Five matches you should rewatch from 2025

By Stephanie Smarrelli
 

From unbelievable comebacks, showstopping intercepts, underdog triumphs and memorable goals we look back at which matches were so good they deserve another watch. 

Grab your friends and family, prepare some snacks and sit back to enjoy what were the top matches of the 2025 season. 

Each game can be rewatched from the comfort of your own home on Kayo Sports and BINGE.

 
5. ROUND 4: GIANTS VS THUNDERBIRDS 
Close your eyes and cast your mind back to Round 4. The GIANTS were in trouble, operating as their own worst enemy in the season’s opening rounds but quietly they built.  

The Thunderbirds presented a fresh challenge, the reigning premiers at the time but had just lost to the Swifts and star defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey announced she’d played her last game for the season due to pregnancy. 

On paper the reigning premiers should’ve been able to get the job done but the GIANTS sensed their opportunity to put a win on the board against a side who needed to re-find their feet. 
 
With their backs up against the wall the GIANTS delivered. They came out firing in the first quarter slotting 21 goals to 16. Jo Harten and Sophie Dwyer were a lethal combination in the goal circle with Matisse Letherbarrow rolling through during the match to also lend a hand. 

Jodi-Ann Ward, Amy Sligar and Erin O’Brien had their eyes on the prize with a combined nine gains with eight of those being intercepts. 

But the TBirds matched their energy, Latanya Wilson, Matilda Garrett and replacement player Sanmarie Visser collected nine gains and five intercepts themselves. 
 
Meanwhile in the goal circle, Romelda Aiken-George and Lauren Frew worked in tandem, with Frew scoring seven Suncorp Super Shots.  

It was a tight race to the finish, but the GIANTS didn’t give up their lead throughout the match despite the Thunderbirds breathing down their necks. 
 
FINAL SCORE: GIANTS 64 def. TBIRDS 63 
 
4. ROUND 4: FEVER VS LIGHTNING  
And speaking of Round 4 an absolute thriller played out over in the West between the Fever and Lightning. 

Both sides were searching for back-to-back wins, desperate to get momentum building on the ladder.  

Five goals was the biggest margin between the two teams at any point of the match with the lead switching between the sides. 

But it was West Coast Fever who put their foot down during an intense final quarter. 

Lightning led with less than three minutes on the clock but the defensive pressure from Fever’s Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Sunday Aryang and Jess Anstiss was immense. 
 
In attack, Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Liv Wilkinson controlled the goal circle despite tight defensive work from Lightning’s Courtney Bruce and Tara Hinchliffe. 

The Fever duo scored seven of the last 10 goals to take the win. 
 
FINAL SCORE: FEVER 68 def. LIGHTNING 66 
 
3.PRELIMINARY FINAL: SWIFTS VS VIXENS  
The 2025 Preliminary Final will go down in history. 

It is undoubtedly one of the best games of the season, but if you’re a Swifts fan we’ll give you permission to turn this one off at three-quarter time.  

Neck and neck throughout the first half of the match, then came a blistering Swifts in the third quarter. 

The ‘championship quarter’...or so we all thought. Ten goals up at the end of the third term, the spark had been taken out of the Vixens game, and it seemed like they were done and dusted. 

While it would’ve been easy for the Vixens to put their heads down, go into their shell and accept defeat, that’s not what happened. 

The Vixens had a lot to play for and with some words of encouragement from Simone McKinnis who at three-quarter time was staring at the possibility of her final 15 minutes at the helm she gave her team back the spark they’d lost. 

Fuelled by sheer grit, hunger and determination the Vixens put on a show. Goal by goal they worked back the margin.  
 
And as each goal was scored one question ran through the minds of fans; 
 
They couldn't...could they? 
 
The Vixens applied unwavering defensive pressure that shook the Swifts’ who hadn’t felt pressure like that in a while, but the Vixens were accustomed to it having to overcome tight situations throughout the season.  
 
Every match had been a must win and the Preliminary Final was the toughest of all. 

FINAL SCORE: VIXENS 66 def. SWIFTS 65 

2. GRAND FINAL: FEVER VS VIXENS 
The biggest day of the year, the biggest crowd in SSN Grand Final history and arguably the league’s biggest rivalry. 

The Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever know a lot about delivering a spectacle on Grand Final Day. 
 
The Vixens defeated Fever by two goals in 2020, Fever defeated the Vixens by 11 in 2022 but in 2025 it was the Vixens by one. 

This match had everyone on the edge of their seats, quite literally.  

It was a seesawing affair, Vixens, Fever, Vixens, Fever, Vixens, Fever. 

The Melbourne side pushed their lead out to six early in the fourth quarter but Fever were charging. 

The minor premiers slotted six of the last 10 goals, putting the Vixens in a high-pressure situation, but the Vixens weren’t going to let this one slip. 

From the shooting prowess of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard to the exquisite defensive pressure from the Vixens. 

The reasons to go back and watch this match are endless. 

Captain Kate Moloney commanded the midcourt while outgoing head coach Simone McKinnis made the right moves at the right time. 

She was playing chess up against one of the league’s best in Dan Ryan. 
 
He used his entire bench to throw everything at the Vixens but McKinnis and co. were calm and prepared for each challenge. 
 
FINAL SCORE: VIXENS 59 def. FEVER 58 
 
1. ROUND 13: SWIFTS VS LIGHTNING  
Sorry Swifts fans, this one is another you might want to forget but it was undeniably one of the season’s best matches. 
 
And it's well wort a rewatch no matter who you support. 

An arm wrestle to begin before the Swifts stamped their authority getting out to a game high lead of six. 

But Lightning were valiant, pulling the margin back to give themselves the chance they needed. 
 
The Sunny Coast outfit were fighting to keep their finals hopes alive while the Swifts were eyeing off a chance at the minor premiership. 

The midcourt battle between Liz Watson and Verity Simmons was scintillating as was Ash Ervin - Grace Nweke matchup in the goal circle. 

With scores level heading into the final Power Five, this match went down to the absolute wire. 

It would take a buzzer-beater from Lightning captain Steph Fretwell to separate the two teams in the end. 
 
The Suncorp Super Shot handing Lightning the win caused an uproar online with fans debating whether it was in the two-point zone or not, but there’s no debating the ending made for good TV. 

FINAL SCORE: LIGHTNING 71 def. SWIFTS 70