Super Netball 2024 Season Preview: Swifts, Lightning, Fever, and Firebirds

The 2024 Super Netball season is just around the corner with the season kicking off on Saturday evening.

It's set up to be one of the closest seasons yet with the Team Girls Cup proving that anyone can beat anyone at their best.

Read on as we preview the NSW Swifts, Sunshine Coast Lightning, West Coast Fever and Queensland Firebirds.

NSW SWIFTS

Captains: Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud

Coach: Briony Akle

Last Year: After a disappointing 2021, the Swifts were able to bounce back. The recruitment of Romelda Aiken-George as a temporary replacement player after the shooter was let go by the Firebirds was a stroke of genius by Briony Akle and the Swifts. It took the pressure off Helen Housby who put her hand up as arguably the best goal attack in the world, absolutely dominating in 2023. Whether it was from her domination in the Super Shot period or just her movement around the court, Housby was a real asset for the Swifts

Although it was a slow starting season as the Swifts took a while to adjust to the new look circle, going down to the Magpies in Round one and an 11-goal loss to the reigning premiers in the Fever, it soon clicked and the Swifts were incredibly hard to beat, especially in the close matches where they won four games by one point, including the preliminary final win against the Fever. The Swifts went on to win a further three games by four goals or less, one player usually stepped up for moments of brilliance whether it was Housby or Sophie Fawns with a super shot or Allie Smith's defensive rebound against the Vixens.

Despite a strong run home seeing the Swifts secure the minor premiership, they were edged out by the Adelaide Thunderbirds in both the semifinal and Grand Final, both games going into extra time. That finals series will go down as one of the greatest in Super Netball history.

Look ahead to this year: The Swifts are one of few teams that have undergone little change ahead of this season. The biggest is Sam Wallace-Joseph's return after spending two years on the sidelines with an ACL injury sustained in the opening round of 2022. Helen Housby will be looking to continue her form from last season, while Sophie Fawns rounds out the shooting circle and will be looking to back up a stunning finals campaign.

The other change is NSW product Lili Gorman-Brown who comes in after Tayla Fraser moved to the Mavericks. Gorman-Brown is no stranger to the Swifts environment having played seven games for the Swifts last season, coming in for Allie Smith who missed half the season due to a foot injury. The Swifts have one of the best mid courts in the competition and that's not going to change, with duo Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley returning to the club. Smith showed at the Team Girls Cup that she is fully capable of holding down the starting wing defence bib, able to wear down her direct opponent allowing turnovers to come the way of the Swifts defence.

Speaking of defence, it once again will remain unchanged. The combination of Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner will again be the go to defensive combination for the Swifts, while Teigan O'Shannasy comes on for impact or to take on the likes of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Donnell Wallam. Her height and ability to read the play help the Swifts try to nullify the impact of those tall star goalers.

Draw: Lightning (A), Mavericks (H), Firebirds (A), Fever (H), Vixens (H), Giants (H), Thunderbirds (A), Mavericks (A), Lightning (H), Fever (A), Vixens (A), Firebirds (H), Thunderbirds (H), Giants (A)

Biggest question for 2024: How will Sam Wallace-Joseph slot back in after a long break?

If Team Girls Cup is anything to go by it looks like an easy transition but there is always an area of concern when Wallace-Joseph has been away from the Swifts side (in an on court capacity) for two seasons. The Swifts have kept a pretty similar squad since Wallace-Joseph was out on court to start 2022 with the only changes in the attacking line being Fawns, who was named as Wallace-Joseph's replacement and Gorman-Brown.

In the scenario that it takes longer then planned to get that fluidity in attack back or Wallace-Joseph builds into the season, the alternative is a pretty strong option. The Swifts could opt for a moving circle consisting of Housby and Fawns, that combination arguably won the preliminary final for the Swifts against the Fever with both players sinking the two-point shots to keep their premiership hopes alive.

Prediction: 1st

SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING

Captain: Steph Fretwell

Coach: Belinda Reynolds

Last Year: The Lightning finished in fifth but had a few close losses gone the other way it would have been a different story. The Lightning lost five games by a margin of four goals or less, two of those were by just one goal.

It wasn't an easy first season for new head coach Belinda Reynolds who was dealt with blow after blow when it came to injuries. Reilley Batcheldor suffered an ACL injury at the Australian Netball Championships and Tara Hinchliffe did the same injury at the Team Girls Cup tournament on the Gold Coast. The Lightning brought in Charlie Bell and Shannon Eagland as replacement players while Ashleigh Ervin came in for Kate Walsh who retired in November. Unfortunately for the Lightning, Eagland suffered an ACL injury during the round seven game against West Coast Fever.

The highlight of the season would have been the Lightning's win over eventual reigning premiers in the Adelaide Thunderbirds. With finals off the table the Lightning put out one of their best performances of the season. 

Ervin was a rising star for the Lightning, proving at just the age of 20 years old that she could take it up to some of the best goalers in the competition and she's just getting started. Ervin featured in 11 games and had 10 intercepts, 19 deflections and 11 rebounds.

