The Queensland Firebirds have claimed a Round 1 win for the first time in Super Netball history after fighting off a determined Giants outfit, but the biggest win belonged to the NSW Swifts who dismantled premiership fancies the West Coast Fever in Perth.
Led by star import Grace Nweke (51 goals at 88%), the Swifts didn’t drop a quarter on their way to a 67-49 victory.
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The Fever were off to a hot start with youngster Olivia Wilkinson handed the starting goal shooter bib, and jumped out to a 7-3 buffer.
But from them on, the quarter belonged to Briony Akle’s charges as they took an 18-10 advantage.
And the Fever just struggled to play catch up netball as their supershot efforts failed – managing just 5 from 14 attempts at 36% accuracy.
“That doesn’t cut it,” a disappointed Fever coach Dan Ryan said of his side’s supershot efforts.
“We’ve spent a lot of time working our supershot accuracy. I back in our shooters to be far better than that … (but) we don’t want to put our shooters in that position.”
Defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney received a warning for her efforts trying to quell the influence of Nweke in her Super Netball debut.
But the Kiwi star was unstoppable.
“Pretty disappointed in the quality that we played today,” Ryan said.
“(They) won all the individual battles and the aerial battles as well … (it’s) probably a bit of a friendly reminder of how good you have to be on this SSN court.”
Fellow import Mary Cholhok also delivered for her side the Queensland Firebirds as they recorded their first ever Round 1 win in Super Netball history, 62-57 at Ken Rosewall Arena.
Cholhok sunk 43 goals, but at 73% accuracy in a rollercoaster clash with the Giants.
The Firebirds held a seven-goal advantage at the first break, but the match turned when Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald turned to rookie Hope White in the midcourt.
White’s impact was immediate as she had eight goal assists for the second term alone, helping her side claw back to trail by just one goal.
But a third term head knock saw goal attack Sophie Dwyer come from the court for assessment, forcing Jo Harten to take on the goal attack bib despite being on a load managed program.
“Jo came out and did a really good job for us … I’m not sure she’d be able to run out a full quarter at the moment,” coach Julie Fitzgerald said post-match.
“It was nice to be able to put Soph back on as soon as we knew she was fit and ready to go.”
Down by five at the turn home, the Giants just couldn’t crack the Firebirds who held on for coach Kiri Wills’ first Super Netball win.
In the Saturday matches, the Adelaide Thunderbirds quashed any question of their chances of going for a three-peat, demolishing the Melbourne Vixens in the 2025 Super Netball season opener to the tune of 13 goals.
The grand final rematch was a far cry from the close encounter that saw the Thunderbirds eventually win their back-to-back titles. The Vixens started on the back foot and could never catch up despite various changes through the court that didn’t provide too many solutions.
Despite a lead-up marred with injury issues, with Romelda Aiken-George and Sterling-Humphrey only declared fit days beforehand, both showed no signs of concern and dominated the game with 33 from 35 for Aiken-George and a game high six gains from Sterling-Humphrey.
Coach Tania Obst had nothing but praise for Aiken-George, admitting the performance was better than she’d expected given the injury disrupted pre-season.
“I wasn’t expecting her to be that strong, if I’m honest. She came in relaxed, which is a good indicator for her. But she was ready to take on whatever happened, she was amazing out there for us,” Obst said post-match.
The physicality from both sides didn’t take long to erupt, with both Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Rudi Ellis getting a talking to from the umpires in the first half. The latter was eventually benched for debutant Maggie Caris in an effort to try and lessen the penalty count and give the Vixens a chance at winning some clean ball. Caris initially caused some disruption for the Thunderbirds, but it didn’t take long for the experience of Aiken-George to shine through, as the match’s highest scorer finished with the MVP award.
Kiera Austin was demanding more intensity from her team, saying to them: “We are being way too soft out there, we need to rip it in,” as the lead kept extending through the second quarter. Austin was well and truly doing her part, contributing six super shots to the scoreboard.
