Super Netball Team Girls Cup: What we learned from each side across the tournament
Will the Swifts be unbeatable in 2024? How will the Mavericks fare after another massive injury blow? Can the Vixens take the next step? Here’s what we learned about each Super Netball side from the Team Girls Cup.
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The Team Girls Cup has been run and won for another year, with the NSW Swifts taking home the trophy
But after the most tumultuous off-season on record, a new team being introduced to the league and record player movement, there was much more interest in combinations, than results.
More than 7700 fans flooded Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena over the weekend to see their clubs in action and few would have left with a crystal-clear picture of who will take the trophy at season’s end.
Most interest at the start of the weekend focused on the inaugural Melbourne Mavericks line-up but after a devastating final day, there will be more headaches for head coach Tracey Neville.
From the eighth-placed newcomers to the title-winning Swifts, here’s what we learnt about your team over the weekend.
MAVERICKS
The Melbourne Mavericks are holding their breath waiting to determine the extent of a knee injury to key defender Lauren Moore.
Moore’s knee buckled underneath her after she flew out to take a ball in the third quarter of the Mavs’ Team Girls Cup playoff against the Giants on Sunday.
The 26-year-old lay on the floor screaming and clutching at her right knee in distressing scenes as players from both sides came to comfort her.
A wheelchair was brought on court to help Moore, who left the Giants in the off-season to link with new franchise the Mavericks, but she managed to limp off under the arm of Mavs captain and another former Giant Amy Parmenter and Giants utility Amy Sligar.
She was being attended by Diamonds doctor Laura Lallenec and is likely to be taken for scans.
But there are real fears she has suffered an ACL injury and could be out for the season.
It’s wretched luck not just for Moore, but the Mavericks, who are working desperately to cement their combinations ahead of the opening Super Netball match next month.
Already the club had lost Sasha Glasgow to a broken leg in a trial match, with the international unlikely to return this season.
The Mavs have trialed two shooters across the weekend, with Shimona Jok and new training partner Roelene Streutker getting plenty of minutes as coach Tracey Neville searches for a goaler.
But Neville may now have to turn her attention to finding a replacement defender – at least temporarily – given Moore could be out for some time.
The Mavs have goalkeeper Jessie Grenvold on their training partner list, as well as the versatile Brooke Allan, who can fill both positions in the circle.
But they are craving height and experience, a difficult double to find, especially at the eleventh hour.
The Mavs did not win a match across the weekend but had a draw and three losses for an overall deficit of just eight goals after four close clashes that show they will be a force to be reckoned with in another month.
GIANTS
The United Nations of Super Netball, the Giants may have finished seventh but showed enough over the weekend to suggest they’ll be back towards their best this season.
The pick-up of Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward from now-defunct Collingwood, addition of midcourt maestro Sam Winders and snaring of Chelsea Pitman as a temporary replacement player has given the Giants what they need to compete again this season.
The form of goalkeeper Tilly McDonell over the weekend was one of the highlights for a Giants side that will boast an aggressive defensive unit this season that will keep every opposing offence on its toes.
FEVER
Finished sixth overall but nothing to suggest the women from the west won’t be competitive again this year.
Anyone expecting them to wilt after significant changeover during the off-season will have to change their mind, with the addition of England defender Fran Williams, in particular an outstanding pick-up.
Jamaican international Shanice Beckford showed flashes of brilliance over the weekend but for a player in a full-time program for the first time, a three-day tournament against the world’s best took its toll.
The time the Fever combinations got out on court together though will be invaluable ahead of the season proper.
LIGHTNING
Among many people’s premiership favourites this season and their fifth placing in Sydney should do little to change that assessment.
Took the opportunity to run many of their younger players and training partners in concert with the senior members of the team, with the weekend great experience for them.
Midcourter Leesa Mi Mi in particular, turned heads, and when the former Firebird truly beds down her combination with Liz Watson, watch out!
Their draw also got a couple of nervous moments out of the way early – Watson lined up against the Vixens and Courtney Bruce against the Fever.
Nothing over the weekend to suggest the Lightning won’t be in the conversation at season’s end.
