How your team’s Super Netball season is shaping after the Team Girls Cup
The Thunderbirds showed they are serious about a title three-peat, West Coast narrowly missed the pre-season trophy and the Queensland teams have work to do. How every team shapes up after the Team Girls Cup.
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The Adelaide Thunderbirds are out to break the Team Girls Cup curse after homegrown Diamond Georgie Horjus sealed a thrilling fightback win with a last-second goal that handed them a one-goal win over the West Coast Fever.
No Team Girls Cup winner has gone on to win the Super Netball title but the back-to-back premiers are out to break the curse as they push for the league’s first three-peat.
Here’s what we learnt about all eight teams in the league as the clock ticks down to Round 1 on April 4-5.
Adelaide Thunderbirds (Winners)
The Thunderbirds have underlined their bid for a Super Netball three-peat after fighting back from eight goals down to beat West Coast Fever to the Team Girls Cup trophy. Thunderbirds showed off their depth this tournament with heavy rotation and plenty of minutes on offer for their training partners and bench players. It was a goal to Georgie Horjus in the final second of the game that put the tournament hosts one goal ahead, winning 38-37.
The T-Birds’ win came with Jamaican internationals Shamera Sterling-Humphrey (calf tendinitis) and Romelda Aiken-George (knee) on the bench, as coach Tania Obst again showed the range of South Australian talent pushing for spots in the world’s best competition.
Coach Tania Obst is known for her development of local talent and it was a pair of young guns, in swing playmaker Kayla Graham, who earnt the T-Birds’ final full-time position this season, and midcourter Sophie Casey, who stepped up in the second half to lead the fightback.
Lucy Austin, Lauren Frew and Georgie Horjus hardly missed a beat under the post so when the Thunderbirds were able to tidy up their feeds, the scoreboard quickly tipped in their favour in the third quarter, while Latayna Wilson and Matilda Garrett had no issues stepping up in the defensive circle.
“It’s quite good for us to be able to practice in training and to put in play during pre-season,” Wilson said. “To see all of the stuff we’ve been practising coming to life, it gives us confidence to know if we are in this situation that we’ve done it before and we can dig ourselves out of anything. The three-peat is what we are aiming for and hopefully we can get it.”
Wilson’s efforts earning her player of the final. “It means so much to me but I can’t take all the credit,” she said. “I’m giving the credit to the defenders and team in general because if it wasn’t for the defenders in front of me I wouldn’t be able to go and get the intercepts.”
Thunderbirds being able to deliver top performances even without their stars on the team list should have alarm bells ringing across the Super Netball. The match summed up their whole tournament. Apart from a two goal slip up against Lightning, the Thunderbirds were undefeated in their round games – which included a big 50-39 win over Giants.
West Coast Fever (Runners-up)
Fever’s dominant display at the Team Girls Cup proved there is much more to the club that just super shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. After a clean sweep in the round games, Fever fell just a goal short of lifting the TGC trophy after pushing reigning Super Netball champions Adelaide to their limits.
While others were caught off guard by Fever’s dominance this weekend Alice Teague-Neeld said there was plenty more to come. “We are training with each other week in and week out and we know what the likes of Olivia Wilkinson can do. She got a bit of time last year but that was more as GA so her to have her back at shooter is good,” Teague-Neeld said.
“On a team level we are feeling pretty good, we’ve got a different line up, different defenders and I think everyone is really stoked with where we are at. Coming into Team Girls Cup there were things that we wanted to work on, different combos, different strategies and play some different teams but obviously when we step out there we want to win and we didn’t get that. But we took a lot of things out of it.”
Whether or when Fowler-Nembhard returns this season remains an unknown, with the club continuing to support her and her family after her miscarriage earlier this year. But 20-year-old Wilkinson and Shanice Beckford stepped up and proved hard to handle in the shooting circle.
Their defensive line up is as strong as usual with Sunday Aryang spoiling several chances over the weekend. Fever still had some sloppy moments, silly errors and turnovers – as you would expect in a pre-season tournament. But their determination and level of competitiveness so early in the season serves as a warning to others.
They came from behind to get a one goal win over the Vixens in their pool games, with a 14-8 goal third quarter proving the turning point.
NSW Swifts (Third)
Last year’s Team Girls Cup winners, the Swifts know better than any team that pre-season form can mean little in the season proper. Despite that, there were plenty of good signs for a club that fell well short of its goals last year. Fans and opposition teams got their first real look at import shooter Grace Nweke and the Kiwi star confirmed she’s likely to be a thorn in the side of plenty of defences this season.
While midcourter Verity Simmons, who steps into the side this season for Maddy Proud while the co-captain is on maternity leave, missed the opening match with illness, she played the final three games and showed plenty of signs she’s starting to form the type of feeding combination with Nweke she had with towering Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard while at the Fever.
Newcomer Sharni Lambden also showed she will be a strong pick-up for the Swifts, joining from the Melbourne Vixens, where she’s been a training partner for several seasons but unable to crack the full-time list. A defensive midcourter, she’ll likely vie for time with Allie Smith and Maddy Turner, who could shift further forward from her traditional role in circle defence given the continued rise of keeper Teigan O’Shannassy, especially against some of the taller shooters in the league.
Melbourne Mavericks (Fourth)
The Mavericks left the pre-season competition last year without a single win and having lost Lauren Parkinson (Moore) for the season after she suffered an ACL tear during an early round match. But they will take plenty of confidence and joy from their fourth place finish this year, having negotiated much of the tournament with a depleted list. Last year’s newcomers played their final on Sunday without England Roses goaler Eleanor Cardwell, midcourter Molly Jovic and Parkinson, who is yet to return to play. But there were plenty of signs to suggest they will be a force this season after falling just short of a miraculous finals place on debut.
