Super Netball 2023: Could new import lead Thunderbirds to first finals appearance in decade?
A gun shooter has come from the other side of the world to help drive the Thunderbirds towards the Super Netball finals for the first time. Can she do it? We hear from the English international.
Netball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Netball. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It only took Eleanor Cardwell one game to realise the difference between England’s Super League and the best netball competition in the world.
Plenty of expectation surrounded the debut of Cardwell - the England Roses shooter, two-time Super League premiership-winner and only new import in the league - for the Adelaide Thunderbirds, who have become firm favourites to make the finals, based, in large part, on her arrival.
She finished with 34 points on 31-of-38 shooting, including three super shots, to help lead Adelaide to a 59-44 victory over the Queensland Firebirds after overcoming a slow start.
“It’s the first game of the season. We’ve had a great pre-season, but when it comes to the actual games, it’s pretty nerve racking,” Cardwell said.
“I know my arms felt like jelly when I first got out there. So I think there were a few nerves to get out of the way and we were just building and building and I think that showed coming into the second half - we had a lot more confidence and just trust in each other that we can actually play at this level and we are okay at netball.
“It was just getting those nerves out of the way.”
Cardwell played at both goal attack and goal shooter, starting the game with young tall Lucy Austin at the back and then playing with the GS bib on herself in the second half as former Firebird Tippah Dwan came into the game.
Cardwell has been tipped to be one of the standout players in the league this season.
But she conceded Super Netball demanded a different level of concentration and consistent performance.
“You can’t have a lapse of concentration, you’ve got to be on it the whole time,” Cardwell said.
“It’s going to be a tightly contested game each and every single week. I know back home, there’ll be some games when we’ll be scoring like 89 goals, which is going to be pretty hard to do out here.
“And some games are a lot easier back home, whereas here, each game is going to be solid and you’re going to be tired after every single game.”
Super Netball clubs have been trying to entice Cardwell to Australia for years.
Adelaide had had a few cracks but enticing the self-confessed “home girl” to the other side of the world during Covid lockdowns when she would not have had any support was all but impossible.
Her Australian sojourn is being conducted with boyfriend Tom Turner in tow, with his support instrumental not just to her comfort in Adelaide but her performance for the T-Birds.
“It’s so, so important for me to have that support,” Cardwell said.
“I can get very much in netball. If I was just here on my own, I would be overcome with netball and that’s all I’d think about and then I don’t play as well when I just think about netball. I need to have a life away from netball as well.”
Cardwell is a proven winner but the challenge of joining the Thunderbirds - who have never made the Super Netball finals - was part of the attraction of moving to Australia.
“Adelaide is a great team. Last year they were on the brink of making finals and they’ve got some amazing talent,” Cardwell said.
“They’ve got some youthful players - although you probably couldn’t call them that anymore because some of them have a lot of experience - they’ve got more experience in the SSN than I do, so it’s an incredibly exciting team.
“Hopefully I can bring an older head into the into the team and try and bring it all together and support all those girls in anything they need on the court, off the court and just elevate the team that little bit that they need to try and reach finals.
“It’s definitely a nice challenge to come into a team where we’ve not made finals for a while - the last time they won (the premiership or made finals) was 2013, so it’s an exciting challenge and one that I am really, really looking forward to.
“I’ve come to SSN (Super Netball) for a challenge and here it is.”
Cardwell will play her first home game for the Thunderbirds when they host the NSW Swifts at Netball SA Stadium on Saturday.
CRYPTIC POSTS ADD INTRIGUE TO FIREBIRDS COACHING SAGA
Super Netball’s MVP selection will operate under new conditions this season in a move that could break the domination of West Coast Fever’s champion Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler.
On the eve of the competition, officials advised votes would be collected this season on a 3-2-1 basis from an independent voting panel comprising of three people for each match.
It’s a change that will determine the team of the year, as well after it too, was previously decided by votes from the players, coaches and high performance staff.
West Coast Fever’s champion goaler Jhaniele Fowler has won the Super Netball player of the year award for the past five seasons.
She’s also dominated the Nissan Net Points tally, finishing as the statistical leader in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 season after Net Points were introduced in 2019, as well as nabbing West Coast’s highest honour - the Stacey Marinkovich Medal - four years in a row.
