Suncorp Super Netball

Suncorp Super Netball (also known non-commercially as the National Netball League) is the premier professional netball league in Australia. The inaugural season commenced in February 2017.[1]

Suncorp Super Netball
Upcoming season or competition:
2020 Suncorp Super Netball season
SportNetball
Founded2016
Inaugural season2017
MottoSee What We’re Made Of
No. of teams8
CountryAustralia
Most recent
champion(s)
New South Wales Swifts
Most titlesSunshine Coast Lightning (2 titles)
TV partner(s)Nine Network
Sponsor(s)Suncorp Group
Level on pyramid1
Related
competitions
Australian Netball League
Official websitehttp://supernetball.com.au/

History

Foundation

In 2008, Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand joined forces and created a Trans-Tasman league, the ANZ Championship as a successor to the Commonwealth Bank Trophy in Australia and the National Bank Cup in New Zealand, both of which were retired after 2007. The ANZ Championship saw netball become a semi-professional sport in both countries, with increased media coverage and player salaries. The 2016 season was the last of the competition, as Netball Australia looked to create a nationally exclusive league with a significantly improved broadcasting and media deal. This instigated the creation of Suncorp Super Netball, announced in May 2016.[1][2][3] The New Zealand successor to the previous ANZ Championship is the ANZ Premiership.[4]

The new league consists of the five former Australian ANZ Championship teams; the Adelaide Thunderbirds, Melbourne Vixens, New South Wales Swifts, Queensland Firebirds and West Coast Fever, in addition to three new teams, the Collingwood Magpies, Giants Netball and Sunshine Coast Lightning.[5] Giants Netball are owned by Netball New South Wales and in a strategic partnership with the GWS Giants, and the two other new teams are owned and operated by two clubs in the popular Australian Football League and National Rugby League football codes.

Expansion teams Sunshine Coast Lightning and Giants Netball met in the Grand Final in the competition's inaugural season, the Lightning winning the match 65–48 before a crowd of 8,999 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.[6][7]

The league is run by the Suncorp Super Netball Commission, an independent commission formed in January 2019 to oversee and make all decisions relating to the league. The commission replicates the examples set by Australia's two most popular football codes, the AFL and NRL and consists of six independent commissioners and the CEO of Netball Australia.[8][9]

Ladder system

The league introduced a new ladder system for the 2018 season. In any game the winning team receives four points, with the loser receiving none. In the event of a draw, points are split. In addition to these points, the winner of each quarter is awarded a point. Drawn quarters result in no points being awarded. Thus, teams can win up to eight points in a match.[10] If two teams finish the regular season on the same number of points, their final position on the ladder is determined by the number of wins and not percentage. If teams are tied on points and number of wins are equal, then goal percentages during the home and away rounds are used to determine the rank.[11]

Teams

Team City Home Courts Colours Founded Head Coach
Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide, South Australia Priceline Stadium
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Pink, Black, White 1997 Tania Obst
Collingwood Magpies Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne Arena
Silverdome
Bendigo Stadium
Black, White 2016 Rob Wright
Giants Netball Sydney, New South Wales QuayCentre
Qudos Bank Arena
AIS Arena
Orange, Grey, Light Blue 2016 Julie Fitzgerald
Melbourne Vixens Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne Arena
Margaret Court Arena
Teal, Pink, Blue 2008 Simone McKinnis
New South Wales Swifts Sydney, New South Wales QuayCentre
Qudos Bank Arena
Red, Light Blue, White 2008 Briony Akle
Queensland Firebirds Brisbane, Queensland Nissan Arena Purple, White, Yellow 1997 Roselee Jencke
Sunshine Coast Lightning Sunshine Coast, Queensland USC Stadium
Yellow, Purple, White 2016 Kylee Byrne
West Coast Fever Perth, Western Australia RAC Arena Green, Black, White 2008 Stacey Marinkovich

Finals

Season Champions Result Runners-up Grand Final MVP
Team Coach Team Coach
2017 Sunshine Coast Lightning Noeline Taurua 65–48 Giants Netball Julie Fitzgerald Karla Pretorius (née Mostert)
2018 Sunshine Coast Lightning Noeline Taurua 62–59 West Coast Fever Stacey Marinkovich Caitlin Bassett
2019 New South Wales Swifts Briony Akle 64–47 Sunshine Coast Lightning Noeline Taurua Samantha Wallace

Awards

A total of six major awards are issued at the conclusion of each Super Netball season. These awards are:

Currently, the Player of the Year is Jhaniele Fowler (West Coast Fever), the Grand Final MVP is Samantha Wallace (New South Wales Swifts), the Rising Star is Amy Parmenter (Giants Netball), the Coach of the Year is Briony Akle (New South Wales Swifts) and the Leading Goalscorer is Jhaniele Fowler (West Coast Fever), who scored 709 goals in the 2019 regular season. The players represented the clubs referred to in the 2019 season.

Broadcasting

The Nine Network and Telstra are the official broadcasters of Suncorp Super Netball. Netball Australia signed a 5-year deal with the entities, with the arrangement commencing from the 2017 season. Under the provisions of the deal, Nine will televise a Saturday night double-header each round live on either their primary channel or on secondary channel 9Gem. Nine will also televise the two remaining matches on delay.[12]

Mobile platform Telstra provide live coverage of the two matches not part of the doubleheader and also simulcast Nine's two live matches. The service is available via Telstra TV and on the Netball Australia app.[12]

Corporate relations

Salary cap

As of 2019 the salary cap for each team in the league is A$515,000, with an additional $150,000 available for clubs to provide players with employment, education and/or ambassador roles. Players are also provided with a private health insurance allowance that as of 2019 is capped at $1,635.[13] The average player salary is $67,000 and the minimum amount a contracted player can earn is $30,000, making Super Netball the country's leading player payment system for women athletes.[14]

Sponsorship

Suncorp Group is the league's current and inaugural naming rights partner.

All playing and training equipment as well as all licensed apparel and hats for the league's eight clubs are manufactured by ASICS.

Other league sponsors include Australian Institute of Sport, Nissan Australia and Cadbury

The official ball supplier is Gilbert Netball.

Merchandising

Official match day attire together with other club merchandise is sold through the Super Netball's stores and website as well through the clubs and through some retailers.

See also

References

  1. "Eight team Australian national league to begin in 2017". ABC News. 11 May 2016.
  2. "New netball League a breakthrough for women's sport". ABC News. 16 May 2016.
  3. "The Game is Changing – Suncorp Super Netball". supernetball.com.au.
  4. "ANZ backs new NZ Netball Elite League" (Press release). ANZ Bank New Zealand. Scoop. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  5. "New national netball league – what you need to know". netball.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 January 2017.
  6. "Sunshine Coast win Super Netball title". Wide World of Sports. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017.
  7. "Sunshine Coast Lightning put on masterclass over Giants to claim title". ESPN. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017.
  8. "Super Netball shoots for new commission". ESPN Australia. 11 January 2019.
  9. "Netball Australia Announces Suncorp Super Netball Commission". Super Netball. 11 January 2019.
  10. Lulham, Amanda (24 April 2018). "Super Netball 2018 rule changes: What you need to know". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. "Changes To Player Trade Rules Announced For 2019". Super Netball. 28 February 2019. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.
  12. "Nine and Telstra sign Netball Australia broadcast deal". Fairfax Media. 19 May 2016.
  13. "Pay rise for Super Netball players". Netball New South Wales. 20 June 2018.
  14. "Big pay rise for Super Netball players". The New Daily. 20 June 2018.
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