Super Netball 2023: Thunderbirds desperate to turn potential into maiden finals berth
Super Netball’s great underachievers Adelaide have declared their time is now as they aim to shed their reputation as one of netball’s notorious battlers.
Netball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Netball. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Adelaide Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst says it’s time for her team to stop using one of the dirtiest words in sport and turn “potential” into performance.
The Thunderbirds have won four premierships in their proud history — two in each of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy and ANZ Championship competitions — but they have never made the Super Netball finals.
In fact, since the inception of the competition widely regarded as the best in world netball, the Thunderbirds have finished no higher than seventh on the ladder despite the seeming potential of their side to push into the top four.
Last year, Adelaide led the competition through the early stages before losing four of their final six matches to fall short of the playoffs again.
But with arguably the best circle defenders in the league, a homegrown midcourt that has another year under its belt and the addition of England sharpshooter El Cardwell — the only new international in the league — the Thunderbirds know this season is accompanied more by expectation than hope.
“You can keep using the ‘potential’ word but when do you really start to live it and own it out there?’ Obst asked.
“I truly believe that our younger players have probably had enough time.
“It is about these athletes just going out there and knowing that they do belong on that court — I think that’s also half the battle at times.”
Extrapolating pre-season form is notoriously difficult but the Thunderbirds’ push into the final at the Team Girls Cup on the Gold Coast last weekend before ultimately falling to Super Netball premiers West Coast, showed they have the ingredients for success.
“Eleanor coming into our environment has been quite refreshing with her personality,” Obst said of the Roses shooter, who converted 82 per cent of her attempts in three games over the weekend, including 66 per cent from super shot range.
“She’s really taking on a bit of a motherly role down in that forward line (for 21-year-olds Lucy Austin and Georgie Horjus) and she can obviously play either shooter or goal attack and can shoot those two-pointers as well, so she’s quite versatile as well down there.”
Last year’s pre-season final was played between the Fever and winners Melbourne Vixens, with the pair ultimately taking out the top two positions in the regular season and meeting in the grand final, where West Coast sealed a maiden Super Netball premiership.
“Each team would have their own things that they want to tick off the on (the Team Girls Cup) weekend,” Obst said.
“I know in our first couple of years we were really looking at combinations and developing as a team but we’ve probably cemented a few of those things now.
“So now it’s about doing it in the moment and the moments that matter. And that that’ll be our next big step for our progression along the track for the season ahead.”
Obst herself has been under pressure over the past couple of years given the Thunderbirds’ failure to deliver on their promise.
She has never been flying solo but the Tbirds’ coaching ranks have been supercharged this season, with former England head coach Tracey Neville – the woman who led the Roses to Commonwealth Games gold on the Gold Coast in 2018 – a vastly experienced assistant.
“She’s extremely passionate. She’s very good strategically, she obviously has a connection with Eleanor already,” Obst said of Neville, who mentored Cardwell at English Super League club Manchester Thunder and transformed her into an international by pushing her from defence to the shooting circle.
“She brings just international knowledge.
“And she actually allows me to just play a little bit of a different role in the preparation of our games. And working with Cathy (assistant coach Cathy Fellows), I think it’s pretty dynamic.”
‘BE BETTER, NOT BITTER’: ROMELDA OPENS UP ON CLUB SWITCH
Be better, not bitter.
It’s the mantra Romelda Aiken George will take into the Super Netball season when she lines up with the NSW Swifts after more than a decade wearing the purple dress of the Queensland Firebirds.
Aiken George has played almost 200 national league games over more than a decade at the elite level but admits taking the court for last weekend’s pre-season tournament was among the most nerve racking moments of her career.
After sitting out last season on maternity leave while pregnant with her first child, daughter Gianna, now six months, Aiken George’s contract was not renewed by the Brisbane club.
The Firebirds “unequivocally denied” Aiken George’s claims at the time that the club deemed an extension “too risky”.
Regardless, the veteran goaler’s parting of the ways with the Firebirds was not a happy one.
But after being thrown a career lifeline by the Swifts in the off-season as a training partner, Aiken George took the court at the Team Girls Cup last weekend as a temporary replacement player for Trinidad and Tobago goaler Sam Wallace, who is recovering from a knee reconstruction.
“It didn’t end well (with the Firebirds) but I’m just staying in the moment and really leaving a lot of doors open,” Aiken George said.
“I’m super grateful that Swifts reached out and gave me that opportunity to be back out on court.
“It is what it is. I’m not trying to burn any bridges. They’ve been really good to me from day one.
“I think at the end of the day a change was good and I’m just trying to be better not bitter.”
But lining up for another club for the first time was still a surreal experience.
“It was nerve racking going into the game knowing that the only team I’ve played for out there was just the Firebirds,” Aiken George said.
“But I think for me like a change was good. It’s very much reignited the passion.
“Just being out there on court was so exciting and (important) to see where I was at going into the season. So it’s been great.”