Look ahead to this year: The Lightning will go into the season as one of the teams to watch, having a strong signing period in which they brought in Diamonds' Courtney Bruce and Liz Watson and up and comer Leesa Mi Mi. Adding to the existing squad with the likes of Ervin, Cara Koenen, Steph Fretwell and Mahalia Cassidy. Not to mention the return of Batcheldor and Hinchliffe who both are coming off ACL injuries. Probably aside from the Thunderbirds, the defensive group of Bruce, Ervin and Hinchliffe is one of the most exciting with any combination that Reynolds puts out there able to come up with the ball.

While the return of Batcheldor means more flexibility in the front end with the young gun able to play across both goal attack and goal shooter, she'll also be a force to be reckoned with in the two point zone. Then in the middle, the potential one two punch of Mi Mi and Watson is going to be hard for teams to stop once the combination gets going, with the pair complimenting each other nicely and they can interchange between centre and wing attack. Adding the likes of Black and Cassidy into the middle, it'll give the Lightning plenty of flexibility, whether they stick with the Watson and Mi Mi combination or put either Black or Cassidy into centre.

It'll take some time for combinations to form as we saw at the Team Girls Cup the team was slow out of the blocks finishing in 5th. Once they find their groove and develop those combinations they'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Draw: Swifts (H), Fever (A), Thunderbirds (H), Mavericks (H), Giants (A), Vixens (A), Firebirds (H), Fever (H), Swifts (A), Vixens (H), Giants (H), Mavericks (A), Firebirds (A), Thunderbirds (A)

Biggest question for 2024: Can this team of champions become a champion team?

As the saying goes a champion team will always beat a team of champions. The Lightning have a squad with at least one Aussie Diamond in each third of the court and as we've seen before, teams in stocked up on Diamonds players have been unable to get off the ground, but what sets the Lightning apart is the young talent they have underneath.

To go with the Diamonds in each third of the court, they'll also have young guns coming up through the ranks who get to learn from the very best in the competition. In the goal circle you've got Batcheldor, in the middle is Mi Mi and Black while in defence is Ervin, which will not only give them a chance to learn off the likes of Bruce, Fretwell and Watson, it sets Lightning up not only for a strong 2024 but into the future as well.

Prediction: 2nd

WEST COAST FEVER

Captain: Jess Anstiss

Coach: Dan Ryan

Last Year: West Coast Fever came into 2023 with minimal changes from the side that won the club's first premiership, with just the one change seeing Kim Jenner come in for Stacey- Francis Bayman who hung up the dress. It saw many tip the team to be once again up there when it comes to the pointy end of the season instead they fell short of expectations.

The Fever started off the year with a bang in the Grand Final rematch, defeating the Melbourne Vixens by a goal but a string of close losses and a loss to Collingwood in Tasmania to round out the home and away season saw the Fever finish in 3rd place and just missing out on the double chance.

The West Coast Fever came so close to an opportunity to defend the title but fell just short going down to the Swifts in an elimination final by a goal after Sasha Glasgow was forced from the court after sustaining a head knock and the Swifts came home on fire.

Courtney Bruce (35 intercepts, 103 deflections and 39 rebounds) was rock solid in goal keeper while Jhaniele Fowler- Nembhard (872 goals) was once again a force in the goal circle. Matched with Glasgow (74 Super shots) who wasn't afraid to sink the long shots made Fever hard to catch when they were firing on all cylinders An example of this was when the Fever dominated against the Firebirds at RAC Arena, scoring a massive 97 goals and defeating the Firebirds by 34 goals. Alice Teague-Neeld was a force in the midcourt, topping the league for goal assists finishing with 388 across the season.

Look ahead to this year: New year, new Fever with the side undergoing some major changes over the off-season and with it comes an exciting opportunity to usher a new era at the Fever with Dan Ryan putting together a strong line-up. The first change was made off the court with Sara Francis- Bayman joining the team as an assistant coach after spending last season in the development space after leaving the Firebirds.

When it comes to players the Fever started off with a bang securing the services of the England Roses skipper in Fran Williams who headlines the changes in the defensive end. Joining Williams is Kadie Ann Dehaney who comes over from the Lighting and Sunday Aryang re-signed with the Fever. It's a new and exciting defensive circle, much like the Lightning, any combination that Ryan puts on court will have the potential to win plenty of ball back for the Fever. Fever have also announced on Tuesday that Ruth Aryang, the sister of Sunday will be the clubs 11th player.

Looking to the attack, once again it's headlined by Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and by the looks of the pre-season matches she'll pick up where she left off in 2023. Joining her is her Sunshine Girls teammate Shanice Beckford, who looks to be an exciting addition to the Fever this season. A speedy goal attack who isn't afraid to go for the long shots, and who is no stranger to the big stage playing a key role in Jamaica's campaigns at the World Cup and Commonwealth Games. Rounding out the goalers is former Magpies training partner Olivia Wilkinson, who like Beckford, has the ability to shoot from distance and has put her best foot forward in her first pre-season as a contracted player. Expect both Beckford and Wilkinson to rotate the goal attack bib through the season, similar to the Glasgow/Teague-Neeld set up in 2021.

