By Sophie Taylor
It was a season of highs and lows, triumphs and challenges.
We run you through some of the top talking points from the season that was.
VIXENS TRIUMPH
Yes, we know this is an obvious one by now, so we’ll keep it short.
But who would have thought the Melbourne Vixens would claim the 2025 SSN Premiership way back in Round 6 when they were sitting on a 2-4 win record?
Certainly not us.
A cohesive team unit, a starting seven that never failed to fire, and a dream to finish things off on a high for their outgoing coach. What more could you want?
FOWLER-NEMBHARD RETURNS
With Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard earning a seventh consecutive Stacey Marinkovich Medal – West Coast Fever’s club champion award - over the weekend, her return to SSN deserves stating once more.
Initially intending to take the season off from netball, Fowler-Nembhard defied odds and heartbreak to make her return to the court in Round 3.
The goal shooter piled on 59 goals from 61 attempts in her first game back, sending a dazzling reminder to the competition that she cannot be stopped.
That trend continued for the remainder of the season, with Fowler Nembhard rarely shooting less than 60 goals and the Fever going on a 13-game winning run.
While that streak came to an end in the Grand Final, Fowler-Nembhard’s return and continual impact cannot be discredited.
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard made her SSN return in Round 3.SWIFTS AND FEVER LEAVE MORE IN THE TANK
It’s safe to say the top two sides will be disappointed by the way their seasons ended but will be bolstered by how good their ‘best’ was in 2025.
While neither came away with the top gong after sitting on top of the ladder for roughly seven weeks each, they will be back with a vengeance in 2026.
Grace Nweke is officially returning in red for a second season next year, while Sasha Glasgow returns west to the club that got her finest form out of her.
With key figures expected to return to both clubs, expect nothing less than another finals berth from the Swifts and Fever in 2026.
WHERE TO NEXT FOR FIREBIRDS?
Another challenging season for the Firebirds.
They had so much spark heading into the season but were unable to fine-tune their connections when other clubs stepped up to the plate.
Presence on court was a key issue, with the midcourt in particular unable to create the ball-movement required to get wins on the board.
Mary Cholhok is unmissable in the circle, but the 201cm goal shooter lacked volume from feeders to really showcase her best form out on court.
Confidence on the feed will be a big requirement for the Firebirds midcourt in 2026, and with a similar group shaping up with Lara Dunkley, Macy Gardner and Imogen Allison all returning, there’s a lot riding on the Firebirds in 2026.
Both Fever and Swifts will be disappointed by their late form in 2025.MILESTONES ALL ROUND
Match milestones, as far as the eye can see!
Romelda Aiken-George took over the coveted most-national-league-games title from Geva Mentor in Round 3 and finished off her illustrious career – including 18 seasons, 245 games, and four premierships at season’s end.
Jo Harten celebrated her 200th match in Round 12 to huge fanfare, with the GIANTS goal shooter also announcing her retirement following Round 14.
Three Origin Australian Diamonds marked their 150th match: Liz Watson (Round 1), Jo Weston (Round 2) and Courtney Bruce (Round 9). Former Diamonds Steph Fretwell also marked 150 during Round 7.
A whopping 10 players hit 100 games and five reached 50.
Rounding out the retirements isdual-Premiership captain Hannah Petty while Mavericks’ Olivia Lewis has stepped away from netball to chase Australian rules football dreams.
COACHES BID FAREWELL
Three head coaches have made the call to step away from SSN following the 2025 season.
Simone McKinnis was the first to make the call, and announced she was stepping away from the Vixens head coach gig way back in May.
With the Vixens then sitting on a disappointing win ratio, it did not come as a huge surprise – although many will now be wondering if that was the right call.
After over 10 years in the role, McKinnis’ third premiership – preceded by titles 2014 and 2020 – was one for the history books.
Julie Fitzgerald was next to announce her departure from the league, putting an end to her impressive tenure in the sport.
A NSW and national league coaching legend, Fitzgerald announced her retirement after over 200 games across three different domestic competitions.
Her departure has made way for former assistant coach Nerida Stewart to take the helm, marking an exciting move for the club which has had been led by Fitzgerald since the club’s inception.
Possibly the least expected departure was that of Tracey Neville, who departs the Mavs following two tumultuous seasons.
The former England Roses head coach joined the league in an assistant role at the Thunderbirds for their drought-breaking 2023 premiership season before being named as the inaugural Melbourne Mavericks coach in 2024.
Unfortunately, the Mavs were hit by injuries prior to their first season and have yet to showcase their true capabilities.
Romelda Aiken-George surpassed Geva Mentor's games record.ON THE STATS SHEET
To no one’s surprise, Fowler-Nembhard finished top of the tables for goals scored once again.
The formidable goal shooter didn’t make her season debut until Round 3 but piled on the pressure immediately, finishing the year with 834 goals to her name.
Nweke (794) and Shimona Jok (633) rounded out the top three while Helen Housby and Kiera Austin put up the most attempts from range during the Power 5, with 65 and 57 Suncorp Super Shots respectively.
Intriguingly, Cara Koenen – most comfortable directly under the post – registered the greatest accuracy from range within the top 20 (13 goals from 19 attempts at 68 percent).
Georgie Horjus (64 percent), Abigail Latu-Meafou and Housby (both 62 percent) were next on the leaderboard for accuracy and volume, all putting up more than 20 successful shots.
Alice Teague-Neeld’s season culminated in a debut Origin Australian Diamonds squad selection, and why shouldn’t it after a 363-goal assist season.
The midcourter was crucial to Fever’s success this year, also topping the centre pass receives stat (328) and second in the league for circle feeds.
Latanya Wilson had another enormous season, topping the intercepts leaderboard with 41 from 15 games – roughly 2.7 per game in outstanding fashion.
She leads that count by a long shot, followed by Aussies Sarah Klau (24) and Amy Sligar (22).
Wilson and Klau also topped the deflections tally with 97 and 72 respectively.
