Writers: Jenny Sinclair, Ian Harkin, Katrina Nissen
Photographers: Hannah Howard | On The Ball Media and Clinton Bradbury | Bradbury Photography
Cover Photo: Clinton Bradbury
Results
Major Semi Final: Adelaide Thunderbirds 68 def Melbourne Vixens 43
Minor Semi Final: West Coast Fever 72 def Sunshine Coast Lightning 62
Romelda Aiken-George and her daughter Gianna celebrate with the Thunderbirds. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media.
Milestones
Shamera Sterling-Humphrey became the first player in Super Netball history to record 300 intercepts.
Kelsey Browne achieved the milestone of 3,000 career feeds.
Shamera Sterling-Humphrey became the first player to take 300 intercepts in SSN netball. Image Hannah Howard/On the Ball Media.
Injuries
Kate Moloney (Vixens) suffered a head knock and had to leave the court for a period while she was assessed under concussion protocols.
Kate Moloney had an awkward fall and collided with Latanya Wilson’s shin before leaving the court in the second term. Image: Hannah Howard | On The Ball Media
Let’s Talk About:
The Diamonds have announced an additional test series later this year against the England Roses.
Tickets go on sale on the 21st August, or will be available to watch on Kayo Freebies. The matches will be held at:
Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Thursday 19th SeptemberQudos Bank Arena (Sydney) on Sunday 22nd SeptemberBendigo Wednesday 25th September
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard is a superstar both on and off court. The fist bumps on her shoulders after her first goal was a shout out to a young fan who’d dislocated her shoulder the day before, while she also sent a message of support.
🥹
Video description: Fowler-Nembhard shoots a goal, then crosses her arms and touches both shoulders.#FEVvLIG https://t.co/jAAerzwyNz pic.twitter.com/AzXDUeAVtx
— Maddy (@maddyoby) July 21, 2024
The run of record crowds and sell-outs in 2024 has seen a massive 25% increase in attendance for Suncorp Super Netball in the home and away season. In all, 331,841 fans attended games during the regular season, re-establishing SSN as the most attended women’s sport league in Australia before the finals were even played. That’s an average of 23,703 spectators per round, or almost 6,000 per match which is really quite incredible.
Interest in netball seems to be at an all time high right now. The record for largest round attendance was broken four times this year; firstly in the opening round, then in round six, round 12, and round 14. In the final round, 34,726 fans turned up to support their teams. That was almost 6,000 more people than had set the record just two rounds before.
Attendances everywhere have been tremendous, particularly in Perth. However, a big factor in the overall increase this year has undoubtedly been the full time move of Thunderbirds to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. With the success of that move, perhaps there is the opportunity for some of the other teams’ games to be moved to larger venues in future. The two Queensland teams in particular, seem capable of attracting more fans than their current venues can hold.
Is it time to fix inequitable fixtures? To name a few – in this weekend’s crucial final, Lightning are facing their fourth trip in a row on the road, while the Mavericks also played their last four games out of state, albeit with one ‘home’ game in Tasmania. Vixens have spent three of the last four weeks away corresponding to their dip in form, while Fever also reliably slump each year, when they’re traveling for three out of four games in the middle of the season. While all teams have to travel, surely there’s a way to make sure no side is on the road for such a long consecutive period of time.
RAC Arena has had record crowds this season. Image Clinton Bradbury/Bradbury Photography
The rookies
The Thunderbirds Lauren Frew has had a strong season, let alone for a rookie. Starting at goal attack from Round 1, she was given the perfect amount of court time to build confidence and connections, without physically draining the youngster. And by the time the semi-finals came around, Frew was ready to shine. Picking up MVP, in her 47 minutes out on court Frew finished with 17/18 (94.4%), 13 feeds, and 10 centre pass receives.
Game MVP Lauren Frew celebrates the win with fellow shooter Lucy Austin. Image: Hannah Howard | On The Ball Media
The shooting circle
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard starred for Fever on her birthday with 67/69, as they won through to the preliminary Final with a 72-62 win over Lightning. Shanice Beckford played a good support role too, although she did give up six general play turnovers. With Lightning shooting at only 70%, it was a big contrast at the other end of the court. Fowler-Nembhard’s only two misses for the game came from super shot attempts, meaning she was 67/67 with regular goals. That continues her incredible run with one-point attempts where she has had less misses (14) than games (15) so far this year.
Meanwhile, her Jamaican teammate is as good as ever this year. Thunderbird Romelda Aiken-George finished with a game high 39/44 (88.6%) and pulled in four rebounds. And while she looked a little frazzled early on when double teamed, Aiken-George soon found her neutral game day face and didn’t look in the least bit concerned when shoved out of the way by frustrated defender Emily Mannix.
Lightning and Vixens each shot at just 70% in their games, a figure that the Vixens will need to urgently rectify ahead of their preliminary final. The last time they played Fever, Kadie-Ann Dehaney rattled Sophie Garbin who received just 30 minutes of game time. Lily Graham did well in her absence, but expect Fever to try and apply similar pressure.
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