The 34-year-old spent 100 minutes on court over three matches at the Team Girls Cup and while she had a somewhat rusty start against the Fever (25/30), albeit against Diamonds goalkeeper Courtney Bruce, she was purring in her final two matches, missing just two goals over the two games and finishing the tournament with a rare super shot attempt.
She may have been wearing the red dress of the Swifts but Aiken George, who made her national league debut in 2008, remains a firm fan favourite, especially in Queensland’s southeast where the Team Girls Cup was held and the roar when she sank her super shot attempt after the final whistle shows fans bear no grudge at her switching clubs.
The move has been no small task.
Aiken George and Gianna are currently based in Sydney, while her husband, former NBL basketballer Daniel George remains in Queensland, where he has work and family commitments.
“Dan and I just keep reminding ourselves that we chose this,” Aiken George said.
“Even though it’s really hard and we’re trying to navigate times when he gets to come down to see Gianna and us spending time together, we’re still navigating our way.
“But it’s just really exciting and he’s super supportive of my game and really wants me to get back out on court. So he’s been the driving force behind me getting back on court.”
But with full-time squad lists restricted to 10 players, Aiken George is likely to be relegated to training partner status again once Wallace returns from injury.
“For me, it’s just being in the moment. Wherever I end up, just to be able to get back out on court is a big win for me.
“We’re all excited to have Sam back. When her time comes, then I’ve done my job and I’m fit and ready just to keep pushing everyone in the team.”
RISING STARS: FIVE YOUNG GUNS SET TO SHINE IN SUPER NETBALL
They’re the Super Netball unknowns who will be fan favourites and key players by the end of the season.
Think Donnell Wallam and Ruby Bakewell-Doran — Firebirds who made their Super Netball debuts last year and making such an impression that they ended the year in the gold dress of the Diamonds.
The sharpshooter and gun defender almost helped propel the Firebirds into the finals for the first time since 2018 and will be at the forefront for the Queenslanders again as they try to overcome the loss of internationals Gretel Bueta and Eboni Bakewell-Doran.
With just 80 full-time contracts available across eight teams, any player that graduates to the world’s best league is going to be special.
The turnover of players is also scant and new faces rare.
But the pre-season Team Girls Cup on the Gold Coast this weekend is a chance for the young guns to rise.
Here are five players to watch out for over the weekend.
LUCY AUSTIN (Adelaide Thunderbirds)
The arrival of England international Ellie Cardwell has plenty of fans excited for what it will mean for the Thunderbirds’ shooting circle. But Austin, who made her debut in 2022, will also have her chances this season and the 21-year-old shapes as one of the most exciting young players in the country. She should get plenty of time at the Team Girls Cup and may show off some of the tricks she has picked up from her Roses clubmate.
ASH UNIE (Queensland Firebirds)
Unie made her Super Netball debut for the Lightning as part of the Sunshine Coast’s extended squad during the Covid-enforced hub season and had the world at her feet the following year after earning a full-time contract before suffering an ACL tear on season’s eve. After a move down the M1 to Brisbane, Unie is ready to show an inexperienced Firebirds defensive unit is up to the task and is ready to rumble.
CHARLIE BELL (Sunshine Coast Lightning)
The towering shooter started her Super Netball career as a training partner for the Firebirds in 2022 but headed up the M1 to the Sunshine Coast in the off-season to join the Lightning as a temporary replacement player for Reilley Batcheldor after the shooter ruptured her ACL at the Australian Netball Championships. Standing at 197cm — or almost six foot six in the old language — Bell presents an imposing target under the ring and will be a challenge for any defence.
MADDIE HINCHLIFFE (Collingwood Magpies)
Hinchliffe has already have played 14 Super Netball games at two clubs but injury has unfortunately been a constant companion in the early stages of her career. She arrives at the Magpies looking for an opportunity to gain consistent court time and show she deserves her spot as one of the best defenders in the league. The twin sister of recent Diamonds debutant Tara, Maddie has made the move from Queensland and is ready to make waves of her own.
AMY SLIGAR (Giants)
Former Giants Academy member Sligar stepped up to a full-time role last season and turned in some solid performances in a Giants midcourt already packed with stars. She will get another chance to impress at the Team Girls Cup and is likely to get plenty of time in a midcourt missing the imposing presence of Diamond Amy Parmenter. Fans shouldn’t worry if they think they’re seeing double watching the team in orange — with Amy’s twin and Giants development player Nat Sligar set to hit the floor on the Gold Coast as well.
More Coverage
Originally published as Super Netball 2023: Thunderbirds desperate to turn potential into maiden finals berth
Mavs make Uneeq signing as part of stacked training roster
A roster that underlines the depth of Super Netball and the difficulty of snaring a full-time contract, or a nervy move by a club unprepared to back new talent? The verdict on the Mavericks’ stacked training roster.
NRL and AFL stars’ secret code switch pleas for LA Olympics
With eyes set on a rare chance at Olympic gold, stars from AFL, NRL, Super Rugby and Super Netball have been making secret queries over the prospect of surprise code switches.