Writers: Katrina Nissen, Ian Harkin, Jenny Sinclair
Photographers: Shaun Sharp, Aliesha Vicars
Cover image: Shaun Sharp
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Stats courtesy of Champion Data
RESULT
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS 61 def MELBOURNE VIXENS 40
Thunderbirds celebrate. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
A devastating loss for the Vixens. Image: Aliesha Vicars.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
The curtain has come down on Suncorp Super Netball after 10 seasons. Suncorp has not renewed their sponsorship of Australia’s National League, meaning Netball Australia is now looking for another naming rights sponsor. With their win in the grand final, Thunderbirds became the team with the most SSN titles, claiming their third premiership in front of a crowd of 10,040.
After what was a competitive first quarter, Thunderbirds dominated the grand final as no team has before in SSN. They have won three premierships in four years, and who knows, it may have been four straight if Shamera Sterling-Humphrey had not been on maternity leave last year. There’s no reason to suspect this team will get any weaker in the coming years. They’re only getting better. It’s now up to the remaining seven teams to see what they can do to improve.
This has been the 30th season of Australia’s National Netball League. It was Thunderbirds’ seventh title overall. The 30 winners have come from:
9 – Victoria
7 – New South Wales
7 – South Australia
5 – Queensland
1 – Western Australia
1 – New Zealand
Shamera Sterling-Humphrey celebrates with her son. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
The grand final lunch was a sellout event, with over 950 guests attending. Aunty Joy Murphy AO gave a moving Welcome to Country, while Masters of Ceremonies Kelsey Browne and Jarrod Walsh kept the crowd entertained. Panellists included grand final coaches Di Honey and Tania Obst, plus Liz Ellis AO, Sue Gaudion, Georgia Rajic, Sarah Jones, Caitlyn Thwaites, Shae Bolton-Browne and Erin Bell. Norma Plummer AM also shared her thoughts on the two grand finalists.
Ellis farewelled Fox as netball’s major broadcast partner, and also acknowledged the massive support given by Suncorp Bank over the past ten years.
Chair of Netball Australia, Liz Ellis AO, speaks after the grand final. Image: Aliesha Vicars.
Kelsey and Madi Browne have been among a range of commentators used by Fox this season. Image: Aliesha Vicars
Maddie Hay (Mavericks) has announced her retirement.
The Awards Nights also continue.
At the Vixens, Sophie Garbin received the Sharelle McMahon medal, with Kate Moloney a well deserved runner up.
Jamie-Lee Price was the Mavericks’ MVP for the season, with Jessie Grenvold her runner up.
For the Thunderbirds, grand final MVP Latanya Wilson took home her third consecutive club champion award. Georgie Horjus earned Players Player and Player of the Finals honours.
This week, Netball Australia named the pathways team to compete in the upcoming Netball’s Ocean of Power Tour in Samoa. The squad comprises 12 athletes aged 23 and under who will compete in three games against the host nation between July 17 and 20. The squad includes a who’s who of SSN training partners including, World Youth Cup gold medalists, Lucy Voyvodic and Tabitha Packer. Read the full press release here.
More netball squads have been announced for the Commonwealth Games.
Host nation, Scotland, have named one of their most experienced lineups which includes Emily Nicholl, Beth Goodwin and Niam McCall all set to take the court in their third Commonwealth Games.
Wales have also named their squad which includes a good mix of new and emerging talent. Captain Bethan Dyke will be playing in her fourth Games, while for goaler Georgia Rowe, it will be her third.
Squads of 15 from Uganda and Malawi have also been named, however it is unclear which athletes will be competing and which are reserves.
Netball fans are now eagerly awaiting the team announcement from Jamaica to see if legend Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard will make her return to court, after welcoming her second child in May. Based on results over the last 9 months, if they were to go into the Commonwealth Games without Fowler-Nembhard, Romelda Aiken-George or Shimona Nelson, they could struggle in pool play.
Without their trio of superstar shooters, and minus Shamera Sterling-Humphrey who was still absent on maternity leave, Australia swept them 3-0 in February (72-41, 74-32, 80-33), while England were similarly successful, defeating the Sunshine Girls in both test matches, December 2025 (80-37, 82-31).
