NS Scoreboard: SSN 2024 Grand Final

Romelda Aiken-George played in her 20th finals match and collected Player of the Match while doing it! She’s also the most decorated athlete in Australia’s national league, having played in seven grand finals and claimed four titles.

Laura Scherian is now the most successful SSN athlete having played in four grand finals and claiming the title three times.

In her 17th season, Romelda Aiken-George is as consistent as ever and was a worthy MVP. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

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News of the Week

With the 2024 Super Netball grand final locked in a year ago, Adelaide has been rocking in the lead up to the big game. From photo montages at the airport to Rundle Mall appearances, the South Australian government have gone all out for the season definer. While the original decision to sell off the grand final was controversial, the league’s ability to build a massive atmosphere around the match has been a winner for the sport.

A massive crowd turned up at the Grand Final lunch to listen to a range of guest speakers, including the two coaches, Fox Netball commentators, and Liz Ellis AO in her first official appearance as Chair of Netball Australia. The Queen was fabulous, funny and positive about netball’s push to remain a premier sport in Australia. Along with huge growth in crowds, memberships and television audiences, Ellis revealed that netball is also the biggest growth sport for men and boys in our country. Premier Peter Malinauskas spoke about the state’s investment in the Mile End netball facility.

Liz Ellis took to the court again – this time as Chair of Netball Australia. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

Despite finalising the amalgamation of Suncorp into ANZ Bank, Suncorp confirmed they will be continuing their sponsorship of Super Netball in 2025. Suncorp donated $100 for every super shot scored during the season, adding up to over $70,000. We’re sure Thunderbirds won’t be worried in the slightest that their team contributed by far the least amount to that this year.

The Grand Final crowd was 9,649 in a packed Adelaide Entertainment Centre. That means the Suncorp Super Netball season finishes with an overall attendance of 366,222, reclaiming the competition’s position as the most attended women’s sporting league in Australia.

After trailing for much of the first half, the Thunderbirds gradually took control early in the final quarter. They seemed headed for a comfortable victory, before a late surge from Vixens fell just short with time running out. But does netball need to look at a standard rule regarding calling time off, particularly towards the end of quarters? The Vixens lost precious seconds in the dying stages of the Grand Final as time was not called when perhaps it should have been. This seems to be one area of inconsistency in netball officiating.

The official free agency signing period starts on Monday 5 August and finishes on Friday 23 August. While there are limited players off contract, some fascinating stories are bound to unfold, particularly where Donnell Wallam will end up, which internationals might join Super Netball, and who the Swifts and Thunderbirds will sign in their goal shooting positions.

The game in brief

Steely determination from the Vixens, and a nervous start from the Thunderbirds, saw the away team jump out to an early six point lead. Tania Obst was quick to call a time out to settle her line. With Kiera Austin looking dangerous early on, Obst moved her players around like chess pieces – sending Latty Wilson to goal defence, bringing Hannah Petty on early to centre as a calming influence who could also sight and release to the circle, and moving Tayla Williams to wing defence against Hannah Mundy.

The changes were effective, and while the Vixens kept their short, sharp passing game up, the Thunderbirds slowly clawed back the lead despite some rocky moments under the post. With gains hard to come by, the Thunderbirds looking to have an untouchable six point lead late in the match. However a hot two point hand by Austin, and a late intercept by Kate Moloney, kept the Vixens in the race until the dying seconds of the match.

Vixens did well to restrict the connection between Thunderbirds attackers and shooters. Image – Hannah Howard/OnTheBall Media

The rookies

Lauren Frew had nerves of steel in her first grand final to put up a respectable 10/10, with 11 assists and 15 feeds. At the time she was replaced late in the third quarter, she had the highest NNP score of anyone on court.

In just her second season, Hannah Mundy also played with resounding maturity. She was involved in everything and led her team for feeds (35), goal assists (18), centre pass receives (21) and pickups (3).