FIREBIRDS
Probably the surprise packets of the tournament.
Plenty would have had the Queenslanders as candidates for the wooden spoon but there’s an internal belief they have the ability to challenge for finals and they showed they have both the talent and the depth to give it a real shot.
They will again rely heavily on Donnell Wallam for the volume of scoring but there are plenty of good signs.
Young defender Izzy Shearer was one of the stars of the weekend, the 188cm goalkeeper standing out in a defensive unit that already hums.
THUNDERBIRDS
No one should be surprised that a team with a world class defensive unit like the Thunderbirds was among the best sides of the weekend.
But there were doubts that the South Australians could again be a force after losing Eleanor Cardwell and Tippah Dwan from their premiership side.
Romelda Aiken-George and Laura Scherian showed what a calming force they will be for the premiers though, while young guns like Lucy Austin and Georgie Horjus have gained a new level of confidence from results last year.
VIXENS
No Watson, no Weston, no worries for the Vixens.
There may have been a hiccup in the opening match with an 11-goal loss to the Thunderbirds but for most of the weekend, the Vixens looked like they were in mid-season, or even finals mode with their combinations singing.
No surprises that they were at the pointy end and seriously challenging for the trophy.
Take Watson out of the midcourt and Mundy comes in – Weston is out with injury and Ellis stepped up.
Will be in the finals conversation again.
SWIFTS
Just two players left the Swifts in the off-season and their squad this year is almost entirely unchanged, with Sam Wallace returning from long-term injury and Lili Gorman-Brown stepping up after being a temporary replacement player for much of last year.
So it’s no surprise they were there to lift the Team Girls Cup trophy on Sunday.
Coach Briony Akle and her players have, refreshingly, made no secret of their desire to win the Super Netball title after coming so close last year and are determined to be in the big dance again.
With a host of Diamonds, key players across the court and combinations that know each other inside-out, they’re the team in everyone’s sights.
WHAT WE LEARNED ON DAY 2
The NSW Swifts will play the Melbourne Vixens in the Team Girls Cup in a pre-season final that seemingly entrenches the strength and title favouritism of the old guard.
But nothing could be further from the truth after a day of upset and drama at Sydney’s Ken Rosewell Arena.
The Swifts beat newcomers the Melbourne Mavericks 44-41, coming from one goal down at the final break to seal their place in the decider.
Had they lost – and they were still behind with less than three minutes remaining in the match – they would have finished on the bottom of pool B and be playing off for seventh and eighth place on Sunday.
But if experience has taught the Swifts anything, it’s how to close out a match and they controlled possession in the last two minutes, posting the last three scores of the match to ensure they won and progressed to Sunday’s decider.
Their win denied the Mavericks a first win in the competition after they drew with defending Team Girls Cup champions the Fever in Saturday’s first match before going down to the Swifts.
The Swifts victory also meant the Queensland Firebirds just missed a fairytale grand final berth.
SETTLED COMBOS HARD TO BEAT
It’s only pre-season and there’s plenty of water to go under the bridge before the finals.
But it’s hardly surprising that the two teams that experienced the least turnover in a tumultuous off-season have made the Team Girls Cup final.
The Swifts and Vixens have enormously experienced combinations across the court and it has showed this weekend.
Both teams have new personnel – or returning in the case of the Swifts who have welcomed Sam Wallace back from a two-year knee injury rehab.
The Vixens’ major change is hardly new either, with goaler Sophie Garbin combining with fellow Diamonds shooter Kiera Austin, the pair fed by Kate Moloney who also has extensive experience with the pair at national level.
ZEROES TO HEROES
Well, not quite zero – the Firebirds didn’t actually win the spoon last year but it was a tough and at times unhappy season for the Queenslanders and the confidence they will gain from their Team Girls Cup campaign is immense.
Had the NSW Swifts lost to the Mavericks, the Firebirds would have made the final and while they won’t play off for the trophy on Sunday, they will have the belief they can compete with anyone.
The team – and it’s not just the players but coach Bec Bulley and her backroom staff – are using a rowing analogy this season, everyone needing to pull in the same direction to get ahead.
