# 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season

The 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season was the fourth season of the premier netball league in Australia. The season was originally scheduled to commence on 2 May, though was delayed to 1 August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The defending premiers, New South Wales Swifts were eliminated in the first week of the finals series by the eventual runners-up West Coast Fever. The premiers were the Melbourne Vixens, who defeated the Fever by two goals in the Grand Final at Nissan Arena in Brisbane.

## Overview
### Teams

| Team | Captain/s | Coach | Home Courts |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | Chelsea Pitman & Hannah Petty | Tania Obst | Priceline Stadium Adelaide Entertainment Centre |
| Collingwood Magpies | Madison Browne & Geva Mentor | Rob Wright | Melbourne Arena Silverdome |
| Giants Netball | Jo Harten | Julie Fitzgerald | Ken Rosewall Arena AIS Arena |
| Melbourne Vixens | Kate Moloney & Liz Watson | Simone McKinnis | Melbourne Arena Margaret Court Arena |
| New South Wales Swifts | Maddy Proud | Briony Akle | Ken Rosewall Arena |
| Queensland Firebirds | Gabi Simpson | Roselee Jencke | Nissan Arena |
| Sunshine Coast Lightning | Laura Langman | Kylee Byrne | USC Stadium |
| West Coast Fever | Courtney Bruce | Stacey Marinkovich | RAC Arena |

### Format

The season is played over fourteen rounds, allowing every team to play each other twice, once at home and once away. The top four teams on the ladder at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the finals series. In the first week of the finals series, the 1st ranked team hosts the 2nd ranked team in the major semi-final (with the winner of that match to qualify for the Grand Final) and the 3rd ranked team hosts the 4th ranked team in the minor semi-final (with the loser of that match eliminated). The loser of the major semi-final then hosts the winner of the minor semi-final in the preliminary final. The winner of the major semi-final then hosts the winner of the preliminary final in the Grand Final.

### Rule changes

The Super Netball commission announced changes to the league structure in February. Rolling substitutions during play will be permitted, as well as during stoppages and intervals, with no limit to the number of substitutions that can be made, and multiple substitutions allowed to be made at any one time. The substitute must tag hands with the player leaving the court before entering the field of play. Extra time in the event of draws was introduced, after six matches were tied throughout the previous season. The match was to enter one 5-minute period of extra time. If at the end of this period teams remain tied, the match was to have been declared a draw. If a team has a one-goal or greater advantage at the end of the period, they would have been declared the winner. The bonus point system in place for the past two seasons was also supposed to remain in place. However, in the days leading up to the season, the league announced it had scrapped bonus points and extra time, citing the need to mitigate the physical impact of the condensed fixture on the players. Teams were also allowed to increase their match-day squads to 12 players, up from 10 in previous years.

### Two-goal super shots

After confirming the return of the league on 1 August, competition administrators announced the introduction of the two-point shot rule alteration. The new rule allows a score of two goals to be awarded to any shooter or attacker who scores in the two-goal zone outside the usual goal circle. The move was met with disapproval from many fans and players, though Super Netball CEO Chris Symington argued "the time is right to introduce an innovation that will make the game even more dynamic and unpredictable". The two-goal shot zone will only be activated in the final five minutes of each quarter and in the five-minute extra time period.

### Relocation to Queensland

As a result of an increase in COVID-19 positive tests in Victoria, the league initially announced the temporary relocation of the two Victorian teams (Magpies and Vixens) to Queensland. Shortly afterwards, the league revealed it had come to an arrangement with the Queensland Government to move all clubs to a hub in South-East Queensland, thereby allowing a condensed fixture, with most matches played in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Townsville. The two Victorian clubs were required to serve a 14-day quarantine prior to the start of the season.

## Player transfers

The league unveiled the list of non-contracted athletes on 14 August 2019, two weeks before that season's finals series were scheduled to commence. Teams had the exclusive right to re-sign any of their existing contracted players, their permanent/temporary replacement players or training partners, on single year or multi-year contracts for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Contracts with players from other teams and leagues could not be announced until the signing period commenced on 16 September 2019. This period closed on 14 October 2019, upon which teams were required to have submitted their 10 senior-listed players for the 2020 season. Training partners could be signed by clubs at any time.

### Signings

The following table is a list of players who moved clubs/leagues into Super Netball, or were elevated into a permanent position in the senior team, during the off-season. It does not include players who were re-signed by their original Super Netball clubs.
| Name | Moving from | Moving to |
| Kayla Johnson | Northern Stars | New South Wales Swifts |
| Maddie Hay | Giants Netball (ANL; training partner) | Giants Netball |
| Kate Eddy | New South Wales Swifts | Melbourne Vixens |
| Ine-Mari Venter | Melbourne Vixens | Queensland Firebirds |
| Rudi Ellis | Victorian Fury (ANL) | Queensland Firebirds |
| Macy Gardner | Queensland Fusion (ANL; training partner) | Queensland Firebirds |
| Lara Dunkley† | Melbourne Vixens | Queensland Firebirds |
| Maisie Nankivell | Southern Force (ANL) | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Lenize Potgieter | Southern Steel | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Molly Jovic† | Tasmanian Magpies (ANL) | Collingwood Magpies |
| Melissa Bragg | Tasmanian Magpies (ANL; training partner) | Collingwood Magpies |
| Jodi-Ann Ward | Severn Stars | Collingwood Magpies |
† Indicates player was signed as an injury-replacement player