Thunderbirds captain Hannah Petty, typically an impact player, earned a rare start at centre, and delivered a sublime performance. In true mongrel fashion, she led the game for pick-ups with three and forced Vixens captain Kate Moloney to the bench, a rare sight for the veteran.
Young Vixens shooter Lily Graham played a key role in stopping the scoreline blowing out. Her injection in the third quarter added much needed movement to the goal circle. In just her seventh national league match, the 19-year-old played with confidence and poise while reducing Sterling-Humphrey’s impact. She contributed 11/13 goals, including 3/5 super shots.
Kate Eddy and Jo Weston were strong in defence for the Vixens, reeling in five and four gains respectively but it wasn’t enough to inspire the team as the attack end crumbled against the pressure of the Jamaican defenders.
Vixens coach Simone McKinnis was frank post-game, but said he was proud of the team’s second-half performance.
“It’s a disappointing result, a bit of a shocker to start with but we have to look ahead. After half-time we were determined that we would get back in the game. I think there was an improvement in what we were doing from that point,” he said.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds continued their winning ways at the Team Girls Cup Tournament, but has it come at a price? No team that has won the pre-season hit out has gone on to lift the trophy. Will this hoodoo be what derails the Thunderbirds as they look to be the first team to manage a three-peat?
Thunderbirds mid-courter Tayla Williams earned her 50th National League Cap in the side’s win over the Melbourne Vixens. She has become one of the most consistent mid-courters in the league with this game being no different, providing dynamic movements in attack and strong defensive pressure that created opportunities for her teammates.
Meanwhile, Sunshine Coast Lightning have lived up to their billing as one of the Super Netball teams to watch in 2025, with their first ever defeat of the Melbourne Mavericks.
With both sides battling injury to key personnel, Lightning gradually squeezed out a lead to prevail by 10 points.
Despite a decimated midcourt missing Ava Black – out for the season with an anterior cruciate injury – and lively centre Leesa Mi Mi, Lightning’s experienced players muscled them to victory, 69-59.
However, the result spoiled Sasha Glasgow’s redemption story, as she made her long-awaited Mavericks’ debut in front of over 3800 fans, after a horrific injury struck her out of the 2024 season.
“It was always going to be a tough one for her,” said coach Tracey Neville. “All the team was absolutely behind her. She came in and out of the game, that’s something we expect, but she’ll grow on that.”
There were some nervous shooting wobbles early on, as both sides took some time to settle into match rhythm, going goal for goal for most of the first half.
With the defenders also slow to find their timing, the Mavericks’ Shimona Jok and Lightning’s surprise starter at goal attack, Cara Koenen, used the opportunity to put up plenty of shots. Jok top scored with 37 points, while Koenen kept her side’s score ticking over with 23.
However, with her limitations on putting up supershots, Koenen admitted that her place in the side is under threat, as the Australian shooter finished with just 29 minutes of court time.
Playing in her 150th domestic league match, Lightning star Liz Watson was instrumental in supplying her shooting circle. Mavericks defender Maisie Nankivell tried in vain to slow the Australian captain but the veteran used her enviable court smarts and superior strength to find the circle and put in 44 feeds.
With crisp attacking play making life difficult for defenders from both sides, penalties crept up as players threw themselves at the ball. Bodies hit the floorboards right the way down the court, none more so than Amy Parmenter, who was a livewire at centre and later wing defence. The Mavericks’ captain pulled in four intercepts, but with Lightning refusing to relinquish their lead, it wasn’t enough to drag her side over the line.
Speaking post match, Watson said her side had been expecting a physical contest from the Mavericks. “They are such a strong, physical team we knew we were going to get bumped and hit, and we just had to stand up to the contest. I was so proud we didn’t shy away from that because the old Lightning probably would have taken a few quarters to get into the groove, be dominant out there and not let the opposition run over the top of us.”
— NCA Newswire
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