The change to voting won’t necessarily count Fowler out for a sixth award in succession though.
The canny shooter often doesn’t get the credit she deserves for her efforts, with many pointing to her height advantage rather than her strength, agility and accuracy.
News Corp’s own 3-2-1 system led to Shamera Sterling - the 2019 Net Points winner - being crowned player of the year for season 2022.
But she only won the tally by a single vote from Fowler, with Diamonds captain Liz Watson a vote behind her and Fowler’s Fever teammate Courtney Bruce in fourth another single vote behind.
BULLEY RESPONDS AFTER TUMULTUOUS WEEK
Firebirds coach Bec Bulley has paid tribute to the professionalism of her players for putting the disappointment and frustration of the past week behind them ahead of their Super Netball opener against Adelaide.
Bulley was thrust into the spotlight last week after the Firebirds announced they had parted ways with assistant coach Sara Francis-Bayman just days out from the season.
With the club refusing to discuss details of the split “to uphold the confidentiality of all involved”, it has left an information vacuum into which plenty of theories have flowed.
While it’s understood the vastly contrasting styles of Bulley and Francis-Bayman led to the split, details are scant, although both parties have acted with plenty of professionalism since, as have the players.
“Look, it was a really tough start to the week,” Bulley said after the Firebirds wilted following an impressive opening against the highly-rated Thunderbirds, eventually going down 59-44.
“Obviously those decisions are never easy — mainly because Sara’s a great coach and a week out from our first game, players had developed a great connection with her.
“Credit to the girls though — yes, they were upset, they were disappointed, they were a little bit frustrated but they moved on and they came together really well.
“Our last couple of trainings were really great and the first three quarters (against the Thunderbirds) were awesome.
“We just ran out of a bit of legs at the end.”
Francis-Bayman had been silent since the split until taking to social media ahead of the game to with the Firebirds well.
But she also hinted that the split was anything but her choice.
“Given the choice, I’d go into battle with this group of amazing women everyday (sic). It’s been a tough week (the toughest) but I hope you all go out there and play for each other, because the world deserves to see you thriving. I’ll be your biggest fan,” Francis-Bayman posted to Twitter and Instagram.
The post quickly drew commentary from many Firebirds, including Donnell Wallam, who said her first goal would be for Francis-Bayman, while captain Kim Ravaillion was another who posted her support.
Several England Roses players, including Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Layla Guscoth and Chelsea Pitman responded, calling Francis-Bayman “pure class” and a “team first person”, while Scotland Thistles head coach Tamsin Greenway, to whom Francis-Bayman acted as assistant at international level, said the post captured the reason “why I want you on my team. Every. Single. Time.”
Greenway also made a social media post early last week when news of the split first broke.
“Good leaders are self aware & honest with themselves — they don’t point the finger
“Good cultures and environments allow their colleagues to thrive
“Good management take responsibility see the bigger picture and don’t just take the easiest option”
It’s been a baptism of fire for Bulley but she believes fully in her team.
“I’m really confident that going forward this group has got what it takes to be successful,” she said.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time for this group to come together, it’s a new team, a lot of new players … moving forward, I think it’s going to be a great year.”
STRONG CONCUSSION CALL
Vixens defender Emily Mannix being ordered off court during Saturday’s clash against the Fever was a great sign for the game.
In a week in which concussion has dominated national sporting headlines, particularly across the men’s football codes, it’s important to remember that women can often suffer concussion more easily and take longer to recover from head knocks.
Protection of the head is paramount and there can be no abundance of caution.
Mannix had her head lowered in a bid to pick up a loose ball and crashed to the court after being involved in an accidental clash with the Fever’s Verity Simmons.
Slow to rise, she was ordered off the court by the umpire before returning just minutes later after being assessed.
Netball has some of the toughest concussion protocols in sport, with players facing a mandatory 12 days on the sidelines if concussed during a game.
Being taken off court in the heat of a match may cause some frustration. But the decision was common sense in action and good to see.
GRAND FINALISTS ON FIRE
If Saturday’s grand final replay was anything to go by, the Fever and Vixens will be right there again at the pointy end of the season.
