Suncorp Super Netball

The Super Netball League[1] (known predominantly by its sponsored name Suncorp Super Netball (SSN)) is a professional netball league featuring teams from across Australia. It superseded the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top-level netball league in Australia in 2017. Since 2019, the league has been governed on behalf of Netball Australia by an independent commission. Its main sponsor is Suncorp Group. Sunshine Coast Lightning were the inaugural Suncorp Super Netball winners.

"Super Netball League" redirects here. Not to be confused with Netball Super League.

Suncorp Super Netball
Most recent season or competition:
2023 Suncorp Super Netball season
SportNetball
Founded2016
Owner(s)Netball Australia
No. of teams8
CountryAustralia
Most recent
champion(s)		Adelaide Thunderbirds
(1st title)
Most titlesNew South Wales Swifts
Sunshine Coast Lightning
(2 titles each)
TV partner(s)Fox Sports
Streaming partner(s)Kayo Sports
Sponsor(s)Suncorp Group
Related
competitions		Australian Netball Championships
ANZ Championship
Commonwealth Bank Trophy
Official websitesupernetball.com.au

History

In May 2016, Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand announced that the ANZ Championship would be discontinued after the 2016 season. In Australia, its replacement league – initially known as simply the National Netball League before an official name was decided upon[2] – included the five former Australian ANZ Championship teams (Adelaide Thunderbirds, Melbourne Vixens, New South Wales Swifts, Queensland Firebirds and West Coast Fever) plus three brand new franchises: Collingwood Magpies, Giants Netball and Sunshine Coast Lightning.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

With a team coached by Noeline Taurua, captained by Geva Mentor and also featuring Caitlin Bassett, Karla Pretorius and Stephanie Wood, Sunshine Coast Lightning finished the 2017 season as inaugural champions after defeating Giants Netball 65–48 in the grand final. In 2018 they retained the title after defeating West Coast Fever 62–59 in the grand final.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

In 2019, Briony Akle guided New South Wales Swifts to their first Suncorp Super Netball title. Despite losing their new captain, Maddy Proud, to injury early in the season, Swifts finished the regular season in second place. In the major semi-final, they lost to Sunshine Coast Lightning. However, they then defeated Melbourne Vixens in the preliminary final. In the grand final they faced Lightning again but this time defeated them 64–47 to emerge as champions.[16][17][18][19][20][21]

In 2020, with a team coached again by Simone McKinnis and co-captained by Kate Moloney and Liz Watson, Melbourne Vixens finished the season as both minor premiers and overall champions.[22][23] In the grand final they defeated West Coast Fever 66–64.[24][25][26] In 2021, with a team coached by Briony Akle and co-captained by Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley, New South Wales Swifts won their second Suncorp Super Netball title. In the grand final they defeated Giants Netball 63–59.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33]

In 2022, head coach Dan Ryan and captain Courtney Bruce led West Coast Fever to their first premiership. In the grand final they defeated Melbourne Vixens 70-59.[34][35][36][37] In May 2023, news reports disclosed that the Collingwood Magpies were in financial distress, and later that month the Collingwood Football Club announced it would withdraw its netball team at the conclusion of the 2023 season.[38] The 2023 premiership was won by the Adelaide Thunderbirds, defeating the Swifts 60–59 after extra time was required in the grand final. It was the Thunderbirds' first national league premiership in a decade, and came off the back of years of lowly finishes in Super Netball.[39]

Following the demise of the Magpies, speculation circled as to who would be awarded the eighth license for the 2024 season and beyond. Submissions for the new license closed on 20 June 2023, with as many as six initial bids being whittled down to two by the closing date, according to media reports.[40] On 21 July 2023, the league announced that the Sports Entertainment Network (SEN), led by chief executive Craig Hutchison, was awarded the license for a team to be based in south-east Melbourne. As part of the licensing agreement, Netball Australia will operate the team for the rest of 2023 before transitioning to SEN for 2024 and beyond.[41] ABC News reported that the SEN bid was preferred by broadcasters Fox Netball over the alternate bid put forward by Netball Victoria, which suggested a regional team 'floating' between Geelong, Bendigo or Ballarat.[40]