## Pre-season
### Bushfire Relief Match

In January 2020, Netball Australia announced an All-Stars match for the pre-season featuring the Australian Diamonds and the best players from the Super Netball league. The match was played as a fundraiser for relief efforts for the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, which had been particularly devastating. The teams were announced on 29 January 2020.
| 1 March 2020 1:00 pm | Report | Australia | 63–56 | All-Stars | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney |

### Team Girls Cup

The league's pre-season tournament, known as the Suncorp Team Girls Cup, was set to return for the second time. The tournament would have taken place between 27 and 29 March at the refurbished Ken Rosewall Arena.
However, on 13 March 2020, the league announced that the event would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Regular season

* The original fixture was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league unveiled six rounds of the revised fixture on 24 July 2020, though subsequent announcements of travel restrictions in Australia forced those fixtures to be re-arranged.

### Round 14
## Ladder

2020 Suncorp Super Netball laddervte :
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | % | PTS |
| 1 | Melbourne Vixens | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 870 | 769 | 113.33 | 46 |
| 2 | Sunshine Coast Lightning | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 821 | 824 | 99.64 | 36 |
| 3 | West Coast Fever | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 964 | 897 | 107.46 | 34 |
| 4 | New South Wales Swifts | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 898 | 885 | 101.46 | 34 |
| 5 | Queensland Firebirds | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 851 | 893 | 95.29 | 26 |
| 6 | Giants Netball | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 885 | 891 | 99.32 | 24 |
| 7 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 769 | 797 | 96.48 | 20 |
| 8 | Collingwood Magpies | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 770 | 872 | 88.30 | 4 |
| Last updated: 29 September 2020 — Source ||||||||||

## Finals series
### Major semi-final

| Sat 3 Oct 1.00pm | Report Stats | Melbourne Vixens (1) | Sunshine Coast Lightning (2) | USC Stadium Umpires: Bronwen Adams, Michelle Phippard | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Nine |||
| Sat 3 Oct 1.00pm | Report Stats | 2 Goal Shots Thwaites 5/7 (71%) Kumwenda 0/1 (0%) Philip 0/3 (0%) 1 Goal Shots Thwaites 20/21 (95%) Kumwenda 31/31 (100%) Philip 2/3 (67%) | 2 Goal Shots Koenen 1/2 (50%) Wood 3/7 (43%) 1 Goal Shots Koenen 23/25 (92%) Wood 16/16 (100%) Proscovia 0/1 (0%) | USC Stadium Umpires: Bronwen Adams, Michelle Phippard | Nine |

### Minor semi-final

| Sun 4 Oct 12.00pm | Report Stats | West Coast Fever (3) | New South Wales Swifts (4) | USC Stadium Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Nathan Begley | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Nine |||
| Sun 4 Oct 12.00pm | Report Stats | 2 Goal Shots Fowler 0/1 (0%) Teague-Neeld 2/5 (40%) 1 Goal Shots Fowler 55/55 (100%) Teague-Neeld 8/12 (67%) | 2 Goal Shots Wallace 6/9 (67%) Housby 2/3 (67%) 1 Goal Shots Wallace 34/35 (97%) Housby 10/14 (71%) Garbin 2/3 (67%) | USC Stadium Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Nathan Begley | Nine |

### Preliminary final

| Sun 11 Oct 12.00pm | Report Stats | Sunshine Coast Lightning (2) | West Coast Fever (3) | USC Stadium Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Nathan Begley | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Nine |||
| Sun 11 Oct 12.00pm | Report Stats | 2 Goal Shots Wood 8/12 (67%) 1 Goal Shots Wood 13/17 (76%) Proscovia 16/18 (89%) Koenen 14/14 (100%) | 2 Goal Shots Fowler 0/1 (0%) Teague-Neeld 3/4 (75%) 1 Goal Shots Fowler 60/61 (98%) Teague-Neeld 7/14 (50%) | USC Stadium Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Nathan Begley | Nine |

### Grand Final

| Sun 18 Oct 12.00pm | Report Stats | Melbourne Vixens (1) | West Coast Fever (3) | Nissan Arena Attendance: 2,061 Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Nathan Begley | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Nine |||
| Sun 18 Oct 12.00pm | Report Stats | 2 Goal Shots Thwaites 3/7 (43%) 1 Goal Shots Kumwenda 47/50 (94%) Thwaites 10/10 (100%) Philip 3/3 (100%) | 2 Goal Shots Teague-Neeld 4/5 (80%) Fowler 1/1 (100%) 1 Goal Shots Fowler 44/45 (98%) Teague-Neeld 4/5 (80%) | Nissan Arena Attendance: 2,061 Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Nathan Begley | Nine |
* Grand Final MVP Winner: Mwai Kumwenda

## Awards

The following players were awarded for their performances in the 2020 season:
* The Player of the Year Award was won by Jhaniele Fowler.
* The Grand Final MVP Award was won by Mwai Kumwenda of the Melbourne Vixens.
* The Rising Star Award was won by Maisie Nankivell of the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
* The Joyce Brown Coach of the Year award was won by Simone McKinnis of the Melbourne Vixens.
* The Leading Goalscorer Award was won by Jhaniele Fowler of the West Coast Fever, who scored 795 goals in the regular season, and 979 goals after finals.
* The following players were named in the Super Netball Team of the Year: