The 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season has delivered some incredible match day moments – tightly contested games, come from behind wins, massive blow outs, and record crowds and audiences.
Emotionally it also hit us in the feels – some of the storylines were written in the stars, while others were just devastating.
The two grand finalists, West Coast Fever and the Melbourne Vixens, rode some of the biggest rollercoasters of all.
Before they met in the grand final, Fever had played ruthlessly clinical netball all season, recording 13 wins on the trot including a blow out 32 point victory in their Swifts major semi. In contrast, Vixens scrapped their way through finals, coming from behind against both the Thunderbirds and the Swifts.
In the Swifts preliminary final, the Vixens were seemingly down and out at three quarter time, trailing by 10 goals. Then came a classic Simone McKinnis speech telling them to play with freedom and throw their best selves at the contest. In a perfect last quarter, Vixens nailed the game by a solitary goal and headed to their fourth Super Netball grand final appearance.
The Vixens’ last title – played in a Covid enforced hub – was a muted affair for their fans, and this year they finally had the chance to shine at home on the biggest of stages.
The Vixens won the grand final in front of a massive home crowd, after the Covid hub made their last premiership a quieter affair. Image: Shaun Sharp | Sporting Moments by Shaun
With a long history of close matches between the two grand finalists, the battle-hardened Vixens proved too strong in a match that saw the more experienced team give McKinnis her fairy tale ending at the helm. And while there were scenes of joy for the Melbourne side, there’s sure to be plenty of tears too as they farewell their coach after 13 years in charge.
Always team minded, McKinnis had never wanted to make the season about her. Looking back though, her announcement and viral “Maybe we just need to go to the pub” comment, started a reversal of form and fortune that ultimately won them the grand final. The Vixens’ season just couldn’t have been scripted any better.
One of netball’s most down to earth characters, hopefully McKinnis will eventually find her way back to a netball court after a well deserved break.
Simone McKinnis says farewell to the crowd. Image Aliesha Vicars
Fever coach Dan Ryan had demanded and received excellence from his squad all season, only for them to fall short performance wise in the biggest game of the year. While they have so much to be proud of, Fever’s third consecutive finals’ loss by one point – including the 2023 and 2024 preliminary finals – will feel like surgery without anaesthetic for a long time to come.
There was much to fuel West Coast’s fire in 2025. Late last year, there was the beautiful news of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard’s pregnancy, with new mother Mwai Kumwenda relocating west as her replacement.
The Jamaican superstar tragically miscarried, and returning to court became part of her healing process. Often seen wearing a smile instead of her usual game day face, there’s been no doubting the joy that netball gave Fowler-Nembhard during a very dark time.
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard was all smiles after an MVP performance in her return game. Image: Shaun Sharp
Fever’s “Run For Ruthie” bag tags have been in place since the youngest Aryang sister ruptured her Achilles tendon not long after gaining her first full time contract. In brilliant form and almost certain of a World Youth Cup call up, Ruth had already endured 18 months on the sidelines after an ACL rupture a couple of years earlier. Two such major injuries by the age of 21 is impossibly cruel.
Ruth Aryang got some serious elevation during her debut for Fever. Sharing the circle with her sister Sunday was extra special. Image: Clinton Bradbury/Bradbury Photography
The club will farewell Sue Gaudion as general manager, after a supposed one year at the helm turned into five. While Gaudion will stay on in coaching and commentary, she’s set Western Australia’s pathway programme on a sharp upwards trajectory, and absolutely nailed the brief of sport as entertainment. The Green Army has been rocking up to matches in record numbers that most clubs can only envy.
Sue Gaudion will step down as Fever GM. Image Aliesha Vicars
The Giants are going to look vastly different next year. It may or may not be retirement, but for the first time since 1985 Julie Fitzgerald won’t be at the helm of an elite netball team. In classic, humble Fitzgerald style, she made her announcement after season’s end, giving the retiring Jo Harten her moment in the sun at the Giants’ last game. Coaching across a range of New South Wales and Australian pathway teams, Fitzgerald has also headed up the Swifts, World 7, AIS, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, and most recently the Giants. Known and loved for her development and care of young athletes, Fitzgerald’s longevity in the game is unlikely to be repeated.
Julie Fitzgerald leaves a legacy like no other. Image: Danny Dalton | Tah Dah Sports
With Harten retiring, and Jamie-Lee Price stepping away from her contract to head south to Melbourne and her AFL playing partner, Giants will lose their coach and both co-captains, ushering in a new – and still somewhat uncertain – era for the club.
Harten was just one of three all time greats that will be lost to the netball court this year. A genius under the post, her silky skills and leadership will be missed, but after spending nine of her last 18 years of elite netball down under, Harten is still going to call Australia home. Based in Sydney with her wife and daughter, expect Harten and her brilliant brain to join coaching ranks soon.
And while Geva Mentor played her final two seasons back in England, the legend spent 16 years on our shores and is another huge loss to netball. While she’s finished up an elite 24 year career at goal keeper, Mentor continues to be a key advocate for women in sport. She and Harten were both part of the historic Roses’ side that won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, defeating the Diamonds on home soil. And in another parallel with her former national teammate, Mentor is starting a family too. She’s halfway through her current pregnancy, after experiencing a difficult miscarriage last year.
