an agreement over the Diamonds deal last week - even if it was to extend the interim agreement - and they need to get their Super Netball ducks in a row as soon as possible to allow players to plan.

Originally published as Net Gains: Adelaide Thunderbirds locked out of home Super Netball final