Round One of Super Netball has officially drawn to a close providing fans with a little bit of everything.
From new combinations proving dangerous at the Lightning and Fever, to a new rivalry born in Melbourne with the Mavericks and Vixens facing off in the Mavs first game in the competition.
One of the most pleasing things to see across the round was the return of players who missed last season through injuries. On Sunday evening it was Tara Hinchliffe and Reilley Batcheldor who both returned from ACLs alongside Swifts goaler Sam Wallace-Joseph. While on Saturday Firebirds captain Kim Ravaillion returned from spinal surgery to take the court in her 150th Super game.
ESPN takes a look at the four biggest talking points from the opening round.
Nine months ago the Melbourne Mavericks were unnamed and referred to as SEN or the 8th team, before they were officially unveiled as the Mavericks with alongside new coachesTracey Neville and Shae Bolton-Brown. Then in December came the players headlined by Eleanor Cardwell, Amy Parmenter and Sasha Glasgow.
Now, the Mavericks have taken flight at John Cain Arena in the first Melbourne derby between the two clubs. It wasn't the result the Mavericks would have envisioned going down to the Vixens by seven-goals but after a long wait, the club is playing on the big stage.
The Mavericks donned new dresses covered with the names of the club's trailblazer members who had signed up with the team last year when there were no players, just a vision to bring a unique brand of netball to the competition.
"It's just such an awesome piece to have and remember that eight months ago, the Melbourne Mavericks wasn't even a thought," Mavericks defender Olivia Lewis said post-match. "So to come all this way and reflect on that and to be able to have these names on our dress, it will always be a reminder of the support from the get-go."
After a long preseason, with excitement and expectations building, the Mavericks have finally arrived.
"[It was] good to just get out on court as a Maverick, I think that's the biggest takeaway. John Cain was absolutely pumping which was just fantastic to have so many Mavs fans in the stands it was just a lot of fun to get out there."
CLINICAL FEVER
The West Coast Fever started their 2024 campaign in ripping form, coming away with a monster 19-goal win against the Giants. The Fever were clinical for all of the game, winning all four quarters, but it was a stunning first half that saw the side record just one turnover in the opening 30-minutes.
"A great start to the season and probably surprised ourselves with how clinical we were across all four quarters," Fever coach Dan Ryan told media post-match.
"Full credit to these girls, they've been working incredibly hard across the preseason both on and off the court and to produce a performance like that to kick start our season, [I'm] incredibly proud of the team and excited for our next match."
The recruits the Fever brought in over the off-season proved to be key additions in the side's big win. Shanice Beckford and Kelsey Browne slotted seamlessly into the Fever attack, injecting speed in attack that the Giants struggled to keep up with at times. Ryan was pleased with the Fever attack end, in particular Beckford who put out a strong debut performance.
"Shanice tonight was absolutely amazing that was a whole new version of Shanice from what we're seeing across preseason, it's just champion like quality that she has. Come the big moments she was ready to go, and she reassured us at the start of the game that I've got this and so pleased that that was her debut performance because she was absolutely killer for us."
The Fever also did an exceptional job of shutting down sharpshooter Sophie Dwyer who sat at just 60 percent accuracy from Super shot zone and 76 percent in regular time. This was a credit to the Fever defence end especially Sunday Aryang who was able to wear down the Giants goal attack, finishing the match with four deflections and two rebounds.
"I think it was just getting over her [Sophie Dwyer] shot early and not letting her get into a rhythm and I think by Sunday, Fran [Williams] and Kadie-Ann [Dehaney] all did really well at that," new Fever captain Jess Anstiss said.
"Just as a defensive unit, we were really trying to just be on their body the whole time and really wear them down both with our attacking as well and really making sure that I had to work hard there, so once I had to shoot that there are all sorts of pressure."
SHAMERA'S MASTERCLASS
There is no better defender in the competition at the moment than Adelaide Thunderbirds defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and the match against the Firebirds proved that.
Coming up against a prominent goaler in Donnell Wallam is no easy task but Sterling-Humphrey was up for the challenge, able to mop up any loose ball that went her way as well as cutting off any high feeds into Wallam.
When the game was on the line, Sterling-Humphrey was the one who stepped up. Able to swoop in and gain possession to get the Thunderbirds campaign for back-to-back premierships to a good start.
Sterling-Humphrey finished the match with six intercepts, eight deflections and two rebounds with three of those intercepts and two of the deflections coming in the final quarter, proving once again that she is a big game player and will look to continue that form into the Thunderbirds' round two clash against the Melbourne Vixens where she'll come head to head with Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin.
NO WESTON, NO MUNDY, NO PROBLEMS FOR VIXENS
The Vixens went into Sunday's game against the Mavericks with two of their starting seven players Jo Weston and Hannah Mundy on the sidelines due to injury. It opened the door for Zara Walters and Rudi Ellis to step up in the midcourt and defensive end respectively which was an opportunity they took with both hands.
Making her Super Netball debut, Walters looked like she had been playing at that level for years, slotting into the midcourt with ease recording 26 goal assists, 40 feeds and one intercept.
"I'm just so proud of Zara," Vixens captain Kate Moloney said of the 20-year-old. "She's worked so hard in this whole offseason and to be able to come out and not just come out but to play four quarters, [she did] such a great job."
While Ellis built into the game and when the Mavericks looked to be coming back she was able to apply the defensive pressure and come away with defensive wins for the Vixens. Ellis finished the game with three rebounds and five deflections in her Vixens debut.