Clubs

Current clubs
Club Icon Location State Head Coach Home venue Est. SSN seasons SSN premierships
First Total Total Most recent
Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide South Australia South Australia Tania Obst Netball SA Stadium 1996 2017 7 1 2023
Giants Netball Sydney New South Wales New South Wales Julie Fitzgerald Ken Rosewall Arena 2016 2017 7 — —
Melbourne Mavericks Melbourne Victoria (state) Victoria Tracey Neville TBA 2023 2024 — — —
Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Victoria (state) Victoria Simone McKinnis John Cain Arena 2007 2017 7 1 2020
New South Wales Swifts Sydney New South Wales New South Wales Briony Akle Ken Rosewall Arena 2007 2017 7 2 2021
Queensland Firebirds Brisbane Queensland Queensland Rebecca Bulley Nissan Arena 1996 2017 7 — —
Sunshine Coast Lightning Sunshine Coast Queensland Queensland Belinda Reynolds USC Stadium 2016 2017 7 2 2018
West Coast Fever Perth Western Australia Western Australia Dan Ryan RAC Arena 1996[lower-alpha 1] 2017 7 1 2022

Former clubs
Club Icon Location State Home venue Est. SSN seasons SSN premierships
First Last Total Total Most recent
Collingwood Magpies Melbourne Victoria (state) Victoria John Cain Arena 2016 2017 2023 7 — —

Venues

Current venues

The following table shows a list of all of venues that have been used throughout the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball season. Where venues have had other/sponsored names, only those names in place from when the venue was being used in the league have been listed.

Current Suncorp Super Netball venues
Venue Other/sponsored name(s) Location State Capacity First used Current tenant(s)
Sydney SuperDome Qudos Bank Arena (2017–present) Sydney New South Wales 18,000 2017 New South Wales Swifts
Perth Arena RAC Arena (2018–present) Perth Western Australia 14,500 2017 West Coast Fever
John Cain Arena Hisense Arena (2017–2018)
Melbourne Arena (2018–2020)		 Melbourne Victoria 10,500 2017 Melbourne Vixens
Ken Rosewall Arena Sydney New South Wales 10,000 2021 New South Wales Swifts
Giants Netball
Adelaide Entertainment Centre Adelaide South Australia 9,600 2018 Adelaide Thunderbirds
Queensland State Netball Centre Nissan Arena (2019–present) Brisbane Queensland 5,000 2019 Queensland Firebirds
Netball SA Stadium Priceline Stadium (2017–2020) Adelaide South Australia 3,200 2017 Adelaide Thunderbirds
Silverdome Launceston Tasmania 3,200 2017
UniSC Arena USC Stadium (2017–2022) Sunshine Coast Queensland 3,000 2017 Sunshine Coast Lightning

Former venues

The following table shows a list of all of venues that have been used throughout the entirety of Suncorp Super Netball. Where venues have had other/sponsored names, only those names in place from when the venue was being used in the league have been listed.

Former Suncorp Super Netball venues
Venue Other/sponsored name(s) Location State Capacity First used Last used Tenant(s)
State Sports Centre Quaycentre Sydney New South Wales 4,500 2017 2019 New South Wales Swifts
Giants Netball
Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane Queensland 11,000 2017 2019 Queensland Firebirds
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Brisbane Queensland 4,000 2017 2017 Queensland Firebirds
Perth Superdrome HBF Stadium Perth Western Australia 4,500 2017 2018 West Coast Fever
AIS Arena Canberra Australian Capital Territory 5,200 2017 2019 Giants Netball
Adelaide Arena Titanium Security Arena Adelaide South Australia 8,000 2017 2017 Adelaide Thunderbirds
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre Gold Coast Queensland 6,000 2017 2017 Queensland Firebirds
Margaret Court Arena Melbourne Victoria 7,500 2017 2019 Collingwood Magpies
Melbourne Vixens
Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre Gold Coast Queensland 5,000 2018 2018 Queensland Firebirds
International Convention Centre Sydney Sydney New South Wales 7,200 2018 2018 Giants Netball
Bendigo Stadium Bendigo Victoria 4,000 2019 2019 Collingwood Magpies
Territory Netball Stadium Darwin Northern Territory 2,000 2019 2019 Adelaide Thunderbirds
Parkville Stadium State Netball and Hockey Centre (2019–2021) Melbourne Victoria 3,050 2019 2022 Melbourne Vixens
Collingwood Magpies
Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre Townsville Queensland 5,154 2020 2020 Collingwood Magpies
Cairns Pop-Up Arena Cairns Queensland 2,000 2020 2020 West Coast Fever
Adelaide Thunderbirds
Melbourne Vixens
Derwent Entertainment Centre MyState Bank Arena Hobart Tasmania 4,300 2022 2022 Collingwood Magpies