Already their boat is humming and there are strong signs they could indeed push for a spot in the top four – something not many would have predicted at the start of the weekend.
CAPTAINCY SUITS HER
Leadership is sitting well on the shoulders of inaugural Mavericks skipper Amy Parmenter.
A leader by deed as much as by word, Parmenter has picked her side up by the bootstraps on a few occasions this weekend.
Her three gains in the clash against the NSW Swifts were pivotal to the match but also lifted her teammates at crucial times in the game.
Unfortunately for the Mavs they couldn’t hold on and go through the preliminary stages of the tournament winless – but their draw and two losses have come at a net deficit of just four goals.
It shows they’ll be more than competitive once they get time together on court.
“It was just great to be with (the Swifts),” Parmenter said of falling in the final minutes to the NSW side in a game that ensured the pair will forge a fierce rivalry.
“Now it’s just learning to finish off those tight games and get the win.
We’re definitely building every game and you see those connections and combinations grow and I think that’s our main measure of success at the moment.”
VIXENS TAKE POINTS V WATSON
Liz Watson versus the Vixens.
It’s something not many netball fans ever thought they’d see happen before the Diamonds captain confirmed her move north over the off-season.
Going by the scoreline, the Vixens took first points, winning the encounter against Sunshine Coast Lightning 43-34 in what was a relative blowout given the tight results seen across the day.
But Watson was on court for only a half, while Steph Fretwell did not take the court at all.
Mark May 18, in Round 6, down in your diaries for the full encounter.
GINA SHINES FOR GIANTS
It’s not a scenario we’ll see often in the season – probably not at all, actually.
But former Silver Ferns middie Gina Crampton feeding Sophie Dwyer in the circle was a delight for fans, who got a full game of it in the Giants’ 36-34 win against the Thunderbirds.
Crampton, who played for New Zealand at last year’s World Cup in South Africa, was picked up as a training partner by the Giants after her partner’s US Major League rugby franchise folded and their plans to spend the year in the States changed.
Finding her in Sydney, the Giants snapped her up and the sight of her working with Diamonds mid Jamie-Lee Price feeding Dwyer, who was on song, especially from super shot range, was a treat.
WHAT WE LEARNED ON DAY 1
The defending premiers are flying, the women from the west will challenge again, a storm is brewing north of the border and an underdog could surprise.
Those were the lessons from the opening session of netball’s pre-season Team Girls Cup in Sydney ahead of a packed day of fixtures on day two.
All eight Super Netball sides will line up for two more games at Ken Rosewall Arena on Saturday to determine seedings for Sunday’s finals.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds made a statement with their 11-point win over the Melbourne Vixens in the opening match of the tournament in what turned out to be the biggest blowout of the night.
The other games were in the balance until the final stages, with two matches coming down to just a goal before 2022 premiers West Coast Fever held on for a two-point win over a fast-finishing Swifts.
Fever showed they will again be among the top teams despite significant roster change in the off-season.
They take on the Mavericks and Firebirds on Saturday, with the Mavs still searching for their first win after a one-goal loss to the Firebirds.
Picked by many to struggle this season, the Firebirds are determined to push for a finals spot and showed they will challenge with their one-goal victory over the Mavs on Friday.
They face the Fever and Swifts on Saturday.
Sunshine Coast Lightning came into the tournament with all eyes on them after recruiting Diamonds Liz Watson and Courtney Bruce in the silly season and their clash with the Thunderbirds in Saturday’s first match will have all eyes on it.
The Swifts take on the Mavericks in the final game tonight in what is likely to be one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the tournament.
Results from the three preliminary games will decide seedings for tomorrow’s matches, including the Team Girls Cup final.
All games are broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo Freebies.
Melbourne Mavericks have made their debut in a full competition setting at the Team Girls Cup, as Super Netball’s clubs face off in their first serious hitout.
The Super Netball pre-season competition started at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena on Friday afternoon, with defending premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds taking on the Melbourne Vixens in the opening match.