The future of wing attack is bright, with Hannah Mundy starring for the Vixens. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

Lauren Frew in her first grand final shot. Image – Hannah Howard/OnTheBall Media

The shooting circle

Kiera Austin was once again a standout for the Vixens and did everything she could to drag her team towards a title. She was the go-to-girl for the majority of the game and stepped up at times when it was needed for her team. While on the stats sheet Sophie Garbin contributed well, it did feel as though she started to fade as the game went on and really got taken out of the game by the Adelaide defenders.

For the Thunderbirds the ever reliable Romelda Aiken-George was the solid option we have come to expect from the 18-season veteran. She had some moments during the game where the shots were not falling, and Aiken-George mentioned post-match that she did have the same thoughts as from a previous Grand Final in the ANZ Championship. Following words of support from her coach, Aiken-George re-grouped and re-gained her confidence to shoot out the game.

Kiera Austin had one of her finest games for the season. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

The midcourt

Thunderbirds’ captain Hannah Petty began the match as she usually does, on the bench. Late in the first quarter, when things weren’t going to plan for Thunderbirds, Coach Tania Obst made a reshuffle and brought her captain on. She proceeded to play probably her best game of the season on the most important occasion. 12 assists, 25 feeds, and four deflections later, she had led her team to victory. Her connection with Georgie Horjus worked wonders.

For Vixens, captain Kate Moloney played well, although she was surprisingly their most expensive player in terms of turnovers. It was Hannah Mundy who was the star of the Vixens’ midcourt, showing all the signs of a long career to come.

The Vixens did a sterling job of restricting the Thunderbirds attacking connections in the early stages of the game. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

The defenders

As per usual, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson both played their part in the Thunderbirds victory. But they weren’t the dominant force they had been for much of the season. They finished with a combined six possession gains, well down on their season average.

But while the Thunderbirds’ defence wasn’t as productive as usual in terms of gains, the big difference was at the other end. The Vixens had just three gains for their entire team. No matter who the Vixens had in the circle, they had little effect against Aiken-George. Rudi Ellis and Emily Mannix were both tried at goal keeper, with limited results, as Aiken-George went on her way to MVP honours.

Shamera Sterling-Humphrey comes through with a crucial intercept. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

Tactics

For the first half, the Vixens’ controlled short and sharp game held the Thunderbirds at bay. Keeping the ball out of the air is a strong tactic and takes away the Thunderbirds strongest asset. However, the method is taxing and ultimately they struggled to sustain it for the full sixty minutes.

Although Vixens were largely successful in limiting the number of gains that the Thunderbirds could make, a look at the deflection numbers shows just how hard it was to maintain that tactic. Thunderbirds ended the game with 23 deflections. Only one resulted in a gain, but all those touches the Thunderbirds got, piled on the pressure.

Time to celebrate. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

Stats of the match

In a match with the best defensive line in the league it is quite a shock to see they only collected six gains for the entire sixty-minutes. Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latty Wilson each collected three gains with Sterling-Humphrey’s all coming via intercepts, while Wilson’s were one intercept, one deflection and one rebound. While this was down on their usual high numbers, the Thunderbirds defence still managed to outperform the Vixens who also had a surprisingly low three gains across the whole team.

Turnovers for the match were quite tidy with the Vixens only giving up 12 and the Thunderbirds, 10. Penalties finished very even, 66-64 against Vixens, but there was a big discrepancy in the ends of the court. The team defending to the right of screen was penalised 89-41 throughout the match.

Overall, Thunderbirds were successful with nine more attempts. However, Kiera Austin shot an incredible 7/7 from super shot territory to keep Vixens well in touch. Sophie Garbin missed with her only attempt late in the match while Austin was being double-teamed. Meanwhile, Thunderbirds did not attempt a single super shot for the game.

Vixens were able to thread the ball to their shooters. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media

Quotes Corner

Shamera Sterling-Humphrey – Thunderbirds

“Oh My god! I can’t explain how this feels right now. We knew could do it and that is what we did today. I know my team depends on me and I had to bring it for them. This is so amazing!”

Kiera Austin – Vixens

“I am pretty shattered. We had our chances in that game and going off our past performances we have to be proud of what we did out there. But it is still pretty shattering.”

“There is heaps to take from this season. We had injury after injury. We had some young girls step up and take each opportunity so there is a lot to look forward to.”