Is history within reach for the Mavs?

By Stephanie Smarrelli

Three rounds remain.

Now, the pressure is real.

For the teams stuck in the middle of the pack, this weekend isn’t just important, it’s make or break.  

One loss could end the dream. One win could keep finals hopes alive.

After last week’s results, Champion Data’s finals predictor gives the Lightning, Swifts and Firebirds a two per cent chance (or less) of reaching the pointy end of the season.

But the door still isn’t closed.

This round is shaping as a true do-or-die weekend, headlined by a blockbuster clash between West Coast Fever and the Melbourne Mavericks.

The Mavs are on the verge of history. A win this weekend would all but secure a maiden finals appearance.

A loss, though, blows the race wide open.

For Fever, the stakes are just as high. Victory would likely lock in a seventh straight Finals Series appearance.

But standing in their way is a Mavs outfit built around the league’s most reliable goaler.

Shimona Nelson.

The 27-year-old looms as one of the Mavs’ biggest weapons this weekend.  

The goal shooter leads the league for accuracy at 92 per cent, but she’ll face a fierce aerial battle against Fever defenders Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Fran Williams.

The defensive duo combined for 16 gains the last time these sides met, helping Fever control the tempo.

It was a blistering start from the West Coast side that enabled them to bury the Mavs in Round 6, piling on 20 goals to seven in the opening quarter.

But the Mavericks won’t want a repeat of that nightmare start this week as they chase their shot at premiership glory.

Former Maverick Sasha Glasgow could prove the difference for Fever.  

The goaler has become a crucial playmaker alongside Alice Teague-Neeld, driving Fever’s attacking flow under pressure.

If the margin tightens late, expect the Suncorp Super Shot to become decisive.  

Glasgow is a proven long-range threat, while the Mavericks boast multiple dangerous shooters of their own capable of turning the heat up during the Power Five.

That means defensive pressure and composure in front of goal will be critical when the game reaches its boiling point.

Mavericks' young gun Jessie Grenvold enters the clash leading the league for intercepts, but she faces one of the toughest assignments in netball veteran Romelda Aiken-George.

The last time they met, Grenvold produced 11 deflections and three intercepts, while Aiken-George answered with a commanding 50-goal performance setting up an intriguing head-to-head battle this weekend.

Fever may hold the home-court advantage at RAC Arena, but this season has shown travelling west is no longer the impossible task it once seemed.

They’ve lost half their home games in 2026, while the Mavericks have claimed victory in half of their away fixtures, setting the stage for one massive showdown on Saturday night.

REST OF THE WEEKEND

First Nations Round continues this weekend, celebrating culture, storytelling and connection across the league. Find out the story behind the league artwork here and the teams’ dresses here.

Lightning will meet with the GIANTS to begin the weekend.  

It’s simple for them win or risk watching the season slip away.  

A victory against the GIANTS keeps their finals hopes alive while a loss could leave their campaign hanging by a thread.

Then comes a desperate showdown between the Swifts and Firebirds.  

The Swifts must win to stay alive heading into the final rounds, while defeat for the Firebirds would put a nail in the coffin on their season.

Then to close the weekend, the league’s heavyweights collide.

Tarntanya Karntu (Adelaide Thunderbirds) take on the Melbourne Vixens in a blockbuster battle for top spot on the ladder, a clash that could ultimately decide the minor premiership.

With both teams already locked into finals, now is the perfect time for both sides to search for any crack in the opposition’s armour and test different tactics out on court.