# 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season

The 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season was the second season of the premier netball league in Australia. The season began on 28 April and concluded with the Grand Final on 26 August 2018. The start of the season was delayed to late April due to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which was held earlier that month on the Gold Coast. The fixtures for the season were released on 11 October 2017.
Sunshine Coast Lightning were the defending premiers and successfully defended their title, defeating West Coast Fever in the Grand Final at Perth Arena.

## Overview
### Teams

| Team | Captain | Coach | Home Courts |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | Leana De Bruin | Dan Ryan | Priceline Stadium Adelaide Entertainment Centre |
| Collingwood Magpies | Madison Robinson | Kristy-Keppich Birrell | Hisense Arena Margaret Court Arena Silverdome |
| Giants Netball | Kimberlee Green | Julie Fitzgerald | State Sports Centre Qudos Bank Arena AIS Arena International Convention Centre |
| Melbourne Vixens | Kate Moloney | Simone McKinnis | Hisense Arena Margaret Court Arena |
| New South Wales Swifts | Abbey McCulloch | Briony Akle | State Sports Centre Qudos Bank Arena |
| Queensland Firebirds | Gabi Simpson | Roselee Jencke | Brisbane Entertainment Centre Coomera Sport and Leisure Centre |
| Sunshine Coast Lightning | Geva Mentor | Noeline Taurua | University of Sunshine Coast Stadium |
| West Coast Fever | Courtney Bruce | Stacey Marinkovich | Perth Arena HBF Stadium |

### 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

Netball Australia announced a change to the points system for the regular season, with bonus points being introduced. Under the new system, teams earn 4 points for a win and 1 point for every quarter won in a match. A drawn match earns a team 2 points and drawing a quarter earns no points. The winning team can earn a maximum of 8 points per match.
Additionally, teams can request up to two time-outs per half and at any point in time while play is in progress, any one member of the team bench (players and team officials) listed on the official score sheet shall be permitted to move up and down their team bench within the bench zone to communicate with their on-court or off-court players. Finally, umpires can now award a penalty pass for delaying play or intimidation and quarter time and half time breaks will be increased by one and three minutes respectively.

### Broadcast

The Nine Network televised two matches each round during the regular season and also televised all finals matches. Telstra televised the other two matches each round. Every match of the season was available to be streamed live via the Netball Australia App. Unlike 2017, Nine telecast their two matches on the main channel, rather than secondary channel 9Gem. The two matches broadcast on Nine were on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

## Ladder

2018 Suncorp Super Netball laddervte :
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | % | BP | PTS |
| 1 | Giants Netball | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 841 | 776 | 108.4 | 34 | 76 |
| 2 | West Coast Fever | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 912 | 851 | 107.2 | 31 | 71 |
| 3 | Queensland Firebirds | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 858 | 751 | 114.2 | 33 | 69 |
| 4 | Sunshine Coast Lightning | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 809 | 752 | 107.6 | 35 | 69 |
| 5 | Melbourne Vixens | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 855 | 814 | 105.0 | 27 | 59 |
| 6 | New South Wales Swifts | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 814 | 816 | 99.8 | 22 | 48 |
| 7 | Collingwood Magpies | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 801 | 858 | 93.4 | 25 | 39 |
| 8 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 673 | 945 | 71.2 | 4 | 4 |
| Last updated: 10 August 2018 — Source |||||||||||

## Finals series
### Major semi-final

| Sat 11 Aug 3.00pm | Report Stats | Giants Netball | 57–63 | West Coast Fever | State Sports Centre | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Sat 11 Aug 3.00pm | Report Stats | Harten 33/38 (87%) Pettitt 24/30 (80%) | | Fowler 48/48 (100%) Medhurst 9/9 (100%) Stanton 6/7 (86%) | State Sports Centre | Nine |

### Minor semi-final

| Sun 12 Aug 1.00pm | Report Stats | Queensland Firebirds | 56–57 | Sunshine Coast Lightning | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Sun 12 Aug 1.00pm | Report Stats | Aiken 37/42 (88%) Tippett 19/19 (100%) | | Bassett 37/39 (95%) Wood 20/26 (77%) | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Nine |

### Preliminary final

| Sun 19 Aug 1.00pm | Report Stats | Giants Netball | 50–59 | Sunshine Coast Lightning | Qudos Bank Arena | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Sun 19 Aug 1.00pm | Report Stats | Harten 28/32 (88%) Austin 12/16 (75%) Pettitt 9/15 (60%) Brice 1/1 (100%) | | Bassett 40/43 (93%) Wood 19/23 (83%) | Qudos Bank Arena | Nine |

### Grand Final

| Sun 26 Aug 1.00pm AEST | Report Stats | West Coast Fever | 59–62 | Sunshine Coast Lightning | Perth Arena Attendance: 13,722 | Nine |
| Nine |||
| Sun 26 Aug 1.00pm AEST | Report Stats | Fowler 53/55 (96%) Medhurst 6/10 (60%) | | Bassett 45/50 (90%) Wood 17/20 (85%) | Perth Arena Attendance: 13,722 | Nine |
* Grand Final MVP Winner: Caitlin Bassett
* Note: The crowd of 13,722 was an Australian national league record attendance.

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Position | Team | Ref. |
| Player of the Year Award | Jhaniele Fowler | GS | West Coast Fever | Ref. |
| Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award | Caitlin Bassett | GS | Sunshine Coast Lightning | Ref. |
| Young Star Award | Jess Anstiss | WD | West Coast Fever | Ref. |
| Joyce Brown Coach of the Year | Stacey Marinkovich | Coach | West Coast Fever | Ref. |
| Leading Goalscorer | Jhaniele Fowler | GS | West Coast Fever | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Jhaniele Fowler | GS | West Coast Fever | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Gretel Tippett | GA | Queensland Firebirds | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Liz Watson | WA | Melbourne Vixens | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Serena Guthrie | C | Giants Netball | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Jess Anstiss | WD | West Coast Fever | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Karla Pretorius | GD | Sunshine Coast Lightning | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Geva Mentor | GK | Sunshine Coast Lightning | Ref. |
| Team of the Year | Jo Harten Kimberlee Green Laura Geitz | Attack Reserve Mid Court Reserve Defence Reserve | Giants Netball Giants Netball Queensland Firebirds | Ref. |