The Mavericks took on the Firebirds, with the star-laden Sunshine Coast Lightning then taking on the Giants then the Swifts facing West Coast Fever to round out the night.
Read on for the Talking Points from the first night of action at the TGC.
MI MI A GOLD MEDAL RECRUIT
The Team Girls Cup has been the first opportunity for fans to see the competition’s recruits all in the one place and eyes are on the new recruits for each club, especially Sunshine Coast Lightning, who have snared the highest-profile names in the league.
Diamonds captain Liz Watson and two-time Liz Ellis Diamond winner Courtney Bruce have joined the club and were in action against the Giants, who were playing in front of a home crowd with a host of new names themselves.
But it was Lightning young gun Leesa Mi Mi that stole the show.
Arguably the fastest player in the competition, Mi Mi combined seamlessly with Watson, the pair swapping between centre and wing attack throughout the game.
Lightning are plenty of people’s choice as premiers this season. But if they are to grab the trophy at the end of the season it will be because of the rise of their rookies.
GIANTS THE UN OF SUPER NETBALL
The Giants are staking a claim as the “UN of Super Netball” given the number of nationalities represented in their team this year.
As well as former England Rose Jo Harten at captain, they’ve added Kiwi midcourter Sam Winders, Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward and former Rose Chelsea Pitman as a temporary replacement for Maddie Hay, while former Silver Fern Gina Crampton is a training partner.
The combinations were not quite enough to get the Giants over the line though, the team going down to the Lightning by a single goal.
But it was the efforts of another Giant that may have been missed. Diamonds goaler Sophie Dwyer finished with 20 points on 14-of-14 shooting at 100 per cent in a reminder of the confidence and maturity she brings to the role.
Three years after being thrust into a starting role following an ACL injury to then-clubmate Kiera Austin, Dwyer is now a seasoned Diamond and with Harten playing pain free for the first time in years, the Giants again have one of the most potent combinations in the league.
WELCOME BACK WALLACE
Arguably the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for NSW Swifts goal shooter Sam Wallace who made an emotional return to Ken Rosewall Arena on Friday night after almost two years out of the game.
The Swifts may have eventually lost the battle but after two full seasons out of action, Wallace will feel she has eventually won the war after a brutal period fighting back from a significant knee injury.
Wallace had already played a pre-season match but when she sank her first goal on Friday night, there was a rousing cheer from the fans and a relieved wave from an emotional Wallace, who mouthed “my heart” at the response.
“It feels good actually,” she said of her return.
“I was nervous, I didn’t sleep last night.”
Coach Briony Akle was thrilled for her charge, who has worked overtime at her rehab.
“Her getting out in front of the fans that adore her is a win in itself,” Akle said.
FEVER ON FIRE
Plenty wondered how the Fever would gel after losing half their line-up in the off-season contracting period.
But against arguably the most settled team in the league, they were not only competitive but outstanding.
They won a thriller by against the NSW Swifts by two, grinding out the last quarter after being up by as much as 10 midway through the third but left no one in any doubt that they will be serious contenders again this season.
Already, internationals Fran Williams, Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Shanice Beckford have slotted in well, while veteran midcourter Kelsey Browne showed she has been on a quick learning curve feeding the ball with precision to Jhaniele Fowler.
TBIRDS STILL A FORCE
Adelaide took little time to show they will remain a force in the competition despite the loss of Eleanor Cardwell and Tracey Neville.
Sure, it’s only a pre-season match but their 45-34 win over the Melbourne Vixens in the opening match of the Team Girls Cup showed they’ll remain real competitors.
Any team with a defensive end containing Shamera Sterling, Latanya Wilson and Matilda Garrett is going to be competitive.
But goaler Lucy Austin showed the enormous confidence she took out of the premiership campaign, while the recruitment of the experienced Romelda Aiken-George to provide her and emerging shooter Lauren Frew with guidance has been a masterstroke.
They didn’t look at all disturbed against the seasoned Vixens combinations in a show they’ll be competing for a finals spot again this season.
GARBIN SLOTS IN SEAMLESSLY
It’s almost hard to remember Sophie Garbin not playing for the Vixens so seamlessly did she slot into the Victorian side’s line-up.
