Super Netball 2022: Melbourne Vixens win pre-season Team Girls Cup
Melbourne Vixens’ victory in the pre-season grand final has fuelled hopes of a quick return to the top of the table. See how every team is placed after the Team Girls Cup.
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Rahni Samason has helped propel the Melbourne Vixens to the Team Girls Cup title and emerged as a genuine star as last year’s wooden spooners underlined their chances of making a stunning turnaround this season.
The Vixens beat West Coast Fever 45-43 in the pre-season grand final in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, with Samason outstanding against the Fever’s Australian Diamonds defenders Courtney Bruce and Sunday Aryang.
The 2020 Super Netball premiers, the Vixens went from the penthouse to the outhouse last year as they adjusted to the retirement of representative shooters Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip and the absence through injury of superstar captain Liz Watson.
A training partner last season, Samason showed in her limited opportunities she was up to Super Netball standard and propelled the Vixens to one of only two wins of the season in her debut match.
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Signed to a full contract this season, Samason is expected to have more opportunity but without internationals Mwai Kumwenda and Kiera Austin this weekend, all the pressure was on her – and she shone.
With Watson back and controlling the midcourt in conjunction with co-captain Kate Moloney, Samason had plenty of quality ball and capitalised, finishing with 35 points on 30-of-37 shooting including five super shots.
“It has been a really tough off-season and we’ve worked really hard as a group,” Moloney said.
“We finished on the bottom of the ladder last year and that gives you a real fire in the belly. We don’t want to be there again.
“There’s a lot of proud history at the Melbourne Vixens and we know exactly where we want to be.
“This trophy’s not the one we want, there’s one later in the year that we want to have our hand on, so there’s a lot of hard work to go still.”
Scroll down to see how your club is shaping up for this year’s Super Netball season.
WEST COAST FEVER
While the Fever were left disappointed with their finish, their performance over the weekend was outstanding given their disrupted preparation.
Behind Western Australia’s hard border, the club has not been able to hold any pre-season friendlies, while many of their players missed large parts of the off-season with international commitments.
Jamaican Jhaniele Fowler – the Super Netball player of the year for the past four seasons – had just four sessions with the team before they headed to Melbourne and it showed, with connections between the midcourt and the star goaler not yet singing.
The Fever closed the gap late in the final, partly on the back of training partner Chelsea Pitman – an England representative – entering the match, and her presence could be key this season, with all teams likely to have to reach deep into their squads to continue playing in a home-and-away environment that is almost certain to be affected to some degree by Covid.
They Fever will have to quarantine for a week heading back into Perth, but are among the favourites for a maiden title when the season proper kicks off.
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS
The Thunderbirds have been perennial underperformers in Super Netball, having never made the competition’s finals.
But their third-place finish gave hope that the homegrown stars they have been nurturing for several years can help propel them into the top four.
Internationals Lenize Potgieter and Shamera Sterling were outstanding at opposite ends of the court, while the addition of former Queensland Firebird Tippah Dwan means exciting youngster Georgie Horjus is likely to spend more time this season in a dynamic midcourt.
SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING
The off-season pregnancy announcement by captain Karla Pretorius has thrown a spanner into the works for the Lightning’s defensive end, while Firebirds recruit Tara Hinchliffe continues to rehab a knee injury. But there were strong signs from former Vixens goalkeeper Kadie-Ann Dehaney. At the opposite end, young goaler Reilley Batcheldor was outstanding in concert with Diamonds shooters Cara Koenen and Steph Wood, showing she will be more than capable of stepping in at the Super Netball level.
QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS
Has Donnell Wallam done enough to claim a permanent spot on the Firebirds roster for veteran Romelda Aiken?
Aiken announced her pregnancy last week and while Wallam was outstanding for the Firebirds in the opportunities she was given over the weekend – especially in conjunction with Diamonds goaler Gretel Bueta – there still seem to be question marks over whether she will be handed a season-long contract as a temporary replacement player.
Wallam shot at 87.6 per cent accuracy from regular range, and 85 per cent overall once her five-of-eight super shots are included, to show she is ready for the Super Netball level.
In the midcourt, the absence of Lara Dunkley allowed oodles of court time for Jemma Mi Mi, who showed she could be pushing for a starting spot with her speed and delivery.
COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES
Magpies fans were having conniptions when captain Geva Mentor appeared with crutches and a moon boot on Sunday after rolling her ankle during Saturday’s action.
But the veteran defender is confident she will be ready for the opening round of the season and the Magpies showed why many are rating them as finals contenders, with former Swifts shooter and Diamonds representative Sophie Garbin showing she will slot into the line-up seamlessly.
With few other changes, the Pies will be looking to capitalise on their connections and push for the premiership they have coveted since the start of the Super Netball competition.
GIANTS NETBALL
The Giants claimed the scalp of their NSW rivals the Swifts in Sunday’s grand final rematch – although few would have expected the teams to be playing off for seventh and eight positions.
Both teams had teething problems however, with the Giants arriving in Melbourne without outstanding defender April Brandley and testing out several youngsters in their line-up.
Captain Jo Harten was reliable as ever but it will be how the youngsters around her mature throughout the year that determines whether the Giants can again push into the finals and challenge for the title.
There were glimpses of promise from many of them and with coach Julie Fitzgerald at the helm, you wouldn’t bet against them developing into serious contenders.
NSW SWIFTS
The defending Super Netball premiers are among most pundits’ favourites to challenge for the title again in 2022, and it surprised many to see them in the playoff for seventh and eighth.