Season structure

Pre-season

Beginning in 2019, a structured round-robin tournament known as the Team Girls Cup has been conducted, named for the titular campaign established in 2017 that aims to decrease the dropout rate in junior netball.[42] The league's eight teams are divided into two pools, where they play each of their fellow pool members once. A fourth round is then held to determine final placings across the combined pools, and a champion is crowned from the match held between the two top-ranked pool teams. Matches are held over three consecutive days and are all played at the same venue. Locations to have hosted the tournament so far include Brisbane, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

List of Team Girls Cup champions
Season Premiers Runners-up Score Venue Grand Final MVP Ref.
2019 Collingwood Magpies Melbourne Vixens 39–33 Queensland State Netball Centre Shimona Nelson (Collingwood Magpies) [43]
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Ken Rosewall Arena — [44]
2021 Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic [45]
2022 Melbourne Vixens West Coast Fever 45–43 Parkville Stadium Kate Moloney (Melbourne Vixens) [46]
2023 West Coast Fever Adelaide Thunderbirds 49–41 Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre Sasha Glasgow (West Coast Fever) [47]

Regular season

The regular season is played across 14 rounds, with the league's eight teams playing each other twice in home and away fixtures.

Finals series
+ Team also won the minor premiership for finishing on top of the ladder
^ Player also won the Player of the Year Award
List of Suncorp Super Netball premiers
Season Premiers Runners-up Score Venue Grand Final MVP Ref.
2017 Sunshine Coast Lightning Giants Netball 65–48 Brisbane Entertainment Centre Karla Pretorius (Queensland Firebirds) [10][11][12]
2018 Sunshine Coast Lightning (2) West Coast Fever 62–59 Perth Arena Caitlin Bassett (Sunshine Coast Lightning) [13][14][15][48]
2019 New South Wales Swifts Sunshine Coast Lightning 64–47 Brisbane Entertainment Centre Samantha Wallace (New South Wales Swifts) [20][21]
2020 Melbourne Vixens West Coast Fever (2) 66–64 Nissan Arena Mwai Kumwenda (Melbourne Vixens) [24][25][26]
2021 New South Wales Swifts(2) Giants Netball (2) 63–59 Nissan Arena Maddy Turner (New South Wales Swifts) [28][29][30][31][32]
2022 West Coast Fever Melbourne Vixens 70–59 RAC Arena Sasha Glasgow (West Coast Fever) [34][35][36][37]
2023 Adelaide Thunderbirds New South Wales Swifts 60–59 John Cain Arena Eleanor Cardwell (Adelaide Thunderbirds) [49]

Minor premierships
Season Winners
2017[50]Melbourne Vixens
2018[51][52]Giants Netball
2019[53][54]Sunshine Coast Lightning
2020[22][23]Melbourne Vixens
2021[55][56]Giants Netball
2022[57][58]Melbourne Vixens
2023 New South Wales Swifts

Premiership winning coaches
Season Head coaches Team
2017[12]Noeline TauruaSunshine Coast Lightning
2018[59]
2019[16][17]Briony AkleNew South Wales Swifts
2020[22][60]Simone McKinnisMelbourne Vixens
2021[28][31]Briony AkleNew South Wales Swifts
2022[34][35][36]Dan RyanWest Coast Fever
2023Tania ObstAdelaide Thunderbirds

Premiership winning captains
Season Captains Team
2017[12][61]Geva MentorSunshine Coast Lightning
2018[13]
2019[16][17]Maddy ProudNew South Wales Swifts
2020[22]Kate Moloney
Liz Watson		Melbourne Vixens
2021[28][33]Maddy Proud
Paige Hadley		New South Wales Swifts
2022[34][36]Courtney BruceWest Coast Fever
2023Hannah PettyAdelaide Thunderbirds

Broadcasting
Seasons Live broadcasters
2017–2021[62]Nine Network
Telstra
2022–present[63]Fox Sports
Kayo Sports

Commission

In January 2019, Netball Australia announced it would form an independent commission to become the governing body of Suncorp Super Netball.[64] In April 2019 they named five commissioners which included Marne Fechner, Netball Australia's CEO. Two more commissioners were appointed in May and August 2019.[65][66][67]

Sponsorship

In October 2016, Suncorp Group was announced as Netball Australia's principal partner from 2017 to 2021. The agreement included naming rights to the new league.[9][68][69][70] In August 2021 this agreement was renewed for another five years.[71] Other sponsorship partners include the Australian Institute of Sport, Nissan Australia, Origin Energy, HCF, ASICS, Cadbury and Gilbert Netball.[72]

Awards

Notes
  1. As Perth Orioles

References
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