Super Netball minor premiership could be determined by percentage earned during wins that didn’t count

After revelations of huge salary cap breaches, West Coast Fever were docked premiership points, but one thing still counted and it could shape the finals.

Jhaniele Fowler has starred for thr Fever. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

The penalty handed to the West Coast Fever for historic salary cap breaches is set to come under the microscope again with the club just one win away from snaring the Super Netball minor premiership.

The Fever was fined $300,000 and had 12 competition points deducted before the start of the season after being found to have breached the salary cap significantly over the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

While the penalties were unprecedented in Australian netball, the points docked amounted to just three wins and the club wiped the slate clean just weeks into the season with an unbeaten run through the opening round of fixtures.

Fever would have finished well clear on top of the table this season, but while they missed out on 12 competition point, the club‘s percentage remained unaffected.

Their for-and-against record could well hand them the minor premiership should they beat the Giants in Brisbane on Saturday, with all top-four teams locked on 32 points going into the final two fixtures, where they all play each other to determine finishing positions.

West Coast Fever have been dominant this season. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Fever would be crowned minor premiers with a win over the Giants.

West Coast being in line for the honour will not sit well with many, especially as they boast a line-up that includes five of the seven players who started the 2018 grand final.

Netball Australia chair Marina Go said earlier this year the Fever’s penalty was “appropriate” and it would not be confronting to the national body if the club won the premiership less than a year after their historic rorting was uncovered.

“It‘s only confronting if they are outside the salary cap and we know that they aren’t,” she said.

“They’re a team that’s worked hard. They made a big mistake a couple of years ago and they’ve been penalised for that mistake.

“But I don‘t think it should be an ongoing penalty given that they are now under the cap, so we’ve got a level playing field again with the rest of the clubs.”

That‘s not the overwhelming feeling within the competition though.

Geva Mentor said the Fever keeping their for-and-against ‘doesn’t seem fair’. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Sunshine Coast coach Kylee Byrne said earlier this year the penalty “should have been harsher”, while Collingwood Magpies captain Geva Mentor said the Fever keeping its for-and-against record ”doesn’t seem fair”.

Former Diamonds captain Liz Ellis said the breach was a clear case of cheating.

But both Ellis and Mentor feel desperately sorry for coach Stacey Marinkovich and the current players, who have been left as the public face of the scandal.

“You can’t exonerate, in this case, the Fever for breaking the rules. I’ve been quite clear about that, that it’s cheating and every club has had to wear some consequences of that,” Ellis said.

“And now the Fever players have to wear the consequences of that and I feel desperately sorry for them that this is how their golden era is going to be remembered because they’‘ve got a team that probably, really, should have won a title by now.

“Now … there’s not going to be that level of excitement from people outside of Western Australia if they do win, but it would be a monumental effort if they do win, so I feel desperately sorry for them.”