2021 Suncorp Super Netball season

The 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season will be the fifth season of the premier netball league in Australia. The season will commence on 1 May and conclude on 29 August.[1] The defending premiers are the Melbourne Vixens.[2]

2021 Suncorp Super Netball season
LeagueSuncorp Super Netball
SportNetball
Duration1 May – 29 August
Number of teams8
TV partner(s)Nine Network
Regular season
Finals

Overview

Teams
Team Captain/s Coach Home Courts Ref.
Adelaide Thunderbirds TBC Tania Obst Priceline Stadium
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Collingwood Magpies Geva Mentor Nicole Richardson Melbourne Arena
Silverdome
Giants Netball Jo Harten Julie Fitzgerald Ken Rosewall Arena
AIS Arena
Melbourne Vixens Kate Moloney & Liz Watson Simone McKinnis Melbourne Arena
Margaret Court Arena
New South Wales Swifts Maddy Proud Briony Akle Ken Rosewall Arena
Queensland Firebirds Gabi Simpson Megan Anderson Nissan Arena
Sunshine Coast Lightning TBC Kylee Byrne USC Stadium
West Coast Fever Courtney Bruce Stacey Marinkovich RAC Arena

Format

The season is played over fourteen rounds, allowing every team to play each other twice, once at home and once away. The top four teams on the ladder at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the finals series. In the first week of the finals series, the 1st ranked team hosts the 2nd ranked team in the major semi-final (with the winner of that match to qualify for the Grand Final) and the 3rd ranked team hosts the 4th ranked team in the minor semi-final (with the loser of that match eliminated). The loser of the major semi-final then hosts the winner of the minor semi-final in the preliminary final. The winner of the major semi-final then hosts the winner of the preliminary final in the Grand Final.

Rules

The league has confirmed that the two-goal super shot system, which allowed a goal shooter or attacker to score two goals for a shot successfully made in the designated area inside the circle during the last five minutes of each quarter, will remain for the 2021 season.[3] The league has also retained the rolling substitutions that were introduced the previous season.[3] The decision to retain the super shot was met with disapproval from many fans and players, with Australian Netball Players’ Association CEO Kathryn Harby-Williams saying a player survey indicated 60 per cent were opposed to the super shot.[4]

West Coast Fever salary cap breach

The West Coast Fever will commence the season on negative-12 premiership points after a Netball Australia investigation discovered the club had paid players more than $120,000 above the salary cap in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The Fever were also fined $300,000 ($150,000 of which is suspended), making the penalties the harshest in Australian netball history.[5]

Player signings

Important dates in relation to player signings for the 2021 season are:[6]

  • 13 July – 18 October 2020: Clubs had the exclusive right to re-sign any of their existing contracted players, permanent or temporary replacement players or training partners from the Australian Netball League (ANL) on a single year contract for the 2021 season
  • 19 October – 16 November 2020: Teams can officially sign any free agents as one of their contracted players on a one-year contract for the 2021 season
  • 16 November – 31 November 2020: Teams can commence signing training partners for the 2021 season.

All player contracts were required to expire at the end of the 2021 season in accordance with the provisions of an agreement struck between Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players’ Association during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

The following table is a list of players who moved clubs/leagues into Super Netball, or were elevated to a permanent position in the senior team during the off-season. It does not include players who were re-signed by their original Super Netball clubs.

Name Moving from Moving to Ref
Kim Ravaillion Collingwood Magpies (returned from maternity leave) Queensland Firebirds [7]
Georgie Horjus Southern Force (training partner) Adelaide Thunderbirds [8]
Kalifa McCollin Southern Steel Collingwood Magpies [9]
Sophie Dwyer Giants Netball (training partner) Giants Netball [10]
Tayla Fraser New South Wales Swifts (training partner) New South Wales Swifts [11]
Sunday Aryang West Coast Fever (training partner) West Coast Fever [12]
Emma Cosh West Coast Fever (training partner) West Coast Fever [12]
Sasha Glasgow Adelaide Thunderbirds West Coast Fever [13]
Kate Shimmin Adelaide Thunderbirds Sunshine Coast Lightning [14]
Ashlee Unie Sunshine Coast Lightning (training partner) Sunshine Coast Lightning [15]
Mahalia Cassidy Queensland Firebirds Sunshine Coast Lightning [16]
Matilda Garrett Collingwood Magpies Adelaide Thunderbirds [17]
Elle McDonald Melbourne Vixens (training partner) Adelaide Thunderbirds [17]
Jacqui Newton Melbourne Vixens (training partner) Collingwood Magpies [18]

References
  1. "2021 season set for May 1 start date". Super Netball.
  2. "Melbourne Vixens beat West Coast Fever 66-64 in Super Netball Grand Final". Wide World of Sports. 18 October 2020.
  3. "Super Netball players against return of super shot in 2021". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 October 2020.
  4. "Netball: Move to keep controversial super shot in 2021 met with immediate anger from fans". News.com.au. 22 October 2020.
  5. "West Coast Fever fined, stripped of premiership points after salary cap breach". ABC News. 13 December 2020.
  6. "Player signing period confirmed". Super Netball. 13 October 2020.
  7. "Firebirds 2021 roster takes shape". Super Netball. 14 October 2020.
  8. "South Australian rising star signs with the Thunderbirds". Super Netball. 14 October 2020.
  9. "Magpies confirm 2021 shooting circle". Super Netball. 19 October 2020.
  10. "Training partner to squad member, Dwyer ready to fire". Super Netball. 22 October 2020.
  11. "Energising pair Moore and Fraser re-sign with Swifts". Super Netball. 22 October 2020.
  12. "Fever 2021 squad taking shape". Super Netball. 22 October 2020.
  13. "Glasgow makes the move to the West". Super Netball. 25 October 2020.
  14. "Shimmin signs with Sunshine Coast". Super Netball. 28 October 2020.
  15. "ASHLEE UNIE ELEVATED TO LIGHTNING 2021 SQUAD". Sunshine Coast Lightning. 29 October 2020.
  16. Sunshine Coast Lightning. 31 October 2020 https://sunshinecoastlightning.com.au/mahalia-cassidy-to-don-lightning-colours-in-2021/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. "Garrett and McDonald join Thunderbirds for 2021". Adelaide Thunderbirds. 2 November 2020.
  18. Collingwood Magpies Netball. 2 November 2020 https://collingwoodmagpies.com.au/news/collingwood-magpies-ssn/collingwood-secure-promising-victorian-talent. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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