There’s no love lost between the two clubs, who have met in two grand finals over the past three seasons for one win apiece, as well as the infamous no show by the Vixens in 2021 when they refused to travel to Perth after several members of their team were hit by Covid.
It makes for the type of theatre and rivalry that netball desperately needs — and with the two clubs boasting enormous fan bases as well, it’s a situation that’s actually really good for the game.
Rivalry alone is no good without skill and form though and the level both teams displayed in round 1 was extraordinary.
For the Vixens, in particular, to be able to reel in the Fever — despite eventually going down by a goal — after a poor start, was a strong sign given they were without experienced defender Jo Weston and key shooter Rahni Samason.
Samason, in particular, will be out for some time, while Weston’s calf injury has troubled her for longer than expected and she may play a smaller than expected role early in the year with peak fitness for finals and the World Cup, the main aim.
HOT PIES
The Magpies headed into the weekend’s opening round underrated by their rival captains, the only side in the league not to pick up a vote in a poll of Super Netball leaders asked to rate the likely finalists.
But they showed against the Swifts they will be among the contenders again.
After falling across the line and into the finals on goal difference last season, the Pies are determined not to leave things to chance this year.
The performance of internationals Jodie-Ann Ward and Shimona Nelson was outstanding, while Sophie Garbin showed the strings to her bow with a strong shooting performance from range.
Their performance, along with that of the Lightning – another team not highly fancied by many – showed just how tight the league is going to be this season and how highly prized wins will be.
The return of South African international Karla Pretorius for the Lightning – and absence of Giants captain Jo Harten – showed just how influential a single player can be in Super Netball.
The lineball decision to leave Harten out, was agonising for the Giants and just the first Super Netball match the shooter has ever missed.
WALLAM IMPRESSES EARLY
Stacey Marinkovich was an interested onlooker at the Firebirds-Thunderbirds match on Sunday and would have been impressed by what she saw from Donnell Wallam.
Wallam, who made her Diamonds debut against England late last year, was outstanding in the first half of Queensland’s 59-44 loss, although she wilted slightly in the Brisbane heat, reflecting her team’s own slowdown.
The shooter threw a scare into both Firebirds and Diamonds camp in the second half when she looked to the bench and seemed to be limping slightly.
But she was able to play out the match and finished with 36 points on 35-of-42 shooting (including one super shot), despite her accuracy waning slightly as the game went on.
It was not just her returns that would have pleased the national coach though.
Thunderbirds keeper Shamera Sterling is arguably the best in the world at the moment and for Wallam to dominate as she did in the opening stages would have been a pleasing sight given Marinkovich will be without the pregnant Gretel Bueta at the World Cup.
The performance of Collingwood’s Sophie Garbin and the Fever’s Sasha Glasgow ensured Marinkovich and her selectors will have plenty to mull over before they name their final team late in the season.
FOOD FAVOURITE ON BOARD
The good news continued on the commercial front for Netball Australia this week with fast food chain Guzman y Gomez (GYG) has joined the governing body as an associate partner.
The announcement on the eve of the Super Netball season that GYG would partner with Netball Australia, Suncorp Super Netball and the Diamonds in the company’s first sports sponsorship is another boost for the once-ailing finances of the sport.
“This is a significant announcement for Guzman y Gomez and we are delighted to enter into this new partnership,” Netball Australia boss Kelly Ryan said.
Steven Marks, founder and CEO of Guzman y Gomez, said the partnership was a natural step for the company.
“We are excited to announce Guzman y Gomez’s first professional sports partnership,” Marks said.
The news comes on the back of the rollover and upgrade of deals with health fund HCF and the addition of Flight Centre to the suite of sponsors for the sport.
More Coverage
Originally published as Super Netball 2023: Could new import lead Thunderbirds to first finals appearance in decade?
Pies’ spurning a turning point for rising Diamonds star
In just over 12 months, Tilly Garrett has won two premierships, made her Diamonds debut and captained Australia to a Fast5 title. On the Super Netball scrapheap just a few years ago, she is savouring every moment.
Star Diamond to World Vision ambassador: The rise of Aryang
She’s the Diamonds player stepping out of her comfort zone on and off the court - from defensive leader to World Vision ambassador, Sunday Aryang is emerging as a woman of influence.