In the midcourt, Fever stars Jess Anstiss and Teague-Neeld return with Jordan Cransberg being elevated. Rounding out the midcourt is former Magpie Kelsey Browne who looks to be transitioning into more of a centre role in 2024, after predominantly playing wing attack at Collingwood. With the midcourt combination of Browne and Teague-Neeld looking promising with both players not afraid to let the ball go into Fowler-Nembhard.

As there has been a lot of change, it'll take a bit of time to combinations to form but the Fever showed promising signs at Team Girls Cup, although unable to crack the top four. As they refine those combinations and start to put together consistent performances, their best will stack up against anyone.

Draw: Giants (A), Lightning (H), Mavericks (A), Swifts (H), Firebirds (H), Thunderbirds (H), Vixens (H), Lightning (A), Thunderbirds (A), Swifts (H), Firebirds (A), Vixens (A), Mavericks (H)

Biggest question for 2024: Can the Fever ditch the close game voodoo?

The one thing that saw the Fever come unstuck last season was the close losses. The Fever only won three games by two goals or less for the season. They came against the Vixens, Giants and Firebirds at Nissan Arena. Fever then went on to lose five games by just a single goal, one of which being the preliminary final to the Swifts

With a new look team, it'll be one of the first things on Dan Ryan's whiteboard to fix up come season proper. The issue popped up again in Team Girls Cup, losing to the Firebirds by a goal and the Mavericks game ending in a tie with the quarters only being 10 minutes instead of the 15 minute quarters we see during the regular season, it'll still be something that will be a focus at training when it comes to those types of scenarios.

Prediction: 4th

QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS

Captain: Kim Ravaillion

Coach: Bec Bulley

Last Year: It was a trial by fire for first-year coach Bec Bulley, with the Firebirds starting on the back foot in 2023 after losing assistant coach Sara Francis-Bayman on the eve of the season.

It took a while for the Firebirds to get on the board for the season after showing glimpses in patches but they would often fade out of matches, both games against the Thunderbirds is a great example.

The Firebirds went into half time of the round one game leading by a goal but ended up going down by 15 goals. When the teams faced off again in Round nine, the Firebirds stuck with the eventual premiers for a quarter and a half, before the Thunderbirds went on a run winning the game by 17 goals with the Firebirds only scoring 9 goals in the final quarter, two of which came through the two point shot.

The club came close to a win against the reigning premiers in what was Gabi Simpson's 150th match going down by two goals with Donnell Wallam putting on a masterclass in the goal circle. Before the winless streak finally broke against the Giants in round six by four goals. The club went on to win three more games for the season, defeating Collingwood, Vixens and the Giants.

Look ahead to this year: The Firebirds have made three changes over the off-season with Simpson, Mia Stower and Ash Unie departing the club after not being offered contracts for 2024. Coming in is Tippah Dwan who returns to the purple and training partners Hulita Veve and Isabelle Shearer while NSW goaler Ali Miller has been named the clubs 11th player.

Dwan will bolster the Firebirds shooting line, pairing with Wallam which proves to be an exciting combination with the pair still developing the combination. Dwan will look to dominate the super shot period while taking the pressure off Wallam in the goal circle. Rounding out the goal circle is Emily Moore who'll look to build off her first season at Super Netball level and looks to be growing in confidence at the top level.

The Firebirds midcourt is a versatile one, with all three players able to play at least two of the three midcourt positions with Macy Gardner able to play all three, so it'll be interesting to see what is Bulley's preferred mix come season proper with captain Kim Ravaillion declared ready to go for Round one, in what will be her 150th game. Lara Dunkley has been spending more time at centre across the pre-season due to the injury to Ravaillion but expect the likes of Veve and Gardner to roll in the centre across the season, with Veve unafraid to let the ball go into Wallam while Gardner matches up nicely on the likes of Jamie-Lee Price in centre.

In defence the combination of Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Remi Kamo will look to grow across Kamo's second season at Super Netball level. Up and comer Isabelle Shearer looks to be playing more of an impact role and has proven at Team Girls Cup that she'll be out to wreak havoc on opposition attack end.

Draw: Thunderbirds (A), Giants (H), Swifts (H), Vixens (A), Fever (A), Mavericks (H), Lightning (A), Thunderbirds (H), Giants (A), Mavericks (A), Fever (H), Swifts (A), Lightning (H), Vixens (H)

Biggest question for 2024: Can the Firebirds keep up for 60 minutes?

The Firebirds were the big improvers at Team Girls Cup, coming fourth overall after winning two out of the three pool games. Although the Team Girls Cup games were 40 minutes long and the Firebirds have seemed to struggle in the pre-season matches that have been the full 15 minute quarters.

When playing the Thunderbirds in March the Firebirds kept with the same seven for the game and while it was a tie at three quarter time they eventually went down by nine goals. The game against the Lightning had plenty of changes all over the court but it was the same story. Having kept up with one of the premiership favourites for the first quarter and the start of the second, the Firebirds started to fall away as the game went on with the final score seeing the team go down by 28 goals, which isn't what you want to be seeing with the season just about here.

Prediction: 7th