Three things we learned : Grand Final

By Matt Fotia 

For the second season in a row the Suncorp Super Netball league has been Thunderstruck. 

The Adelaide Thunderbirds overcame some early jitters and a deadly accurate Kiera Austin to make it back-to-back premierships in front of a packed-out Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday night. 

Here’s three things we learned from a pulsating Grand Final. 

ONE POINT POWER 

Almost every Grand Final preview highlighted the importance of the super shot for the Melbourne Vixens.  

An in-form Kiera Austin was touted as a trump card for the underdogs. If she was on song from two-point range the Vixens could pull off an upset and send a lot of Thunderbirds fans home with their tails between their legs. 

Austin held up her end of the bargain, draining 7 super shots from 7 attempts, but the strength of the Thunderbirds one-point game proved too much. 

Incredibly the champions won the match without attempting a single two pointer.  

Even when the Vixens pulled away in the first quarter, Obst’s crew stayed true to their superior one-point processes and finished the game with medals around their necks. 

The 2024 champions have all but ignored the two-point shots all season, attempting just 71 (69 less than the next lowest) and were successful just 35 times (the Fever were next lowest with 69). 

The super shot has undeniably been a good thing, building tension and fast-tracking comebacks, but the Thunderbirds have shown all season that there’s still plenty of power left in one-point prowess. 

HEROIC HANNAH 

Thunderbirds captain Hannah Petty plays a different role to her fellow SSN captains. 

She’s not the biggest personality in her team.  

She’s not the team’s biggest star.  

More often than not she’s not in the starting seven. 

But like all good captains, when the ship needs steadying, she’s the first to grab the wheel. 

Ten minutes into the first quarter and things weren’t going to plan for the Thunderbirds, trailing the Vixens 13-7 they were making a number of uncharacteristic errors and looked nervous. 

Enter Hannah Petty.  

Thrust into centre Petty provided a calming influence on court and led the charge as her side slowly chipped away at the Vixens lead. 

Before Saturday’s decider Petty had played just 376 minutes for the season, an average of 25 minutes per game. 

On Saturday night she played 49 minutes, had 25 feeds, 12 assists, 4 deflections and 75 Nissan Net Points in one of the truest ‘captain’s performances’ in recent history. 

THUNDERBIRDS JUST GETTING STARTED 

Winning a premiership is an enormous effort. 

Winning two in a row is even more incredible and is often a sign that a group has reached their summit, with individual players all hitting their peak at the same time to culminate in a ruthless winning machine which will begin to slowly fall back to the pack in years to come. 

But this Thunderbirds group is just getting started. 

Yes, Grand Final MVP Romelda Aiken-George and Laura Scherian are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. 

But the likes of Lucy Austin (22), Lauren Frew (22), Georgie Horjus (22), Latanya Wilson (23) and Tayla Williams (24) are nowhere near their best. 

Skipper Hannah Petty is just 27, Matilda Garrett 26 and star Shamera Sterling-Humphrey is only 28. 

This group has shown they are hungry for success, and if they stay hungry, we could be set for a Thunderbirds dynasty.