More than any other player switching clubs, Garbin has had a headstart on her new partnerships given her Diamonds combination with new Vixens teammate Kiera Austin.
Since the end of the last Super Netball season, the pair has collected silverware at the World Cup in South Africa, the Constellation Cup, series against South Africa and Netball Nations Cup.
The pair combined for a shooting percentage of 69 against the Tbirds – lower than they would have liked but hardly surprising against one of the strongest defensive combinations in the world.
And while they went down to the Tbirds in the Team Girls Cup opener, they showed it will be full steam ahead for the season proper.
SHEARER SHINES FOR FIREBIRDS
The Queensland Firebirds have been plenty of people’s pick for the wooden spoon in season 2024 but they showed they will be no easybeats with their 43-42 win over new club the Melbourne Mavericks.
Donnell Wallam was typically dominant with 35 goals but it was the efforts of young defender Isabelle Shearer that really caught the eye.
The former training partner was handed a full-time contract to join Diamond Ruby Bakewell-Doran and ‘keeper Remi Kamo at the back and was far from overawed on the big stage.
At 189cm, Shearer has the height that coaches crave but also showed she has the smarts and positioning to worry the best in the business.
Her efforts on England international and Mavs goaler Eleanor Cardwell were outstanding.
“Obviously really daunting but the girls have made it easy,” the 21-year-old said of her introduction to the big time.
JOK’S CONVINCING AUDITION
The Melbourne Mavericks would be slightly disappointed with their opening loss to the Firebirds after going down by a single goal to the Queenslanders.
One thing that stood out though was the performance of goaler Shimona Jok – the ex Collingwood shooter known previously by her maiden name of Nelson – who surprisingly didn’t pick up a contract when the Magpies folded.
Jok signed as a Mavericks training partner late in the pre-season and the shocking injury to Sasha Glasgow has left the club seeking a replacement.
Vice-captain Eleanor Cardwell denied ahead of the game that Jok and new training partner, South Africa Roelene Streutker, were in a shoot-out for the spot over the Team Girls Cup.
But there’s no doubt they’ll be under the close watch of coaching staff and Jok put her best foot forward with 14 goals at 100 per cent accuracy.
At 195cm, Jok is an imposing presence in the circle, although as a holding shooter, she would force Cardwell out the front to play at goal attack.
Streutker did not take the court in the Mavs’ opening match but after showing plenty in the Proteas’ series against the Diamonds last year, she’s sure to be in the mix.
Adelaide Thunderbirds 45 (Aiken-George 23, Austin 16, Frew 4, Allen 2) def Melbourne Vixens 34 (Garbin 17, Austin 17)
Queensland Firebirds 43 (Wallam 35, Dwan 8) def Melbourne Mavericks 42 (Cardwell 20, Jok 14, Sinclair 8)
MAVERICKS MAKE DEBUT
New Super Netball club the Melbourne Mavericks will take the first steps towards what they hope is a top four finish this season when they make their debut in a full competition setting at the Team Girls Cup on Friday.
The Super Netball pre-season competition starts at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena on Friday afternoon, with defending premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds taking on the Melbourne Vixens in the opening match.
The Mavericks hit the court in the second match of the day against the Queensland Firebirds, with the star-laden Sunshine Coast Lightning then taking on the Giants in the penultimate match.
Last year’s grand finalists the NSW Swifts take on 2022 premiers West Coast Fever in the final match on Friday’s schedule.
After an unprecedented off-season of turmoil and player movement, there’s enormous interest in the Team Girls Cup as teams finalise their preparations for the start of the season proper next month.
Mavericks captain Amy Parmenter said the new club had been working overtime on honing its “brand” and forming close connections on and off the court in an effort to form unbreakable bonds.
“We don’t know what the other teams look like at this stage and it’s so hard to know how they’re going to shape up,” Parmenter said.
“So I think we’re expecting to have really clear game plans, a very clear brand of netball that we want to put out.
“For us, it’s more about what we’re doing and how we’re showing up on and off the court.”
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