By Stephanie Smarrelli
We’ve been counting down the league’s best players throughout 2023. If you missed part one and two you can catch up here for 15 through to 11 and here for 10 through to six.
The Suncorp Super Netball league has a wealth of talent and arguments can be made for several players who have missed out on this list or ‘should’ve been higher’ but here’s our top five.
5. Eleanor Cardwell
The premiership player and Visit Victoria Grand Final Most Valuable Player Eleanor Cardwell rounds out our top five players of 2023.
Cardwell slotted 61 Super Shots and 488 goals throughout the season.
The shooter’s best game came in the grand final with Cardwell shooting at 92 per cent accuracy and slotting crucial Super Shots with five throughout the match.
4. Jamie-Lee Price
Jamie-Lee Price finished the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball home-and-away season as the midcourter with the highest number of Nissan Net Points with 1296.
The midcourter was a strong presence in both attack and defence for the GIANTS throughout 2023.
Jamie-Lee Price was instrumental to the GIANTS midcourt.Price amassed 455 feeds during the season as well as 23 intercepts and 24 deflections.
Her best match against the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Round 4.
Price’s defensive pressure through the midcourt was throttling putting pressure on the Thunderbirds with two gains, two intercepts and three deflections. While in attack Price was instrumental with 35 feeds to her name.
3. Courtney Bruce
Courtney Bruce did everything she could to try and drag the Fever through to a grand final in this year’s preliminary final. The match a reflection of her season with the defender putting her all into every second on the court and it showed in her performances.
With 35 total intercepts for the season, Bruce is undeniably one of the league’s best defenders.
Bruce’s best match of the season was against the Firebirds in Round 10. Bruce was on her toes hunting every Firebirds pass for 12 gains and six intercepts. The Fever defender was also extremely disciplined throughout the match only getting called for contact and obstruction a combined 12 times, her lowest of the season across a full 60 minutes on the court.
2. Helen Housby
England Rose Helen Housby had a stellar year for the NSW Swifts, finishing with the third highest Nissan Net Points in the league with 1335.
Housby slotted 309 goals and 97 Super Shots throughout the season.
Her speed and agility in the goal third paired with her ability to switch quickly into defence made her instrumental to the Swifts lineup.
Housby's ability to slot a long-range shot kept teams on their toes throughout the season.Housby’s best performance during the season was against the Vixens in Round 11. She finished the match with 118.5 Nissan Net Points and the only blemish to her shooting accuracy two missed Super Shots.
She was second in the team for feeds with 25 and also applied defensive pressure with two gains and one intercept.
1. Shamera Sterling
Leading the league for intercepts, deflections and finishing the season with a Suncorp Super Netball Premiership medal around her neck, there’s no denying Sterling deserves her spot at the top.
The 27-year-old wears down her opponents from the start of a match until the end, working into a game and reading the opposition like no other.
Sterling was a grand final winner for the Thunderbirds when the pressure was on in the dying minutes of this year’s grand final taking a crucial intercept to prevent the Swifts from stealing her team’s thunder.
Sterling’s best outing was in Round 1 against the Queensland Firebirds. She put on a defensive masterclass with 11 gains, five intercepts, 12 deflections and a low seven obstructions and contacts combined contributing to a 158.5 Nissan Net Point haul.
