By Paddy Regester
It’s finally here! The 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season is finally here.
Round 1 is serving up the first two matches in Melbourne in over 600 days, not to mention a Grand Final rematch to raise the curtain on the season. We’ll welcome back two of the biggest names in Australian netball in the Sunday early game and then close out the round with a ripper in Adelaide.
Let’s breakdown the first weekend of the season, make a few predictions, throw a few things out there and just get fired up that national league netball is back in Australia.
Melbourne Vixens vs West Coast Fever – Saturday, 3pm AEST, John Cain Arena, Melbourne - Tickets
What better way to start the season than with a Grand Final rematch? And it should be beauty, for several reasons.
The last time the Vixens played an SSN match in-front of a home crowd in Melbourne was the 2019 semi-final against the Magpies at the State Netball and Hockey Centre… 608 days ago! Expect John Cain Arena to be jumping and emotions to be high.
On the court, this one is shaping up to be a really intriguing match-up.
A lot has been said about the new-look Vixens line-up, who’ll be missing Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip through retirement and Liz Watson, who’ll miss the season through injury.
The biggest question mark for the Vixens will be that attack end. Thwaites and Philip are obviously big losses and having Watson at WA can make any shooter look like a million bucks. Can new faces Kaylia Stanton and Ruby Barkmeyer come in and help Mwai Kumwenda put up match winning totals? And can Watson’s replacement supply them with enough good ball? It looks like elevated training partner Hannah Mundy will get the first crack at that monumental challenge.
Even more has been said about the Fever’s less than ideal off-season. As we all know, they’ll start with negative 12 premiership points because of the salary cap breach, which is a really big deal.
How the Fever players use that figurative 8-ball mentally will dictate what kind of season the team has. If they can get out of the negatives as quickly as possible, they will be absolutely flying! If they dwell in the negatives too long, 2021 could quickly become a write-off.
The matchup to watch in this one has to be the team’s biggest strengths facing off; the Fever’s high-powered attack end vs the Vixens imposing defence.
Reigning MVP Jhaniele Fowler is going to get hers for West Coast, but the game will hinge on how her shooting sidekick, whether it be Alice Teague-Neeld or new recruit Sasha Glasgow, goes. If Jo Weston and Emily Mannix can shut down the GA production, we could see a repeat of the 2020 Grand Final.
Collingwood Magpies vs Sunshine Coast Lightning – Saturday, 7pm AEST, John Cain Arena, Melbourne - Tickets
Injuries, one win, an 11-game losing streak, more injuries, head coach sacked and a wooden spoon. 2020 was a season to forget for the mighty Magpies.
So, it’s crucial that they get off to a good start in 2021, which begins on Saturday night against the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Melbourne.
A Collingwood win would mark the first time since Round 1 of the 2019 season that they have knocked off the Lightning, who come into the new season with more questions than answers.
Laura Langman, the team’s Captain and superstar since their inaugural season, has retired and a disappointing second half of 2020 that saw them lose five of their last eight matches has pundits wondering whether this is the beginning of the end of the dominant Sunshine Coast Lightning days.
I wont start drafting the eulogy just yet, not when there is so much talent here. New Captain Karla Pretorius is as good as it gets at GD and her defensive partner Phumza Maweni ain’t no slouch either. Mahalia Cassidy joins one of the most established midcourts in the comp, with Laura Scherian at WA and Maddy McAullife at WD. And Steph Wood and Cara Koenen will trouble most defensive setups in the league.
Well… maybe all but this Magpies defensive setup.
Led by Captain Geva Mentor, fresh off her GK of the year nod, Collingwood’s defensive game is elite and kept them in games that they had no right to be in last year. Jodi-Ann Ward proved she is an elite GD in her first season in the SSN and the WD play of Mel Bragg was one of the biggest surprises for the team last year.
The major issue for the Magpies in 2020 was scoring. They scored just one more point than the lowest scoring team, so Shimona Nelson, Gabby Sinclair and new recruit Kalifa McCollin need to hold up their end of the bargain.
Service won’t be an excuse this year, with gun mids Kelsey Browne and Ash Brazill both ready to return after knee injuries.