One of the talking points of the tournament was the send off of captain Amy Parmenter for dangerous play in Saturday’s clash against the Giants, with her team hanging tough for a one-goal victory. The call may have been contentious – although there’s no doubt the skipper is strong and aggressive in her pursuit of ball – but it could not take away from Parmenter’s performance across the weekend. Better known as a wing defence, her efforts at centre will have Tracey Neville contemplating the best midcourt mix given the depth she has with Jovic to come back and Tayla Fraser and Maisie Nankivell also performing well.
The return of Sasha Glasgow, after she missed the club’s entire debut season with a broken leg, was one of the feel-good moments of the weekend and it gives Neville another great headache given the depth she has with Cardwell and Shimona Jok also outstanding talents.
Melbourne Vixens (Fifth)
Barely a change for the Vixens heading into season 2025, bar the likely temporary injection of defender Maggie Caris for Emily Mannix, who gave birth to daughter Mabel in January. Given that, it’s hardly surprising they’re among the favourites for the title and even though they played off for fifth (after a couple of one-point losses – to fellow big guns the Swifts and Fever), there was little to suggest over the weekend that they won’t be among the heavyweights again this season. Probably more than any other club, the Vixens gave their frontline players plenty of minutes during the Team Girls Cup – a competition from which it’s often difficult to get a read on Super Netball form given the injection of so many players who are unlikely to play a major role in the premiership season.
The minutes will be a bonus for Caris, who blended well into defence with Diamonds Jo Weston and Rudi Ellis and has reportedly been a sponge during the pre-season, determined to learn what she can playing at this level. Regular wing defence Kate Eddy also rotated into circle defence at times, something that is also likely during the season given the enormous depth and talent in a midcourt that includes captain Kate Moloney, Diamonds squad member Hannah Mundy and rising star Zara Walters.
Giants Netball (Sixth)
After their wooden spoon finish last season the Giants are determined to climb from the canvas this season but there were mixed signs for Julie Fitzgerald’s team. A couple of close round games – a one-point win over the Lightning and one-point loss to the Mavericks – combined with an 11-goal loss to the Thunderbirds before they went down by 13 to the Vixens to claim sixth place overall.
Sunday’s playoff took place without goaler Matisse Letherbarrow and defender Tilly McDonell, both of whom will play a big part this season, and it was a weary-looking side that went down to the Vixens after the four training partners on the match sheet failed to hit the court, although the minutes they picked up earlier in the weekend will be invaluable experience. The rotation of the shooters will be a balancing act for Fitzgerald this season, with Jo Harten, who played on Friday and Sunday, likely to manage training load through the season, while Letherbarrow – who picked up an injury on Saturday night, although one that is unlikely to affect her season proper – set to pick up more minutes.
Defence was among the big concerns for the Giants last season, with the combination of Jodi-Ann Ward and McDonell among the shortest in the league. But the efforts of Erin O’Brien across the weekend reinforce the belief of many that she could challenge McDonell for the starting position, while her combination with Ward is showing great signs.
Sunshine Coast Lightning (Seventh)
Depth is key when it comes to elite sport and the Lighting certainly have that – especially in their shooting circle.
Rising star Reilley Batcheldor is certainly making it clear to Belinda Reynolds that she wants to play more consistent minutes this season. Previously relied on for the super shot period or to help finish close games, Batcheldor made a real case to playing more of a starting role this time around. She isn’t just accurate under the post, she moves around the circle with great purpose and more than once was able to save a ball, rogue pass or rebound from going out.
Her performance this weekend will no doubt have Cara Koenen, who struggled with the super shots, looking over her shoulder. While playing limited minutes Steph Fretwell was also in form, missing just two shots against Firebirds on Sunday.
All eyes will be on Leesa Mi Mi – the midcourter was ruled out of the pre-season tournament after sustaining a leg injury in a training session. The nature and extent of the injury has not yet been revealed. It meant new recruit Kristian Manu’a, who made the move from the Mavericks just this week was thrown straight into the side.
Lightning’s defensive circle looked a little different with Courtney Bruce still on load management following her injury, getting just 18 minutes on the court all weekend. Ash Ervin certainly impressed though.
Queensland Firebirds (Eighth)
They might have had four straight losses at Team Girls Cup but there are still plenty of positives for the Firebirds to take away from the weekend in Adelaide.
Shooting recruit Mary Cholhok is formidable in the circle and seems to have had no problem adapting to the super shot rule either. The fourth quarter in their clash with Vixens showed the never say die attitude the Firebirds are known for and what Cholhok can do under the post. Together with Abigail Latu-Meafou the shooting duo helped secure a 13-6 win in the final quarter for a much more respectable overall scoreline of 46-37.
Young defender Ashlee Barnett was put to the test against Swifts star signing Grace Nweke and put on a solid performance. The pairing of Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Isabelle Shearer worked well for the most part across the weekend.
It was hard to get a good picture of the midcourt with some very heavy rotation during the tournament. The Hulita Veve and Macy Gardner combination has a lot of potential to really develop into something lethal, with Gardner in particular having formed a strong connection already feeding the 201cm Cholhok. Gardner and Veve certainly had the Lightning questioning their tactics in their final game on Sunday – where the Firebirds fell just short 41-43.
So while they will fly home from Adelaide winless the Firebirds still have potential to be competitive this season.
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