Suncorp Super Netball Season 2 is up and running. Here's a cheat sheet of fast facts to impress your mates with the next time netty enters the discussion.
ONE For those slow on the uptake of how elite-level domestic netball in Australia works these days, here are some bullet points. The ANZ Championship no longer operates, with Aussie and Kiwi-based clubs going their separate ways at the end of the 2016 season. Australia now has an eight-team league, featuring stalwart outfits the Queensland Firebirds, NSW Swifts, Adelaide Thunderbirds, West Coast Fever and Melbourne Vixens. Three new teams: Giants Netball, Collingwood Magpies and Sunshine Coast Lightning formed ahead of last year’s inaugural Super Netball season.
TWO The state of Queensland may have recently missed out on securing the right to host the NRL grand final any time soon, but the banana-benders in recent years have certainly stamped their ownership all over Australia’s elite domestic netball title-decider. By fate rather than by design, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre has hosted the past three grand finals: two won by the Firebirds over the Swifts across the 2015-16 seasons, as well as last year’s inaugural Super Netball showdown between the Lightning and Giants Netball.
THREE The Sunshine Coast Lightning stunned the Aussie netball world by taking out last year’s inaugural Super Netball title … in their first-ever season. They toppled fellow newcomers Giants Netball 65-48 in front of 9,000 fans. For those of you who missed our feature story on the Lightning in the May 2018 issue of Inside Sport magazine, the Lightning is a successful partnership between the Melbourne Storm Group, University of Sunshine Coast and Sunshine Coast Regional Council. They are coached by New Zealand Netball legend Noeline Taurua and captained by English superstar Geva Mentor.
FOUR Super Netball has heralded the long-awaited return of three of Australia’s most loved players, who are all returning from long layoffs for a variety of reasons. Aussie Diamonds stalwart defender Laura Geitz is back after stepping down from her Firebirds duties in 2017 to welcome her first offspring into the world, megastar centre Kimberlee Green is back for the Giants after suffering an ACL injury back in round five of last season, while larger than life goalkeeper Sharni Layton has also returned to the court following what she described as a “mental health injury”.
FIVE Our netballers are playing under a vastly different competition points structure compared to the traditional two points for a win and one for a draw way of things which most major sports leagues in Australia have adopted and stuck to over the years. In 2018, every quarter is a match within a match, with teams receiving one competition point for every quarter they win. Teams now have the potential to receive eight comp points for a win. This is making things interesting towards quarter, half and three quarter time ... It should also make it easier to separate the teams towards the end of the home and away on such a hotly contested competition table.
SIX There are plenty more changes in operation throughout this year’s 14-round preliminary season. Another major alteration relates to time-outs. Each team is now entitled to request up to two time-out breaks per half. This is a further development on a rule introduced last year, which allowed one time out per half. Another interesting change is the allowance of one nominated player/team staff in each squad to walk up and down the specified bench zone while communicating with their on-court team-mates.
SEVEN Nine’s Wide World of Sports is broadcasting two games of Super Netball Season 2 live per round in HD. In WA and SA, at least two games per week are being broadcast on the Nine Network, including a number of local matches broadcast on 9Gem and Nine local (check guides). Subscribers can also stream all games live via the Netball Live app. The app offers behind-the-scenes content, match highlights and other exclusive stuff. Also, all games are available to watch on demand.
EIGHT The big topic of discussion in netball following the recent Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast: while designed to strengthen the Australian game, there was a mighty fine handful of English players in last year’s Super Netball comp, including Helen Housby at the Swifts and compatriots Jo Harten and Serena Guthrie, who ply their trade at the Giants, as well as the inaugural player of the year Geva Mentor. England did win gold at the Comms … make of that what you will …
NINE There are a few reasons the stands are always packed whenever you see highlights of netball games on television. One of those is that the on-court product is of the best standard of netball on the planet. The other could be ticket prices. Kids can enter arenas across the county for as little as $5. Adult prices start at $20, concessions from $10, while you can take the family for as little as $40.
TEN This year’s Suncorp Super Netball playing group is making Australian sporting history, appearing in a set of 2018 trading cards – the first series of Australian sporting cards to focus specifically on female athletes. Each of the league’s 80 players features on her own card. There are also cards dedicated to Australian Diamonds players and Liz Ellis Award-winning players. As well, rare #TeamGirls augmented reality cards can be found in four out of every five packs, which allow fans to scan the cards with a smartphone to unlock a video featured on the card of the athlete.
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