Super Netball league forgets to celebrate one of its legends

Source : ABC NEWS

We’re halfway through Super Netball round three, with the league hosting a split round across the Easter and ANZAC weekends.

Two games took place on Easter Sunday. The Melbourne Mavericks got their first victory of the season against the Giants at John Cain Arena, 71-56.

The NSW Swifts then became the first team to defeat the Adelaide Thunderbirds this season, as the back-to-back defending premiers fell on their home court, 65-57.

Fans didn’t love the split round with more time off over a long weekend to watch their favourite netball competition and less games to fill the void.

The decision was made as Saturday night crowds across previous seasons over Easter have been noticeably affected. 

By splitting the round and being smarter with scheduling, organisers hoped to give fans a better opportunity to attend matches in what was a traditionally busy part of the calendar.

Although there were only two matches, there were still some significant player milestones and talking points to reflect on.

If you missed it, don’t worry — we’ll get you up to speed with our Super Netball Round-Up.

Aiken-George reaches 233 caps

Did the league forget to celebrate one of its legends?

There was plenty of fanfare from the Thunderbirds as Jamaican import Romelda Aiken-George notched her 233rd national netball game in her 18th season linked to an Australian club.

The Thunderbirds announced the milestone was coming on its social media accounts in the days beforehand. 

It also hosted a post-match celebration for Aiken-George with flowers and balloons, where the Sunshine Girls shooter walked through a guard of honour hand in hand with her two-year-old daughter Gigi.

Aiken-George is generally pretty reserved with her emotions, but it was clear how much the gesture meant to her. 

Tears streamed down her face as she hugged her teammates tight.

Over the course of her career, the 36-year-old shooter hasn’t had it easy. 

She made a leap of faith as a teen, signing with the Firebirds and moving overseas to play in the very first season of the trans-Tasman Championship.

She won three premierships and set various records in the league. 

Aiken-George was the first player to reach 5,000 goals and her 63-goal effort in the 2016 grand final still stands as the highest individual score in a decider.

Once that era ended, Aiken-George carried on with the Firebirds into the Super Netball competition, but after taking the 2022 season off on maternity leave, she did not receive another contract at the club.

Instead, Aiken-George was picked up as a training partner at the Swifts, replacing injured Trinidad and Tobago shooter Sam Wallace-Joseph. 

That season Aiken-George led the Swifts to the 2023 grand final and finished runners up to her current club, the Thunderbirds, in an extra-time thriller.

With Wallace-Joseph slated to make her return from ACL injury for 2024, it was once again time to look for opportunity elsewhere. 

So Aiken-George moved her family interstate for a second time in two years.

At the Thunderbirds, Aiken-George once again made the grand final. 

This time she won and took out the player of the match award for her 42 goals at 82 per cent — a feat she pulled off running off just two hours sleep, as Gigi was unwell.

It was her seventh grand final appearance in Australia and her fourth premiership. 

It also marked the first time Aiken-George held the Super Netball trophy, which was inspired by her trans-Tasman battles with retired defender Sharni Norder.

Considering the journey Aiken-George has been on in recent years and the legacy she has established here, it felt odd that the 233-cap milestone was barely reported or acknowledged by the league’s official channels.

Even Aiken-George’s previous clubs were able to put their rivalries aside to collaborate on a social media post, sharing photos of the celebration. 

The post didn’t appear on the competition’s account until much later.

After ABC Sport touched base with the league, it seems it was simply an oversight.

We understand the game fell on Easter Sunday, but it would have been nice to see the competition make a bigger deal about the occasion.

Swifts take top spot

The Swifts made a statement as they not only became the first team to defeat the Thunderbirds this season, but also registered their first victory against their long-standing competitors in three years.

The result helped them leapfrog the Thunderbirds to steal top spot on the ladder and stamp their authority as serious premiership contenders.

The recruitments of New Zealand shooter Grace Nweke, veteran midcourter Verity Simmons and Victorian defender Sharni Lambden had already put them on the radar for a potential top-four finish.

Still, there were questions about how these new combinations would gel and if the team could reignite the spark they lost in 2024 during their relationship breakdown with two-time champion Wallace-Joseph — who eventually went on to depart for behavioural reasons.

Across the past two seasons, even with Aiken-George as their shooting target for one of those campaigns, the Swifts couldn’t beat the Thunderbirds.

In 2023, there was a drawn match in round two that had to be abandoned at half-time with scores locked at 25-all due to court decal issues and a power failure. The Swifts also lost to the same side in round 14, 60-57, in the major semi-final, 64-62, and in the grand final, 60-59.

In 2024, the Swifts were further off the mark, suffering their lowest-ever Super Netball score in history to the Thunderbirds in round seven, 58-33, before they fell again in round 13, 60-48.

It’s a great sign that they have finally been able to get over that hurdle and to do it so early in the season will only increase their confidence in their new roster.

Particularly when NSW-born emerging stars like Teigan O’Shanassy and Grace Whyte were the ones to make an impact, helping the Swifts get in front after being down by as many as eight goals in the first half.

Both players were injected into the game in the second quarter. Defender O’Shannassy went on to tally seven gains — six intercepts and one rebound — as Whyte racked up 13 goal assists and 23 feeds at wing attack.

Alas, Whyte has since been spotted in a moon boot at the airport as the team jetted back home to Sydney, raising doubt about her fitness for round four.

Jok plays one-eyed 100th game

The Mavericks camp will be a very happy one this week as the team were able to get their first win of 2025 to move into the top four — even without Sasha Glasgow.

The goal attack almost made it through the pre-season and first two rounds unscathed in her return from a serious leg break. Unfortunately limping of the court with five minutes to go against the Swifts, reporting calf tightness.

Mavericks head coach Tracey Neville said the injury was not serious and that the club were being extra cautious in order to let Glasgow build up full confidence in her body again.

In her place another Sasha, except with a c, took her spot in the game-day 10. However, Sacha McDonald didn’t end up being needed, as training partner Uneeq Palavi and 100-gamer Shimona Jok made a terrific combination in the circle.

Jok was poked in the eye accidentally by Giants defender Jodi-Ann Ward during the third quarter and looked as if she may have to come off, bending over in pain and leaning on the goal post as her bloodshot eye watered. 

Somehow, she battled through and went on to be named the player of the match for her gallant effort, shooting 60 goals at 95 per cent accuracy.

“The milestone was massive, this is something that’s been celebrated all week,” Neville said.

“I think for Shimona, it was quite emotional, because you think about where she started to her next club, then missing out on a contract, now having her moment to celebrate with family and friends.

“There’s not many players that get to this point, and her career is getting better and better as she grows stronger and stronger, so it was lovely to get the win for her.”

Jok is another Jamaican import that has experienced some tough times playing in the Australian league. At 20, she originally signed with the Thunderbirds, before spending five seasons with the Collingwood Magpies right up until their team folded.

After that, she wasn’t offered a full-time playing contract with another club. 

But she was picked up by the Mavericks as a training partner and later elevated to their No.11 player.

Even then, there was no guarantee of court time, but when Jok did get a chance to play it became clear she had to be their starting GS.

So in 2024, Jok went from being club-less to the Mavericks’ season MVP.

The round three victory over the Giants also meant a lot to Palavi, who got her first full 60 minutes in a Super Netball game. 

The Tongan talent had previously featured in patches of a match for the Swifts and Mavericks.

Palavi lost her grandfather during round two when the Mavericks played in Sydney. 

Donning a black armband with her teammates, Palavi paid tribute to her grandfather with a clever and crafty game in her non-preferred position at goal attack.