Super Netball 2026: See all of the training partners so far locked in by clubs for next season
Melbourne Vixens have locked in their 11th player for their Super Netball title defence, with a former AFLW ruck set to join the reigning champion’s main squad for 2026.
Super Netball premiers Melbourne Vixens have locked in defensive reinforcement for next season after elevating defender Maggie Caris as their 11th player for 2026.
The 190cm defender will get another chance to showcase her game in Super Netball after she was promoted to the main squad this year as a replacement player for Emily Mannix, who sat out the season following the birth of her first child at the start of the year.
Mannix is making a return to the court for the Vixens’ title defence next season.
Caris made six appearances for the Vixens in 2025, getting an opportunity in the starting seven for the team’s round seven win against the Queensland Firebirds.
The 22-year-old former AFLW ruck, who hails from Quantong outside of Horsham in Victoria, has been a part of the Vixens’ extended squad for the past four years.
“Maggie’s a great teammate and an important member of our group — I’ve loved seeing her grow as an athlete and as a person in our program,” new Melbourne Vixens head coach Di Honey said.
“She really grabbed her opportunities with both hands this season, so I’m excited to see what she can do next year building on that experience.”
Midcourt young gun Tara Watson was the Vixens’ 11th player in 2025, but she suffered a heartbreaking injury blow earlier this month after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament while competing for an Australian pathways team on an international tour in Tonga.
The Vixens announced earlier this week they had added defensive midcourter Ally O’Connor as their fifth training partner for 2026.
DWAN DETERMINED TO REIGNITE SUPER NETBALL CAREER
Premiership goaler Tippah Dwan is determined to reignite her Super Netball career and has not ruled out a move interstate to make it happen, but is hopeful her new role at the Sunshine Coast Lightning can open doors to a comeback.
Refreshed and ready to launch back into her rehab after an off-season holiday with her AFL premiership-winning partner, Josh Dunkley, in the United States, Dwan returned to the court last week with the Lightning who she has joined as a training partner for 2026.
Dwan was left without a Super Netball contract for next year after her 2025 campaign with the Queensland Firebirds was ruined by a lingering knee injury.
The 26-year-old former Thunderbirds premiership player was restricted to just four games at the start of the season before the injury forced her to sit out the rest of the year.
As she continues her recovery from a “clean-out” on her knee in a bid to rectify the joint pain she has suffered the past two years, Dwan said she was hopeful of getting back to her best and reigniting her Super Netball career.
“I would love to play a few more years,” Dwan said.
“I know it’s very hard to get back, there’s not many contract spots which is always difficult but hopefully I can get back to when I was playing my best and even better than that and hopefully play some more netty on the court.
“I think that’s why I took the opportunity back up to the Sunny Coast.
“I think it’s a great opportunity with the team that they have to work with (head coach) Belinda (Reynolds) and (assistant coach) Jenny Brazel will be really good for my development as well.”
Dwan did not rule out a move away from Queensland – where Dunkley is based with the Brisbane Lions – to continue her career if an opportunity came up in the future, saying the couple had “done distance” before.
But Dwan said her focus was on maximising her training partner role at the Lightning, where she will be working alongside goalers Donnell Wallam, Cara Koenen and Gabby Sinclair.
“I think you take every opportunity you can in this league and we’ve done distance before so it’s no stranger to us,” Dwan said of her relationship.
“But hopefully this (opportunity) on the Sunny Coast can come into something further than that.
“So, hopefully if I work really hard I could get there one day which would be exciting.”
Dwan and Dunkley have not long returned from an overseas holiday in the US where they visited her New York-based parents, which she said had given her a pleasant break from the rigours of rehab.
“My mum and dad actually live over there in New York. So we went and saw them for a little bit and stayed with them which was nice,” Dwan said.
“They are over there for dad’s work. It’s great, get free accom. It’s nice to go over there and get some meals as well while over there. It’s a good holiday.
“It was good to just relax and take a bit of time off from rehab and refresh into a new season and new team.”
Dwan said her knee recovery was progressing well, but she has not placed any timeline as yet on when she might be ready to play again.
“I got a clean out on it a few months ago, so I am just trying to restart and get it nice and strong and make sure that it’s hopefully ready for some netball next year,” Dwan said.
“It’s coming along really well. A lot of time in the gym but it’s all worth it.
“It was just a niggly little injury that just lingered for a while, probably the last two seasons. It will be good to get that out of the way hopefully and be pain free while playing.
“Injuries are always frustrating for anyone that gets them …. a fresh start is always good, especially having new eyes on an injury that has kind of been around for a few years now.
