Each teams’ season defining question

By Stephanie Smarrelli

 

With the Suncorp Super Netball season around the corner, we delve into the key question facing each team. 

The answers to these will determine which sides rise to the top and which teams’ premiership dreams fade as each week passes. 
 

Can the Thunderbirds do it again?  
 
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are the second team in SSN history to claim back-to-back premierships, but can they claim an elusive third? 

If the Thunderbirds are holding the trophy come season’s end, they’ll make history as the first team to ever win three SSN premierships in a row. 

Having used all their players throughout 2024 and the only change to their lineup being the retirement of Laura Scherian making way for youngster Kayla Graham, the Thunderbirds are in prime position to do it again. 

But it won’t be easy, the Thunderbirds were one of three teams to finish the 2024 season on equal footing and both their Grand Final victories have been close affairs. 

The Melbourne Vixens who they defeated in the 2024 decider will go into the new season fueled by hunger to right their wrongs and play a Grand Final in their home state. 

While the West Coast Fever have turned to 2020 Vixens premiership hero Mwai Kumwenda to fill the gap of bookend Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard.  

Then there’s the NSW Swifts who the Thunderbirds defeated in the 2023 Grand Final, despite missing finals in 2024 they’ll be back with a vengeance having recruited New Zealand superstar Grace Nweke. 

Plus, there’s no shortage of other teams in the league who could be on the cusp of greatness and are more than capable of ending the pink reign.  
 

Will the Vixens come back even stronger? 

Nothing fuels a team like losing a Grand Final and to add to that fire the Vixens will have the bonus of the 2025 Grand Final being played in their home state should they make it. 

Boasting a squad of five Origin Diamonds, the Vixens have the calibre of players to win it all. 

They made it through to the 2024 Grand Final despite the team having players in and out of the squad with injuries all season. 

A scary reminder for their opposition, if the Vixens can make a Grand Final while not at full strength, what can they do when they’re at their best? 

The pressure will be on them, having lost the Minor Semi Final the last time the Grand Final was in their backyard, the Vixens will need to make every win count throughout the season to avoid playing in that match. 

In SSN’s history, only one team who has won the Minor Semi Final has gone on to win the Grand Final, a worrying stat for any team who lands in third and fourth place. 

Whether the Vixens come back from the pre-season even stronger remains to be seen. 

 
Can Fever fire without Fowler-Nembhard? 

No one player makes a team but in Fever’s case they can have a pretty massive impact. 

Losing five-time league best player and seven-time club MVP Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard undoubtedly will have an impact on Fever in 2025. 

Fowler-Nembhard was one of only four players to stay in green at the end of 2023 and while the team defied pre-season expectations to play finals in 2024 the chances of them doing so without tall timber Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard seemed slim ahead of the announcement of their replacement player. 

But with former Vixen Mwai Kumwenda set to step into the GS bib they could be a powerhouse in the league once again. 

Kumwenda is a Grand Final winning MVP and while we’re yet to see her play since giving birth last year there’s no doubt, she’s a strong replacement for Fowler-Nembhard.  

How easily she slots into the team and the side adjusts to her playing style could determine how far Fever go in 2025, with every match important early connection issues could be costly. 
 

Will the Lightning reach their potential? 

2024 was the season that could’ve been for the Sunshine Coast Lightning. 

Home to three Origin Diamonds plus another two players who have also donned the green and gold, there’s plenty of experience in the team. 

But it’s the potential of the team’s young guns that is really exciting for the group. Ash Ervin showed she can step up to the challenge of SSN, while Ava Black continues to show glimpses of brilliance, Leesa Mi Mi has taken the midcourt by storm and in the goal circle Reilley Batcheldor poses a Super Shot threat.  

Lightning made the top four in 2024 but less convincingly than their opposition. Most of the Sunny Coast side’s wins and losses were in tight games, leaving plenty of room for improvement but they haven’t been far off the mark. 

With an unchanged line up, the Lightning will have an opportunity to fix what went wrong in 2024 to progress further. 

Whether or not they put their best out on court and can sustain it will be telling of where their season finishes. 
 

