Super Netball’s star shooters set for shootout: Cholhok, Nweke, Jok, Housby, Aiken-George, face off
Super Netball fans should get excited because this season is going to deliver some of the best shooting the competition has seen. ERIN SMITH analyses the best ever set of shooters lining up for 2025.
Fever
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fever. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Super Netball is about to deliver a shootout for the ages with arguably the greatest group of goalers ever assembled in the one competition.
An incredible collection of international stars will line up in the goal circle for every team this season, mixed with the very best from Australia, posing a huge challenge for defenders.
Firebirds star goal shooter recruit Mary Cholhok headlines the list – a four-time top goal scorer in the English Super League who stands at 2.01m.
Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke, who set an ANZ league record in 2021 with 852 goals from 951 attempts, has made the move across the ditch to sign with the Swifts.
Then there are the imports that have a few seasons under their sneakers – Helen Housby, Sasha Glasgow, Mwai Kumwenda, Shimona Jok, Jo Harten, Shanice Beckford and Romelda Aiken-George.
Fever have also confirmed that Jhanielle Fowler-Nembhard will likely return to the court this season, while the Mavericks are hopeful English international Eleanor Cardwell will be able to come back from knee surgery for a post-season run.
Just two of the eight teams in the league rely on an all-Australian starting shooting circle – Sunshine Coast Lightning and Melbourne Vixens.
All four, Steph Fretwell, Cara Koenen, Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin have played for the Diamonds.
Swifts co-captain Maddy Turner said having Nweke in their squad helped the defensive end be as prepared as possible.
“I’m so glad I get to train against Grace and not play against her,” Turner said.
“I think the years we have been successful we were able to train against what we have come up against, not train against a moving circle then get to game day and be like ‘what is this’.
“It is very handy to have someone like Grace and also have our moving circle to complement it as well. We are able to defend both at training and practice strategies.”
The huge increase in height around the shooting circle means rising Giants defender Erin O’Brien is likely to play more of a role this season.
At 189cm tall, O’Brien is the tallest of the Giants defenders with Matilda McDonnell just 185cm and Jodie-Ann Ward 178cm.
O’Brien said she had confidence that whoever was in the circle would be able to work together to combat the shooters.
“It’s going to be a very big challenge, but it is exciting to test yourself against the best in the whole world, it is going to be really, really hard but it is a challenge I’m excited for,” O’Brien said.
“I’ve watched them on the TV, I’ve seen Grace Nweke play for New Zealand and I watched Mary (Cholhok) in the Fast Five comp and I’ve watched them recently, it’s going to be tough, they are very tall, very strong, very dominant shooters but I think it is exciting, it’s a good challenge, you want to play against the best.”
Melbourne Mavericks goal defender Kim Brown said many hours had been spent watching video footage of the new shooters.
“It’s exciting that we have the best league in the world here and that everyone wants to come here and play,” Brown said.
“I like having new faces in the league, it brings new excitement when you’ve never played on a person before, it is nice to challenge yourself against that.
“We do lots of analysis, lots of videos, especially around games.”
While the defenders are watching everything the shooters do – the same is happening in reverse.
Firebirds coach Kiri Wells said there was no denying defenders would struggle against Cholhok.
“Mary is a very intelligent player, she can articulate and talk to what she needs as a goal shooter and what she needs her players to do,” Wells said.
“The style is slightly different and the way defenders are taught to move around the body is different to what she is used to and some of the heights she is up against – like Ash Ervin from the Sunshine Coast – means that she does have to protect the space a little bit harder than she is used to.
“But we’ve seen massive growth over Team Girls Cup and they are finding her easier and easier every single game.”
The question mark will be how some of the new recruits like Nweke and Cholhok adapt to the Super shot – the two-point perimeter goal available in the final minutes of each quarter.
“We saw her at Fast Five for a couple of years in a row now shooting those long bombs twos and threes for fast five, she has never been shy to do that,” Wells said of Cholhok.
“Her confidence to go out there and have a shot, she is not just going to be a tall stand in the back target shooter, she actually has some great skill sets that she can use against defenders no matter what.”
Firebirds aren’t the only team adapting their style of play to make their new shooter fit.
West Coast Fever have been forced to adapt with five-time MVP super shooter Fowler-Nembhard unavailable for the start of the season. Coach Dan Ryan has been preparing for this situation in the background for several years though – so while the moving circle looks different to fans it isn’t a foreign concept to the players.
Ryan said who started in the shooting circle would largely depend on who the opposition was.
He can choose from Olivia Wilkinson, Kumwenda and Beckford.
“This whole notion of a starting seven is really null and void,” Ryan said.
“Every team has to put seven on the court to start the game but realistically that seven doesn’t always end the game and I think teams are only as strong as the depth on their bench.”
Fever unveiled their new look attack and moving circle at Team Girls Cup – with Wilkinson catching everyone’s attention.
“Last year was her first year stepping up into the big leagues, the whole year was about learning, exposure and opportunity and really seeing where she was at,” Ryan said.
“It has set her up to have not only a great season this year coming but I think it sets the foundations for a really exciting career.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Super Netball’s star shooters set for shootout: Cholhok, Nweke, Jok, Housby, Aiken-George, face off
Chatfield: Fighting Firebirds, savvy Swifts and need for transparency
The heavily-scrutinised Firebirds’ crucial win has put them on the front foot, while the Swifts and T-Birds are deserved pace-setters. But some teams are clearly struggling already. BIANCA CHATFIELD’S round 1 SSN report card.
Swifts, T’birds headline Super Netball team of the week — have your say!
The first round of the Suncorp Super Netball season is in the bank, but who shone the brightest? Click for Code Netball experts’ round one team of the week. Vote for yours!