With exactly 100 days until Round 1 of the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball season, the powers that be have given us an early Christmas present: the full 2022 fixture.
So, let’s break it down, and where better place to start than Round 1?
Adelaide Thunderbirds vs Collingwood Magpies
Netball SA Stadium – Saturday March 26th, 4.30pm (local time)
Two teams with plenty to prove get the opportunity to open the season at Netball SA Stadium in Adelaide.
And note that new time slot; 4.30pm local time. After years of racing from Saturday netball to an early afternoon Super Netball game, things are changing in 2022. No more picking between playing and watching because Saturdays are for netball.
The big storyline coming into this one is how these two teams will deploy their offseason shooting acquisitions.
Tippah Dwan was a sensation in the 2020 season for the Firebirds but took a backseat when Gretel Bueta returned to the lineup in 2021. How will she slot into a shooting circle that already has Lenize Potgieter and Georgie Horjus running around?
And Sophie Garbin showed flashes of the player she could be given the opportunity during her time at the Swifts and should get the chance to shine alongside Shimona Nelson in this Magpies attack.
The Magpies haven’t played finals netball since 2019 and the Thunderbirds have never finished in the top four in the Super Netball era, so early wins will be critical in setting up these teams for success in 2022.
NSW Swifts vs GIANTS Netball
Ken Rosewall Arena – Saturday March 26th, 7pm (local time)
A prime-time grand final rematch derby between two teams who played most of their matches in 2021 away from home, played at the league’s newest stadium. What more could you want on a Saturday night in March?
The NSW Derby is always a massive event, with both sides always bringing their A-game to the match-up.
The Swifts lead the series all-time with six wins and four losses, as well as a wild draw in the final regular season match of the 2020 season for the Swifts and GIANTS.
For the second time in three years, the Swifts will come into the season with a target on their back and the GIANTS will be keen to be the first team to knock off the reigning champs. But this is a rock-solid NSW outfit who have proven they play best when the pressure is on.
GIANTS defender Lauren Moore will be itching to shutdown her former Swifts teammates in her first game in orange and all eyes will be on Rising Star award winner Sophie Dwyer and how she performs in her sophomore season for the GIANTS.
Fun fact: out of the five grand final rematches we’ve had (if you count the 2017 Swifts vs Firebirds game, which we will here), the reigning premiers have won just once. Will the trend continue in season six?
Queensland Firebirds vs Melbourne Vixens
Nissan Arena – Sunday March 27th, 1pm (local time)
A match between, perhaps, the two most disappointing teams in the 2021 season, the Firebirds vs the Vixens in Brisbane has no shortage of juicy storylines.
The Firebirds were the trendy dark-horse pick to win it all last year, but struggled to find any consistency despite the majority of the season being played in their home state.
And the Vixens became the first team in professional Australian netball to go from grand final winners to wooden spooners, managing just two wins in defence of their 2020 title.
But both teams will be rolling out heavily changed line-ups for this Round 1 clash.
Firstly, the Vixens will welcome back their superstar midcourter Liz Watson after the Diamonds skipper missed the entirety of the 2021 season will a foot injury. She’ll be feeding a new look shooting circle, with former GIANTS shooter Kiera Austin and elevated training partner Rahni Samason joining Mwai Kumwenda.
They’ll come up against a new-look Firebirds defensive end who welcome in England Roses defender Eboni Usoro-Brown and elevated training partner Ruby Bakewell-Doran to replace the outgoing Tara Hinchliffe and Rudi Ellis.
While both teams have plenty of new faces coming in, this game should be decided in the middle where the most experienced players will go head-to-head. Gabi Simpson on Liz Watson, Kim Ravaillion on Kate Moloney and Lara Dunkley or Jemma Mi Mi on Kate Eddy. Some tantalising match ups there.
West Coast Fever vs Sunshine Coast Lightning
RAC Arena – Sunday March 27th, 1pm (local time)
The other two teams who finished in the top four in 2021 round out a massive opening weekend of netball, and it should be a beauty in Perth.
These two met in the Minor Semi-final, where the West Coast Fever were able to hold the Sunshine Coast Lightning at arm’s length for much of the match before moving on to Preliminary Final weekend thanks to an eight-point win.
But it will be a very different looking Lightning that takes to the court in March than the team that bowed out in the opening round of the finals, particularly in defence where both Karla Pretorius and Phumza Maweni will be missing.
The task of replacing two of the best defenders in the competition will fall to Kate Shimmin and new recruits Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Tara Hinchliffe. And the group will be tested right away, coming up against the highest scoring team of the 2021 season.
Jhaniele Fowler will be gunning for her fifth straight Suncorp Super Netball Player of the Year award while Fever captain Courtney Bruce will be keen to hit the court for the first time as the Liz Ellis Diamond. If those two can go close to their 2021 form, this Fever side will be formidable.
Can new West Coast head coach Dan Ryan hit the ground running in Perth? Or will Kylee Byrne and this new-look Lightning crew rebound from a disappointing end to last season with a huge win on the road?
