The Team

Re-Signed Shamera Sterling, Hannah Petty, Chelsea Pittman, Kate Shimmin, Beth Cobden, Sasha Glasgow, Layla Guscoth, Shadine Van Der Merwe* Maisie Nankivell*

In-  Samantha Gooden (Tasmanian Magpies), Charlee Hodges**(Northern Stars ANZ) , Lenzie Potgieter (Queensland Firebirds) 

Out- Cody Lange (hiatus), Maria Folau (retirement) Kelly Altman (Collingwood)

*Elevated from Replacement Player

** Temporary Replacement player

What Happened Last Season

An improvement after their disappointing 2018, with new star recruits coming in in New Zealand superstar Maria Folau, English Roses Defender Layla Guscoth and up and coming Jamaican defender Shamera Sterling, they had an exciting game of netball.

Once they hit their strides and formed strong combinations. Unfortunately, they were struck with injuries, with Shooter Sasha Glasgow sustained an ACL injury, then training partner Emma Ryde also sustained injury.

What to look forward to this season

Having developed the combinations at the defensive end, it’s going to become a very hard defensive line up to get past, especially with one of the best defenders in the competition in Shamera Sterling in the mix.

Also we saw what Lenzie Potgieter could do when playing up at the Firebirds, so to have her in the Goal Circle at the thunderbirds now, is a scary site for defenders.

Three Important Players

Shamera Sterling: An amazing defender, she is really starting to hit her strides. She debuted for the Thunderbirds in 2019, and had a stand out game against the magpies early in the season, where she almost broke Sharni Layton’s intercept record. Sterling has put her name in contention for one of the best defenders in the competition.

Chelsea Pittman:  A very underrated midcourter, her game smarts are next level, and her timing on when to feed into the goal circle is also very good, she is the glue of the Thunderbird's midcourt, and there is a very good reason why she has been leading the Thunderbirds for a few years now

Layla Guscoth: A new addition to the Thunderbirds line up in 2019, but has become a force in the line up, she has created and awesome partnership with Shamera Sterling, that makes it hard for the shooters to get past. There’s a reason why she has been playing at international level for many years.

One to watch:

After half a season with the Firebirds, Lenzie Potgieter is ready to make her mark on the game, She showed glimpses of what she is capable of, but with a full pre-season to develop connections and combinations, She will be a force to be reckoned with in 2020.