Shamera Sterling-Humphrey tries – and almost succeeds – to stop falling out of court. Image: Aliesha Vicars
Imogen Allison will depart the Queensland Firebirds to return to England where she has signed with Nottingham Forest. The dust has barely settled on the NSL grand final trophy but already, Forest has locked in their 2027 squad. They kicked things off by re-signing eight of their 2026 squad members and then picked up Berri Neil from Loughborough Lightning. The signing of Allison completes their team. Keep your eyes out for our upcoming NSL signings article.
The No Dribble podcast team of Carolyn Swindell, Cath Cox and Liz Ellis, along with Sue Gaudion, played to a large crowd on grand final eve. In a hugely entertaining evening, the quartet kept their audience entertained over drinks and nibbles.
Two Diamonds coaches – Normal Plummer and Stacey Marinkovich. Image: Aliesha Vicars.
Another Australian legend – Joyce Brown. Image: Aliesha Vicars.
NEWS OF THE GRAND FINAL
The Thunderbirds kept fans guessing, with widespread speculation that defender Tilly Garrett was battling injury or illness. She didn’t take part in Friday’s captain’s call, and was only briefly spotted training away from the main group during the week. She was named in the starting seven, and got 31 minutes of court time.
Tilly Garrett shows no signs of whatever kept her from training. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
Result: Thunderbirds 61 def Vixens 40 (POTM: Latanya Wilson)
Teams:
Thunderbirds
GS Elmeré van der Berg
GA Lauren Frew
WA Georgie Horjus
C Kate Heffernan
WD Latanya Wilson
GD Matilda Garrett
GK Shamera Sterling-Humphrey
Bench Kayla Graham, Tayla Williams, Sophie Casey
Coach Tania Obst
Elmere van der Berg and former Proteas coach and mentor, Norma Plummer. Image: Aliesha Vicars
Vixens
GS Sophie Garbin
GA Kiera Austin
WA Zara Walters
C Kate Moloney
WD Kate Eddy
GD Jo Weston
GK Rudi Ellis
Bench Emily Mannix, Lily Graham, Hannah Mundy
Coach Di Honey
Umpires: Jemma Cook, Georgina Sulley-Beales
Stats:
Thunderbirds
Van der Berg 51/52 (98%)
Horjus 6/6 (100%)
Frew 3/4 (75%)
Graham 0/2 (0%)
Total: 60/64 (96%)
Assists: Horjus 23, Frew, Heffernan 11
Gains: Sterling-Humphrey 9, Wilson 7
Vixens
Garbin 16/18 (89%)
Austin 15/20 (75%)
Graham 5/12 (42%)
Total: 36/50 (72%)
Assists: Moloney 9
Gains: Weston 4
Georgie Horjus was influential across wing attack and goal attack. Image: Shaun Sharp | Moments by Shaun
First Quarter (Thunderbirds 11 – Vixens 12)
Both sides got out to a hesitant opening, hanging onto the ball until the very last millisecond before getting passes away. The Thunderbirds timing on attack was a shadow of its normal fluidity, looking laboured as they approached the shooting circle. And while they were able to score off 82% of their centre passes, gain to goal conversion (33%) and turnover conversion (20%) was a different story.
In contrast, the Vixens only scored off 50% of their centre passes, but were more successful at converting loose balls. Their cause wasn’t helped by the struggles experienced by Sophie Garbin, who only recorded four goals for the term.
Elmere van der Berg didn’t show any signs of nerves, converting at a perfect 100% for the quarter, but her positioning was slightly off making it hard for feeders to find her. Georgie Horjus found it difficult to get into her free-flowing game under intense pressure from Kate Eddy.
As is to be expected in a grand final, turnovers were on the high side from both teams, finishing with seven apiece across the first quarter. Kate Heffernan was the Thunderbirds main offender, with three, while Kiera Austin also sat on three for the Vixens.
Tilly Garrett and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey weren’t giving the Vixens a look in. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
Second quarter (Thunderbirds 21 – Vixens 8)
Coach Tania Obst chatted to van der Berg during the break, after which the star shooter adjusted her timing and hold, and the Thunderbirds were away. After almost toying with the opposition earlier on, they scored 21 goals for the term and converted an exceptional 93% of their centre passes. They also tidied up their turnovers, giving up just 3 across the 15 minute period.