They had a horror weekend though and the exposure many of their younger players gained to the top level will be beneficial.
With coach Bryony Akle unable to make the trip to Melbourne after being declared a Covid close contact, assistant Bec Bulley had the reins but when she fell sick on Sunday morning, the job was handed to internationals Helen Housby (calf) and Sam Wallace (knee), who were sidelined with injury.
The tournament could be an ideal rehearsal for the Swifts, with Super Netball officials determined the show must go on this season regardless of issues that will crop up with Covid.
TEAM GIRLS CUP RESULTS
Grand final
Melbourne Vixens 45 (Samason 35, Barkmeyer 10) d West Coast Fever 43 (Fowler 30, Glasgow 10, Teague-Neeld 3).
Playoff for third
Adelaide Thunderbirds 53 (Potgieter 32, Horjus 11, Dwan 8, Austin 2) d Lightning 32 (Koenen 17, Batcheldor 8, Wood 7)
Playoff for fifth
Firebirds 52 (Bueta 24, Wallam 17, Stower 11) d Collingwood 50 (Nelson 33, Sinclair 9, Garbin 8)
Playoff for seventh
Giants 41 (Harten 27, Dwyer 14) d Swifts 27 (Towell 14, Singleton 13)
FOX SPORTS REVEAL STAR-STUDDED COMMENTARY TEAM
Fox Sports has underlined its investment in netball with the announcement of a pair of off-court programs and a star-studded commentary line-up at its launch in Melbourne this morning.
While details of the live broadcast of the pre-season Team Girls Cup in Melbourne and every game of the Super Netball season had already been revealed, the extra programs show the company is keen to capitalise on the untapped market Australia’s biggest women’s sport can provide.
Magazine-style show Centre Circle will showcase the life of star players on and off the court, while Pivot promises a comprehensive wrap of each round in a live show following the final match each Sunday.
The format is hardly new to followers of the football major football codes but it is a first for women’s sport and a smart move given netball has more than a million participants in Australia - mainly women and girls but also a growing men’s sector and all are hungry for content.
That audience will be able to hear from some of the game’s recent greats, with Fox Sports also revealing an expert line-up including former Diamonds Cath Cox, Bianca Chatfield, Laura Geitz, Sharni Norder, Madison Browne, Caitlin Thwaites and Caitlin Bassett at its launch at Crown Towers.
The coverage will be led by host Hannah Hollis, while player ambassadors Gretel Bueta, Paige Hadley and Diamonds captain Liz Watson will add their on-court insights throughout the season.
Fox Sports executive director, Steve Crawley, said the network had worked hard on innovations to bring the feel and sound of the game to life.
“Netball has been part of our lives and now we get the chance to showcase the game for the first time in prime time,” Crawley said.
“It’s a challenge everyone at Fox Sports is up for.”
Kayo will also stream matches, with each Sunday’s games and the finals and grand final streaming on Kayo Freebies.
The five-year Fox Sports deal ensures a massive Australian audience will be catered for and Netball Australia boss Kelly Ryan said the league was continuing to work on making games accessible to an international audience that exploded in 2020 when Super Netball was the focus of fans around the world with other elite competitions unable to run during the pandemic.
“We’re definitely working on that behind the scenes,” Ryan said.
“We absolutely want to continue giving our international audience a platform to view Suncorp Super Netball.
“That’s still a work in progress for us because we don’t have the streaming arrangement that we had last year through Telstra, so that is definitely a change.
“The international audiences is right in the sense that we haven’t come out and told anybody how they can consume it because we are still actually just working through that.
“We certainly hope to have a plan bedded down before the start of the season.”
CUP FEAST KICKS OFF NETBALL’S EXCITING NEW ERA
Melbourne may have been starved of live sport over the past two years but the city is set to host a netball feast this weekend as Foxtel and Kayo start their five-year broadcast rights deal.
The network, which will launch its new home of netball at Crown Towers in Melbourne on Wednesday, will telecast every game of the three-day Team Girls Cup pre-season tournament from Friday to Sunday, kicking off an exciting era for the sport.
Each of Super Netball’s eight teams will play four games over three days in a warm-up to the season proper, which starts on March 26-27.
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Fresh from representing the Diamonds at the Quad Series in London, goaler Sophie Garbin will turn out for her new club, Collingwood, with the Magpies expected to be genuine finals hopes this season.
Hannah Mundy’s Melbourne Vixens are determined to make history and challenge for the title after finishing as wooden spooners last year.
Tickets for individual sessions on Friday night, Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday are available from Ticketek, as well as passes to all four sessions of action.
Fans are being encouraged to show their colours while for those unable to make the event live, matches will be shown live and in full on Foxtel, Kayo and Kayo freebies.
Netball Australia and the Foxtel Group announced a groundbreaking five-year broadcast and digital rights contract early in 2021, which will see every Super Netball match shown live and ad-break free during play on Foxtel and Kayo.
Fox Sports executive director Steve Crawley said the network had worked hard on innovations to bring the feel and sound of the game to life.
“Netball has been part of our lives and now we get the chance to showcase the game for the first time in prime time,” Crawley said.
“It’s a challenge everyone at Fox Sports is up for.”
The Super Netball deal continues Fox Sports’ support of women’s sport, with the group bringing 2.4 million subscribers across Foxtel and Kayo to watch women compete across 19 different codes.
Fans have already had a taste of the type of coverage available under the deal, which runs from 2022 to 2026, with the recent Quad Series broadcast in its entirety on the network.
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