“So I think that’s a really good start for me to go somewhere else and try new things.”
Still only 26, Dwan was confident her best netball could still be ahead of her.
“If you look at other players, their best netty comes when they are a little bit older, 26, 27, 28 even into their 30s,” Dwan said.
“So that gives me real confidence that I can be better than I was before.”
VIXENS DEALT PRE-SEASON BLOW WITH CRUEL INJURY TO RISING MIDCOURT STAR
The Melbourne Vixens’ squad has suffered a pre-season injury blow with rising midcourter Tara Watson injuring her ACL during an Australian pathways tour in Tonga.
The Vixens’ 11th player for their premiership run in 2025, Watson’s hopes of building on a promising Super Netball debut this year were shattered after injuring her knee on the three-day international tour against the Tonga Tala.
Watson made her league debut for the Vixens in the team’s thrilling come-from-behind preliminary final win over the NSW Swifts this season and is highly regarded for her midcourt speed and versatility.
The 20-year-old was among four Vixens training partners named for 2025 along with defender Maggie Caris, goaler Mia Lavis and midcourter Zali Anderson. The Vixens are yet to confirm their 11th player for next season.
“It’s incredibly disappointing news for Tara, who made such an impression in her first season in our Vixens environment this year,” Sharelle McMahon, Netball Victoria’s general manager, high performance and pathways, said.
“Tara’s a valued member of our team and has a bright future ahead of her – we’ll wrap our arms around her and support her every step of the way with her recovery.”
Watson, who can play across all three midcourt positions, was selected in Australia’s World Youth Cup squad this year and was one of three reserves for the team that went on to win gold in Gibraltar.
After sending off long-time coach Simone McKinnis with a premiership, the Vixens will aim to defend their Super Netball crown under new head coach, Di Honey, in 2026.
The top stars and rising talent fighting for a Super Netball spot
A former Adelaide Thunderbirds premiership player, World Youth Cup winners, an Icelandic goaler and the daughter of an entertainer headline the Super Netball training partners so far locked in for 2026.
While not all clubs are yet to confirm their training partners for next year, more than half of the Super Netball franchises have already signed up their extended training squads.
Former Queensland Firebirds goal attack Tippah Dwan is the biggest name signing so far, making the move up the highway to join the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Dwan’s move to the Lightning comes after an injury-hit final season at the Firebirds where she was sidelined from round four with an ongoing knee issue.
The Thunderbirds premiership player is one of four training partners named at the Lightning alongside the returning trio of defensive midcourter Maddie Hinchliffe, defender Jada Delaney and midcourter Baylee Boyd.
Adelaide has named a strong group of emerging talent, elevating Lucy Voyvodic, who was last week named the joint Super Netball Reserves player of the year, as their 11th player.
The Thunderbirds training group includes defender Tabitha Packer, who was recognised as the Australian World Youth Cup player of the tournament at last week’s Netball Australia awards following Australia’s gold-medal winning campaign in Gibraltar.
The Melbourne Mavericks have named two training partners so far with defender Charlotte Sexton, another member of the Australian World Youth Cup team, making the move across town from the Melbourne Vixens where she was part of the training squad this year.
Sexton joins fellow defender Charli Hoey, who was a member of the Mavericks’ inaugural reserves’ team this season.
Premiers Melbourne Vixens have signed four pathway products as their training partners, led by defender Maggie Caris, who was elevated to the main squad this year as a replacement player for Emily Mannix, and this year’s 11th player Tara Watson.
Emerging goaler Mia Lavis also returns, while midcourter Zali Anderson is the new addition to the training group.
Another World Youth Cup champion, defender Freddie Schneideman headlines the three training partners so far signed at the NSW Swifts.
Schneideman made her debut for the Swifts this year and was also named the joint Super Netball Reserves player of the year.
She joins a pair of returning training partners, midcourter Jess Conlan and rising goaler Nicola Barge, while midcourter Courtney Castle joins for her first season as a training partner.
Queensland Firebirds have named four members of their Futures Academy, including the Icelandic-born Elsa Sif Sandholt, who made her Super Netball debut for the Firebirds in the final round of the season this year.
The emerging goaler joins returning midcourter and Samoa international Jessie Laga’aia - the daughter of actor and singer Jay Laga’aia - fellow midcourter Sasha Flegler and defender Lillyana Rennie.
The Giants and West Coast Fever are yet to announce their training partners for 2026.
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Originally published as Super Netball 2026: See all of the training partners so far locked in by clubs for next season
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