The final round of Suncorp Super Netball‘s tenth season came down to a nail-biting finish, but the real tale of the season began months in advance when coaches and management spoke privately in training facilities and during the window of transfers. Roster moves that were planned for weeks and even months in advance dictated who would lift the silverware and who would leave the court questioning what might have been. Some Suncorp Super Netball teams beefed up their rosters with internationals coming back to wear their former colors, while others adjusted due to injuries and retirements.
This article reflects on how those player moves within the eight competing teams made an impact when finals arrived and how certain decisions made during the off season and mid season proved to be significant during crunch time. The 2026 season highlighted that timing and team depth proved to be as significant as pure talent from Adelaide‘s championship victory to Melbourne’s heartbreaking loss.
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Key Player Moves In Super Netball Teams
A number of players had moved around ahead of the 2026 season with some of the big moves including West Coast Fever bringing in Sasha Glasgow back into the fold after she spent her off season with Melbourne Mavericks. Sasha joined up with a Fever side which already boasted shooters Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Alice Teague-Neeld.
Also signing on with Fever was Diamond Romelda Aiken-George who left the Adelaide Thunderbirds having contributed to the team’s premiership success, making the Thunderbirds look for another player to replace her on the shooting side. This move posed some tough questions for Thunderbirds coach, Tania Obst, but her team did very well in all other positions in the court. On the other hand, Melbourne Mavericks lost their experienced player, Maddie Hay, due to retirement as she called time on a career that had been pivotal to the development of the club since its formation in 2024.
How These Roster Moves Have Impacted the Finals Race
By the time the regular season wrapped up in mid-June, ladder positions had come down to the wire, and the roster calls made months earlier were starting to pay off, or cost teams, in real time. Adelaide Thunderbirds finished as minor premiers after dropping just a single game across the whole home-and-away campaign, a remarkable run that suggested their depth held up just fine without Aiken-George in the squad.
The same format continued right to the finals stage where Thunderbirds emerged victorious against Melbourne Vixens in the Major Semi Final, with a score line of 58 to 44 to earn a direct passage to the Grand Final. The reigning champions, Melbourne Vixens, managed to qualify for the decider through the Preliminary Final, showing that there was more than enough fight left in their squad to make it to yet another finals week. Melbourne Mavericks created history simply by qualifying for the finals as they qualified for the first time ever despite finishing their campaign at the Minor Semi Final against Fever.
Teams Gaining Momentum vs Teams Under Pressure
Momentum clearly belonged to Adelaide. Thunderbirds didn’t just make the Grand Final, they dominated it, beating Vixens 61 to 40 in the biggest margin in Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final history to claim their third premiership in four seasons. Latanya Wilson was named the club’s champion for a third year running, while Georgie Horjus picked up Players’ Player and Player of the Finals honours, a good sign of just how deep this Thunderbirds roster had become. Vixens, by contrast, head into the off-season under a bit more pressure.
It’s not easy making consecutive Grand Finals, yet coming up short by 21 goals as defending champions will bring into question whether there is a need for a roster renewal. West Coast Fever, despite the big signing of Glasgow and Aiken-George, failed to pass their semi-final hurdle, whereas the Melbourne Mavericks will be able to take some momentum into the 2026 season after making their first-ever finals series appearance, even if it is without their captain Maddie Hay.