Netball’s hated super shot is here to stay: Will netball’s two-point goal be added to international rules?

Love it or hate it, the super shot is here to stay after its introduction to the England and NZ leagues this season. And one star is suggesting it could be added to the international game.

Former England player and current Roses coaching assistant Jo Harten has suggested the super shot could eventually become part of the international game after its introduction to the world’s biggest leagues this season.

The maligned super shot has taken over the world’s biggest netball competitions, with England’s Super League and New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership to feature the two-point goal this season, five years after it was introduced in Australia.

Hugely unpopular when it was first introduced for the 2020 season - mainly due to a lack of consultation with the coaches and players - the super shot has added an element of unpredictability to Super Netball matches, with the result on the line right up to the end of the game.

The “entertainment” ploy remains despised by many purists but maintains interest in the result throughout the match, with large margins able to be erased in the final minutes and the result on the line.

Jo Harten says the super shot could go international. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Giants co-captain Harten, said she was not surprised the super shot had been added to the revamped competition, with the newly streamlined eight-team Super League 2.0 “trying to break more barriers, especially in the UK market”.

“You have to have a really attractive product - and I think the super shot makes sense for them in the UK, to get more fans on board and different types of commercialisation of the sport,” Harten said.

“Five years ago, it was like, ‘Oh God, please, let’s not have this around the world’, but now I think if everyone’s doing it, it makes sense.”

New Zealand too, will add the super shot to its league, in a move that could be an indication of an eventual reintegration of Kiwi teams - or at least several players - into any expanded Super Netball competition.

But with all three premier competitions now featuring the two-point goal in the final five minutes of each quarter, and players from countries around the world exposed to the shot, Harten believes it could one day be introduced to the international game.

The super shot has been introduced in New Zealand and English leagues. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

“Potentially World Netball will look at the global game as well, as long as everyone’s on an equal footing with it, in terms of developing nations and (the opportunity for) continents like Africa to get aboard as well,” Harten said.

“I think it could be a really exciting step to the sport. And Super Netball has proven that it doesn’t change the game from a fan perspective too much, so I think most fans are going to love it.”

Diamonds captain Liz Watson though says while she sees the appeal of the super shot, she is still not a fan.

“I think it’s putting so much pressure on the shooters,” Watson said.

“I know that is their job but I feel like sometimes it’s not representing the best team on the day, it’s representing who shot the best in the last minute or five minutes.

“Maybe as a midcourter, I’m a bit biased but it’s for the defence as well, they’ve had to change (tactics) completely.”

And while she can see why other leagues would introduce the shot to “spark” interest, she is against any change to international rules.

“I hope it doesn’t, I hope it stays traditional,” Watson said.

“A 10-goal lead in SSN (Super Netball) is nothing at all. A 10-goal lead in international is like, you’ve done well, you’ve got yourselves ahead.”

Harten, a shooter who is prolific from long range - the super shot is taken from a designated area at the outside of the shooting circle - has been one of the most successful exponents of the two-point goal in the five years it has been in play in Super Netball.

Liz Watson is not a fan of the super shot. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

She was certainly no fan of how it was introduced - foisted on players and teams in 2020 without consultation just weeks ahead of the condensed Covid-impacted season - but concedes it opens the game up for goalers and adds a different element to the game.

Like it or loathe it, Harten said the best thing was to see those in charge of the game trying something to push the world’s best netball leagues front and centre as entertaining sports products.

“It shows that people care. There are people in offices that are talking about the game and not just saying, okay, we’ll sit on our laurels and it just is what it is,” she said.

“There are people that have been put in specific roles to make the game more attractive, more exciting to different markets, and I think that can only be a good thing for the sport.

“As long as everyone has a hand and a little say, all stakeholders are kind of having that equal moment, I think the sport can be really good stead moving forward.”

Originally published as Netball’s hated super shot is here to stay: Will netball’s two-point goal be added to international rules?