Jo Harten celebrates her final match with daughter Eddie. Image: Ryan Jones/GIANTS Netball
Geva Mentor at the 2019 Netball World Championships. On court legend and a highly respected advocate for women’s sport. Image: Danny Dalton
The third legend to hang up her playing dress is Romelda Aiken-George, who joined the Firebirds as a shy teenager. Although she’s never taken to Vegemite, Aiken-George overcame severe homesickness to play 18 seasons at goal shooter across three Australian clubs. Appearing in seven domestic grand finals, Aiken-George retires with four premierships and a host of personal awards. Netball is going to be an unfamiliar space without the Jamaican next year, but she’ll welcome more family time with husband Daniel and daughter Gianna after two years on the road.
Life without Romelda Aiken-George on court is hard to imagine. Pictured with Latty Wilson, daughter Gigi and Shamera Sterling-Humphry. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media
Losing Aiken-George is not the Thunderbirds’ only change, with goal keeper Shamera Sterling-Humphry expected to return for 2026 in a two for one deal. With their superstar on maternity leave this season, the Thunderbirds couldn’t quite get the three-peat done, but will welcome Sterling-Humphry and her baby back while still in a premiership window. However, they will have to do it without inspirational skipper Hannah Petty, who is moving back to the bush with her partner, after a decade with the club.
And while she’s not stepping away from netball, Eleanor Cardwell is leaving the Melbourne Mavericks to return to the UK, for some much needed family support after a torrid time with injury. The future of her long time mentor and club coach Tracey Neville is also up in the air. Yet to re-sign with the Melbourne Mavericks, Neville would be a huge loss if she decided to follow Cardwell home.
El Cardwell is another big loss to Super Netball. Image: Aliesha Vicars
There’s going to be plenty of soul searching across the off season for a few teams, including the Swifts, who started with eight consecutive wins only to crash out of finals, the Lightning who came up short despite a star-studded team, and the Firebirds who lost 12 games in a row to finish with the wooden spoon.
There’s been a number of injuries this season, with Aryang, Hulita Veve and Jodi-Ann Ward among the most heart-breaking.
Originally contracted by the Firebirds in 2016, Veve took time out for motherhood and wasn’t offered another full time contract till 2024. Having waited so long for her turn to come round again, the Firebirds’ co-captain was playing inspired netball till she ruptured her ACL.
We also cried for Jodi-Ann Ward, who has endured ACL surgery and now rehab a long, long way from family and friends at home. She is being well supported by the Giants – when they travelled to Perth last month, Ward went along for the ride to spend some much needed time with her three Jamaican teammates that play for Fever.
Both Ward and Veve face lengthy rehabs and will quite possibly miss the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Jodi-Ann Ward was a crucial loss for the Giants following her knee injury. Image: May Bailey | Clusterpix
After finding good form in 2024, Sunshine Coast Lightning youngster Ava Black has been unavailable since her ACL injury at the start of this year. Meanwhile Cardwell (knee), Lauren Parkinson (ACL), Hannah Mundy (foot), Teigan O’Shannassy (back), Tilly McDonnell (calf), Cara Koenen (foot), Courtney Bruce (calves) and Paige Hadley (foot) have also endured stints on the sidelines. Hadley made her return to the Swifts in their preliminary final, although hobbled for much of the match, while Mundy was finally declared match fit in time for the Vixens’ grand final.
It was fabulous to see Sasha Glasgow get back to business after fracturing her leg last year, while Reilley Batcheldor made a successful return from ACL injury and Parkinson debuted for the Mavericks after almost two years on the sidelines.
Sasha Glasgow eyeing up a hard landing as she takes on Kate Eddy. Image Shaun Sharp/Sporting Moments by Shaun
Some electric overseas talent joined Super Netball this season, with the signing of former Silver Ferns’ captain Casey Kopua more stunning than a defibrillator. Called out of her six year retirement as injury cover for Ward, Kopua bolstered an inexperienced Giants’ backline and showcased plenty of her old skills. One of the finest defenders to ever grace the game, fans were thrilled to see Kopua back in action again, and the knowledge she passed on to young defenders Erin O’Brien and Amy Sligar was invaluable.
Amy Sligar and Casey Kopua enjoy a light hearted moment. Image: Ryan Jones/GIANTS Netball
Other new imports included New Zealand’s Grace Nweke, South African Sanmarie Visser, Ugandan Mary Cholhok, and England’s Imogen Allison. Nweke was an instant sensation as a formidable presence under the post for the Swifts, while the latter two have taken a little longer to find their feet in the Firebirds’ lacklustre season. Visser originally made her way to Australia as short term injury cover for Aiken-George, and was in the right place, right time to replace Sterling-Humphry after her pregnancy was announced.
Watching the incoming talent has been absorbing, with young athletes like Grace Whyte, Sophie Casey, Hope Whyte, Jessie Grenvold and Kayla Graham all getting regular court time. And in a sensational feel good story, Sharni Lambden became one of the oldest ‘new’ players, gaining her first contract at the age of 27 after biding her time as a training partner.
There’s plenty more set to happen across the off season, particularly with the signing period just opened. In two weeks time, contracting will be done and dusted and teams revealed for 2026.