In contrast, the Vixens had just 8 successful shots, at a terrible 31% centre pass conversion rate.
Many of the struggles were in the Vixens’ midcourt, with Austin guilty of 4 of the Vixens 8 turnovers. Unfortunately Sophie Garbin looked completely lost against the powerful defensive line, and didn’t put up a single shot for the quarter, potentially a new and unwanted record for a goal shooter.
The Thunderbirds had 6 gains for the quarter, while a highlight was van der Berg’s successful fade away shot – when things go well, they go really well! She well and truly had the measure of both keepers tried against her – moving against Rudi Ellis, and holding against Em Mannix. Lauren Frew also bumped up her work rate, taking on an equal workload to Georgie Horjus.
The Vixens’ defenders had no answers for Elmere van der Berg. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
Third quarter (Thunderbirds 13 – Vixens 9)
The Vixens were able to slow the Thunderbirds scoring efficiency down – both their volume and centre pass conversion rate to a more modest 73%, but had little luck improving their own. They put up just one more goal than their dismal second term, and only scored from 45% of their centre passes.
While Sophie Garbin got on the move, which gave Shamera Sterling-Humphrey something else to think about, it was the start of a downward spiral for Kiera Austin. She sunk just 2 of 5 attempts during the third quarter, with her normally reliable radar gone AWOL.
Latty Wilson sprang into life, coming up with 4 of the Thunderbirds 7 gains as she pounced on any cross court balls. One of those was heading in the direction of Kate Eddy, who ended up interfering with Wilson’s landing space after she snaffled the intercept.
Van der Berg recorded her only miss for the game, and Horjus was moved into goal attack when Frew’s energy levels slumped.
Kate Moloney was the most consistent on court for the Vixens. Image: Aliesha Vicars
Fourth quarter (Thunderbirds 16 – Vixens 11)
Despite a comprehensive 21 point win, the Thunderbirds were far from flawless, and their fourth quarter was all over the place. Their 8 gains across the period was their best defensively, but their 8 turnovers and centre pass conversion of just 62% was their worst in attack. That’s perhaps understandable with the number of changes they made, but heaven help teams if numbers align better.
Those issues weren’t really reflected on the scoreboard, because the Vixens’ struggles were far greater. A 46% centre pass conversion rate was well below par, while Austin put up just one successful shot in her 5 minutes on court, while Lily Graham had 3 turnovers and shot just 3/7.
Van der Berg’s volume dropped as Horjus’ rose, showing how dangerous their circle variation is. Jo Weston pulled in two valuable intercepts, although Ellis was lucky not to be sent from the court. Two poorly timed attempts at intercepts saw her clean up first Heffernan and then later Horjus. While the latter penalty was advanced, she perhaps should have been suspended for 2 minutes.
But perhaps the biggest clanger of all was during the post match ceremonies. The trophy was presented, and confetti cannons fired, before it was realised that the Thunderbirds co-captains hadn’t had a chance to speak.
Remarkably coach Tania Obst didn’t believe she had the game in the bag until late in the fourth quarter. That was despite claiming the biggest ever margin and keeping the opposition to the lowest ever score in a Super Netball grand final, while clocking up an extraordinary 24 gains.
Jo Weston looks devastated as the Thunderbirds celebrate. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
HOW THE GRAND FINAL PLAYERS FARED
Thunderbirds
Elmeré van der Berg – Did just as she has done almost all season. Immaculately finished off all of the good work of her teammates down court. Her strength and positioning meant she was rarely troubled by the Vixens defence, and she shot at 98%. This was the 12th time in this, her debut season, when she’s scored 50+ goals.
Lauren Frew – A mixed bag. Started shakily in the first quarter. The connections just weren’t there with other players in the attack end and she failed to provide a scoring option. The second quarter was a different story, as suddenly everything clicked. After a poor start to the third quarter, she was replaced.
Georgie Horjus – Pivotal player in the attack end. The most assists, the most centre pass receives, and the most second phase receives. And just for good measure, she went into the circle and shot at 100% including a super shot. She did have four turnovers, but somewhat understandable in a player handling the ball that much for 60 minutes.