And that’s where the key matchup in this one is for me. Can pocket rocket Kelsey Browne be the spark the Magpies need and can she breakdown Maddy McAullife and the experienced Lightning defence?
Queensland Firebirds vs NSW Swifts – Sunday, 1pm AEST, Nissan Arena, Brisbane - Tickets
One of the trendy picks for premiers coming into the season is the Queensland Firebirds, and rightfully so!
They finished 2020 hot, winning five of their last seven games, and they welcome back 2019 Liz Ellis Diamond winner Gretel Bueta and Firebirds royalty Kim Ravaillion to an already impressive young roster.
But we’re about to find out exactly where they are when they host the Swifts on Sunday, because these Swifts are good. At least they certainly have all the talent to be good.
2020 was an odd year for the Swifts, who struggled for consistency. After starting six and one, NSW finished the season with just two wins in their last eight games, including an emotional five-point loss to the Fever in the semi-final.
But one look at this squad and you know the Swifts should be pushing for top four again. Sam Wallace and Helen Housby are potentially the best starting shooting circle going around, the defensive circle is stacked with Sarah Klau, Maddy Turner and Lauren Moore all developing into world class players and nothing needs to be said about the quality of Maddy Proud, Paige Hadley and Nat Haythornthwaite in the midcourt.
They’ll come up against a Firebirds team who seemed poised on the precipice of greatness.
New Head Coach Megan Anderson has taken the helm of a roster that has the perfect mix of young guns and stars in their prime.
Adding Bueta to a shooting circle that was unbelievable last year, with Romelda Aiken making a resurgence and Tippah Dwan exploding onto the scene, could be huge. Ravaillion should slot straight into the starting Centre position with Captain Gabi Simpson behind her and either Lara Dunkley or Jemma Mi Mi at WA. And Kim Jenner and Tara Hinchliffe are the kind of defensive pairing you can build a team around for a decade and know you’re set down back.
All eyes are going to be on that high-powered Firebirds attack going up against the Swifts solid defence. Finding the best way to get the most out of Aiken, Bueta and Dwan might be Anderson’s biggest challenge, and going up against one of the most established defensive trios in the comp is a tough way to iron out any kinks.
Adelaide Thunderbirds vs GIANTS Netball – Sunday, 3pm AEST, Netball SA Stadium, Adelaide - Tickets
After a strong pre-season, the GIANTS are coming into the 2021 season as a dark horse pick to win their first ever premiership. The hype is beginning to grow around the girls in orange.
But they’ll have to start their campaign in Adelaide against a Thunderbirds team who’ll be desperate to get their season off to a strong start after another year watching the finals from home.
A crucial game for both teams looking to build some momentum.
2020 was a rough year for the GIANTS, with drama surrounding the team on and off the court. Caitlin Bassett’s playing time was under constant scrutiny, Kristiana Manu’a became the first player in the SSN to be sent off in a game and, when it all came down to it, the team just didn’t play that well.
That seems to have changed this pre-season, where the GIANTS have won all but one game. Jo Harten and Kiera Austin are a super strong starting shooting circle and young gun Sophie Dwyer looks set to explode this year. This young midcourt, led by Jamie-Lee Price, is fast and physical and can hurt you in a lot of different ways. And this defence is solid if not flashy and has plenty of exciting depth.
All of a sudden, expectations are high for this GIANTS team.
Expectations for the Thunderbirds, on the other hand, not so high.
Scoring was a major issue for the 2020 Tbirds but fans will be hoping the Lenize Potgieter/Georgie Horjus partnership can develop into something special. They waved goodbye to arguably their best midcourter in Chelsea Pitman at the end of last season, so Hannah Petty and Maisie Nankivell are going to have to step up their offensive game through the middle.
The team’s biggest strength has to be their defence. Shamera Sterling is one of the most exciting defensive talents in the world right now and she will be joined by fellow Jamaican Latanya Wilson for 2021 at GD.
How those two handle a GIANTS attack end that can hurt you in so many ways, is absolutely to key matchup of the final match of round one.