Are a full-strength Mavericks the real deal? 

While no coach ever wants to admit injuries are the reason a team didn't play finals, there’s no denying injuries do have an impact on a playing group. 

But with Sasha Glasgow and Lauren Parkinson (nee Moore) expected to make their return and Eleanor Cardwell recovering from a minor knee procedure the Melbourne Mavericks are expected to be at full strength for the first time in 2025. 

In 2024, the side finished fifth on the ladder, missing out on a finals berth by the slimmest of margins which could be a positive sign of what’s to come. 
 
Getting the squad fit will be priority number one for the Mavericks and how their injured players return to the court will be crucial to the team’s success. 

With one season under their belt the Mavericks have been able to form connections on the court but the whole team will be pressured to help Glasgow and Parkinson who had limited match and training time with their teammates due to the severity of their injuries slot in. 

 
Is Nweke the answer to the Swifts’ woes?  

While the Swifts have plugged the gap in their shooting circle with New Zealand’s Grace Nweke, it’ll take more than one player to return the Swifts to their former glory. 

At just 22-years-old, Nweke is under a lot of external pressure to be the side’s hero, but the truth is whatever happens next won’t rest solely on her shoulders.  

The potent goal shooter will need to work with fellow international star Helen Housby for the Swifts’ goal circle to really pack a punch. 

And feeding them from the midcourt will be a new combination, with Paige Hadley to be joined by former Fever premiership player Verity Simmons. Simmons has signed with the team replacing Hadley’s partner in crime, Maddy Proud, who will miss 2025 as she prepares to welcome her first child. 

While the attention will be on the attack end, the Swifts have work to do across the court, in 2024 they were the most penalised team averaging 62 penalties a match. 

If the Swifts can rebound from 2024 and make the most of the new recruits in their attacking end, there’s no reason they can’t be back in Victoria on Grand Final Day this year. 

One goal away from winning it all in 2023, it could be the sharp shooting of Nweke that makes a difference. 

The path back to glory for the Swifts may have already started but whether Nweke is the saviour everyone expects her to be we won’t know until the season begins. 

 
Can Wills and co turn around the Firebirds? 

While we’re on the topic of international talent, the Queensland Firebirds have been busy. 

They recruited New Zealander Kiri Wills as head coach to take the helm as well as international players Mary Cholhok and Imogen Allison. 

While the Firebirds now boast the tallest goaler in the league and one of the world’s best midcourters a question remains around the Firebirds defence. 

Ruby Bakewell-Doran has cemented her spot in purple, but she isn’t as strong as some of the league’s other defenders. The side’s two other defensive spots belong to second-year defender Isabelle Shearer and newcomer Ash Barnett.  

 
The young defensive circle brings plenty of excitement for the future of the Firebirds but whether or not they fire from the get-go in 2025 could be the difference between making a finals charge and finishing on the bottom half of the ladder again. 

With a new coach, new tactics and new players the Firebirds’ resurgence might be a slow burn rather than an overnight success. 

But anything can happen in sport and perhaps Wills will be the catalyst for a new reign of purple come season’s end. 

 
Will the GIANTS start strong? 

The GIANTS were in dire straits throughout 2024. 

Winless until Round 5, the team’s failure to fire early proved costly come season’s end. In a season so short, it’s important to get wins on the board from the get-go, it’s an area Julie Fitzgerald and co will no doubt be focusing on leading into the new season. 
 
Not long ago the Western Sydney based team were a force to be reckoned with. They’ve got no shortage of international talent with the likes of Jo Harten, Gina Crampton and Jodi-Ann Ward plus Origin Diamonds Jamie-Lee Price and Sophie Dwyer. But no matter how hard they tried the dots didn’t connect out on court in 2024.  

There’s a lot of questions surrounding the team going into 2025 and with a mostly unchanged squad it’ll be up to the team and coaching staff to have some tough conversations and make new moves. 

Time will tell if the GIANTS are to go from cellar dwellers to serious premiership contenders. 

But one thing’s for sure, they’ll have to start well to stand a chance against the league’s best.