Team Girls Cup 2025: Big issues facing your team ahead of Super Netball’s pre-season competition

Ahead of this weekend’s Team Girls Cup pre-season competition in Adelaide, EMMA GREENWOOD looks at the burning issues facing all eight Super Netball clubs.

This weekend’s Team Girls Cup gives fans the first look at the eight teams ahead of the Super Netball season proper.

Here are six burning questions ahead of the three-day competition at Adelaide’s Netball SA Stadium from Friday.

Can the Thunderbirds do the three-peat?

This isn’t about whether the Thunderbirds can win the Team Girls Cup. In fact, the pre-season competition has been a poisoned chalice in this in its existence so far, with no TGC winners going on to snare the Super Netball premiership in the same season.

With just one replacement in their full-time contract list though - with emerging playmaking shooter Kayla Graham coming in for the retiring Laura Scherian - the back-to-back premiers should show signs that they remain a well-oiled machine and will again be one of the key teams to beat.

The Adelaide Thunderbirds won their second successive Super Netball title in 2024. Picture: Getty Images

Long list of homegrown talent among their training partners who are likely to get court time this weekend as some of their star internationals continue to gradually increase their workload after a big off-season.

How do defenders tackle the league’s tall timber?

Most Super Netball fans will get their first look at towering import shooters, the Firebirds’ Mary Cholhok (201cm) and the Swifts’ Grace Nweke (193cm) at the weekend. The pair brings a new dimension to the league, with opponents needing to find ways to defend sky-high feeds into the circle.

With many teams’ defenders under 190cm - a full four inches shorter than Cholhok - and some giving away more than 20cm, it’s going to be interesting to see the tactics on show. Like many of the tall shooters that already dominate in this league, Nweke and Cholhok are no one-trick ponies either and won’t be anchored under the post, making the defenders’ jobs even more difficult.

Firebirds goal shooter Mary Cholhok will be the tallest player in the league at 201cm. Picture Lachie Millard

The Giants are looking to bounce back after finishing with the wooden spoon last season. Picture: Getty Images

Can the Giants bounce back?

Last season was a horror show for the Giants, who ended up with the dreaded wooden spoon and the proud club will no doubt want to rebound. But with little change to their line-up and one of the shortest defensive units in the league, just how will this happen?

Julie Fitzgerald arguably heads into the season as the coach under the most pressure and the Giants need to get off on the right foot, starting with a confidence-boosting Team Girls Cup performance.

Are the Fever still a power without Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard?

The absence of Super Netball superstar Fowler-Nembhard was initially met with excitement in the west, given the Jamaican veteran’s pregnancy news. But the revelation earlier this year that she had had a miscarriage was shattering, and it’s unknown whether or when she will return this season, as the club continues to support her and her family.

For now, Malawi’s Mwai Kumwenda, the former Vixens premiership winner - who is returning to the elite level following the birth of her son last year - slots in as a shooter and her combination with Shanice Beckford and Olivia Wilkinson and the rest of a Fever squad she last faced as a finals opponent, will be one of the stories of the pre-season competition.

Can the Fever remain a dominant power without their star shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. Photo: Getty Images

Diamonds captain Liz Watson made the move to the Sunshine Coast last year but the team failed to hit its straps fully. Photo: Getty Images

Will Lightning strike this year?

The Lightning headed into last year’s premiership season the undisputed favourites to snare the title after attracting Diamonds Liz Watson and Courtney Bruce to complement an already stellar line-up that included Australian goaler Cara Koenen and retiring vice-captain, Steph Fretwell.

They did make the finals but failed to hit their straps fully, with injuries to key personnel a major part of that. The curse struck again when rising midcourter Ava Black was ruled out for the year after tearing her ACL but the Lightning should still be considered finals fancies in what is looking like a brutal battle for the top four.

Coach Tracey Neville’s side is out to show it can be a force this season after regaining players from long-term injuries. Picture: Getty Images

Can the Mavericks bounce back after a torrid maiden campaign?

The Mavs’ off-season preparations surely included scouring their Melbourne base for black cats, ladders and mirrors after the horrendous run of luck in last year’s debut season. But they will regain the services of Sasha Glasgow (broken leg) and Lauren Parkinson (nee Moore, ACL) for this year’s campaign, after the pair missed the entire Super Netball season last year with severe injuries.

Showing a flinty resolve and desperation that quickly became a trademark though, they almost forced their way into the top four, only missing a finals spot on percentage. Tracey Neville’s side is expecting more this season.