Kate Heffernan – Finished off an outstanding season with another strong game. She gave up three turnovers in a mixed first quarter, but in the second quarter, it was Heffernan who provided the spark for Thunderbirds. She came up with two intercepts that really turned the game. Finished with 11 assists and was involved in everything.
Latanya Wilson – What more needs to be said? Outstanding, and a deserved Player of the Match. She imposed herself on the Vixens’ attack end, completely shutting them out of the game. When Thunderbirds’ attack stuttered somewhat in the third quarter, it was Wilson who prevented any chance of a Vixens comeback with an unbelievable 15 minutes.
Matilda Garrett – There were rumours that she wasn’t fit to play. But there she was, in the starting seven, as per usual. It speaks volumes for the dominance of her team that she had a very respectable game for the 31 minutes she was on court, but she was simply outshone by the brilliance of those around her.
Shamera Sterling-Humphrey – Statistically speaking, she may have had a slowish start, but her impact in the first quarter was in restricting Sophie Garbin to just four goals. That dominance would become absolute in quarter two as Garbin failed to score at all, and Sterling-Humphrey started racking up the gains. She finished with 9 in all, including 5 rebounds.
Sophie Casey – Normally a safe player when coming off the bench, on this occasion, she gave up 3 turnovers in her 36 minutes on court, but made up for it with 2 intercepts and a pickup.
Tayla Williams – She had 3 turnovers in just 22 minutes, but it mattered little as the game was basically over as a contest when she hit the court.
Kayla Graham – She had to wait until the final 5 minutes to get on and by this stage, her performance was immaterial. She had just two unsuccessful super shot attempts.
Latty Wilson and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey celebrate. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
Latty Wilson picked up MVP honours in the grand final. Image: Shaun Sharp | Moments by Shaun
Vixens
Sophie Garbin – This was the fourth match between these two teams this year. In round 6, she had a solid game, in what was a Vixens win. In the three clashes since, she has been found wanting each time. She currently doesn’t have an answer for the relentless defence of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, and in this game, she could only manage four goals to half time. She finished with 16, but the damage was done.
Kiera Austin – With Garbin being shut out of the game, Austin took up more of the shooting load in the first half. However, under the non-stop pressure of her opposition, she repeatedly made poor decisions, being intercepted three times, and giving up nine general play turnovers. Even her renowned 2-point shooting was off, with just 1/5 in the second half.
Zara Walters – Played a great game in the preliminary final, but this was a different level. Looked hesitant and failed to find a way through the formidable Thunderbirds defence, repeatedly having to go back to the transverse line. Had just two assists in 25 minutes at wing attack and centre.
Kate Moloney – Try as she might, Vixens’ captain courageous couldn’t lift her side against this incredible opposition. She was solid for most of the game, but found it difficult with a misfiring attack end. She just didn’t have the support from those around her.
Kate Eddy – Eddy was one of the best in a losing team. She was strong defensively, finishing with 2 gains, 2 deflections, and 3 pickups in 45 minutes. She also had the most second phase receives in the Vixens team, and did this without giving up a turnover.
Jo Weston – She began the game strongly, creating some confusion in the Thunderbirds attack. She finished the game with 4 gains, 3 deflections, and 2 rebounds. However, she was also guilty of some poor options with ball in hand, resulting in 3 turnovers.
Rudi Ellis – She simply had no answer to Elmeré van der Berg in this game. During her 41 minutes on court, she came up with just one deflection for a gain. Most of the remainder of her time was spent out of play, being penalised 20 times.
Hannah Mundy – She replaced Walters at wing attack, and found the going just as difficult. She had 3 passes intercepted and finished with just 5 assists in 42 minutes. On the plus side, she did have 18 centre pass receives and 3 pickups.
Emily Mannix – She replaced Ellis for periods during the match and like Ellis, she was also completely ineffective against Elmeré van der Berg. She played for 20 minutes and had just one positive stat.
Lily Graham – Unfortunately, Graham only seems to enter the game when things aren’t going well, or to look for super shots. And that was certainly the case here. But she had an unhappy night, shooting at just 42% and seeing the Thunderbirds defence repeatedly pick up the scraps.
Lilly Graham sunk 1/5 Super Shots. Image: Aliesha Vicars
STAT CHAT
Are the 2026 Thunderbirds the best SSN team ever?
The answer to this question seems obvious really. Over the course of this season, Thunderbirds have won 15 of a possible 16 matches. That is the best record of any SSN winner. In their only loss against Vixens in round 6, they actually led at three-quarter time, before a horror start to the final quarter saw them come undone. But they have been ruthless ever since.
Since the arrival of firstly Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, then Latanya Wilson, the Thunderbirds have consistently been a strong defensive team. But it’s only in the past four seasons that they’ve had an attack that could capitalise on the ball won by their defence. This year, the addition of Kate Heffernan and Elmeré van der Berg has taken them to a whole new level.
This season, Thunderbirds became the first team in 10 years of Super Netball to be rated number one in both attack and defence. They finished the regular season with a percentage of 126.7%, again, that is the highest ever in SSN. They were the number one team for centre pass to goal, gain to goal, and turnover to goal.
After losing that round 6 match against Vixens, their next three clashes against them have all been eerily similar in terms of Thunderbirds’ ruthless dominance (61-42, 58-44, 61-40). That score of 40 in the grand final is Vixens’ lowest ever in SSN, and the margin of 21 is the biggest in a Super Netball grand final.
Cathy Fellows may have masterminded the defence, but looks pretty engrossed elsewhere post match. Image: Shaun Sharp/Moments by Shaun
Who has the best overall record in SSN?
This is somewhat of a trick question perhaps. Thunderbirds have now won three premierships, so surely that makes them the most successful? Well yes, in terms of titles, they are, but what about the overall record of all teams during the 10 seasons – who has won the most matches? So here is the final tally of every team after 600 matches of Suncorp Super Netball…
Vixens – Played 159, Won 98 (61.6%), Lost 58, Drawn 3
Fever – Played 157, Won 94 (59.9%), Lost 59, Drawn 4
Lightning – Played 151, Won 82 (54.3%), Lost 66, Drawn 2
Swifts – Played 151, Won 76 (50.3%), Lost 68, Drawn 5
Giants – Played 150, Won 67 (44.7%), Lost 79, Drawn 4
Thunderbirds – Played 147, Won 66 (44.9%), Lost 78, Drawn 3
Firebirds – Played 141, Won 48 (34.0%), Lost 89, Drawn 4
Magpies – Played 101, Won 36 (35.6%), Lost 62, Drawn 3
Mavericks – Played 43, Won 19 (44.2%), Lost 24, Drawn 0
The bench celebrating moments before the final whistle. Image: Shaun Sharp | Moments by Shaun
Winning Streaks!
The win in the grand final was Thunderbirds 10th win in a row. After losing to Vixens in round 6, they haven’t lost since. Incredibly, teams being on long winning streaks has actually been a continuous feature of SSN over the past 2 1/2 seasons, and it started with the Thunderbirds.
In round 9, 2024, Thunderbirds’ win was the first of what would be 10 in a row, including the 2024 grand final. It was Swifts who put an end to that streak in round 3, 2025 and they continued on winning. Swifts’ streak then ended at 9 wins when Fever defeated them in round 9, 2025. That win was part of a 13-game winning streak for Fever. That streak ended when Vixens defeated Fever in the 2025 grand final! And yes, Vixens continued on into 2026, making it to round 10 before suffering a defeat against Lightning. That ended the Vixens’ winning streak at 12! And now we have Thunderbirds on a winning run of 10. How far can they go?
Possession changes
Statistically speaking, “Possession Changes” are the total turnovers against a team during a match. They are a team’s general play turnovers PLUS their missed goal turnovers. And how about this for a crazy stat… in the 10 years of SSN, on 302 occasions, one team has had at least 5 less possession changes than their opposition. And that has resulted in 302 wins. That’s right. Over 10 seasons, every single team with at least 5 less possession changes has won the match. And it was the case again in the grand final. Thunderbirds finished with 26 possession changes to Vixens’ 38.
2026 FINISHING POSITIONS
1 . THUNDERBIRDS
2 . Vixens
3 . Fever
4 . Mavericks
–
5 . Swifts
6 . Lightning
7 . Firebirds
8 . Giants
The looks on the Vixens’ bench say it all. Image: Aliesha Vicars