Super Netball 2025: Australian netball great Cath Cox predicts Thunderbirds can’t win a third straight title this year

The loss of a key talent, and the rise of two serious contenders for the Super Netball title, have conspired to put a line through the Thunderbirds’ three-peat hopes, according to former Diamonds great Cath Cox. Read what she said inside.

Adelaide Thunderbirds’ dream of securing a Super Netball three-peat this year is beyond reach, Australian netball great Cath Cox has declared.

As the Thunderbirds fight to cement their place in the top four, Cox predicted the absence of Jamaican defensive star Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, who is expecting her first child, would be too much of a loss to overcome.

The Thunderbirds were this year aiming to become the first Super Netball team to claim three consecutive titles after securing back-to-back premierships last season.

Adelaide’s campaign was delivered a jolt when Sterling-Humphrey, widely regarded as the best defender in the league, announced in early May she was pregnant.

Fox Sports netball commentator Cox believed the fourth-placed Thunderbirds would still make the top four, but could not see them usurping either the ladder leading NSW Swifts or West Coast Fever for the crown.

“I don’t think their position in the (top) four is shaky, but I don’t think they are up for a third title,” Cox said.

Latanya Wilson and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey celebrate their 2024 triumph. Picture: Getty Images

“Now that they have lost Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, it is tough to lose someone of that calibre and keep on keeping on.

“But they have not dropped off the pace too much. I had completely stopped talking about them to be honest, but then when I have seen some of the performances in the last couple of weeks, I think they have rejigged that defence end really nicely.

“The issue that they are probably facing is still throwing some ball away and they could probably get away with that before because they would have a defence end that would win it back for them more often than not, but now they have got to be a little more careful there.

“If they can start to minimise those errors, I think there is no reason they can’t be in the four.

“But I just think if you look at the Fever and you look at the Swifts now those are the two that will be in the grand final for me.”

The Thunderbirds sit just inside the top four on percentage only ahead of the fifth-placed Melbourne Vixens ahead of Sunday’s round nine clash against the Giants at home.

Lauren Frew, Laura Scherian, Georgie Horjus, and Latanya Wilson pose after the Thunderbirds’ Super Netball Grand Final win. Picture: Getty Images

The Giants claimed their only victory of the season against the Thunderbirds with an upset win in round four and Cox predicted they were due for another breakthrough.

“I feel like the Giants are so due for a win and it will come and I reckon it’s going to surprise everybody when it does come,” Cox said.

“I wouldn’t put it past them to go to Adelaide …. I don’t know if they feel like there is a bit of pressure off them now because they’ve had some injuries and it’s completely out of their control or where their heads are at.

“They have brought Casey (Kopua) in, but I don’t think they have brought Casey in thinking she is going to save the world and get them into finals or anything like that.

“I think they are hoping she will bring some experience and keep them competitive, but I reckon there is a win close.

“They took it to the grand finalists last week against the Vixens and easily could have won that game.”

Giants’ coach Julie Fitzgerald came under fire for her decision to draft in the almost 40-year-old Silver Ferns captain Kopua as an injury replacement player over a training partner or development player, but Cox said she had made the right call.

Former Silver Ferns captain Casey Kopua was drafted into the Giants as an injury replacement player. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

“It’s not a bit of heat, it was a stack of heat. She copped a lot,” Cox said.

“But if you listen to her explanation, there is absolutely no doubting she made the right decision.

“She mentioned when Jodi-Ann Ward left the court after that injury, the oldest person over 23 was Jamie-Lee Price. It’s tough to have a team that young.

“They are the youngest team in the competition and if go and throw another 20-year-old into the mix, I think you have got to be really careful … they still need to be competitive, they still need to try and win games, they’re still pushing for finals, people are still trying to keep jobs and you don’t want a bunch of 20-year-olds, while they couldn’t get the job done, to potentially be beaten every week, I don’t think that’s good for their confidence either.

“While Casey wasn’t an earthmover in terms of winning ball back, listening to her basically be an on-court coach to that defence end was unreal.”

Originally published as Super Netball 2025: Australian netball great Cath Cox predicts Thunderbirds can’t win a third straight title this year