2021 Suncorp Super Netball season
The 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season was the fifth season of the premier netball league in Australia. The season commenced on 1 May and concluded on 28 August. The defending premiers were the Melbourne Vixens, but they failed to make the finals. The New South Wales Swifts won their second championship in three years, after defeating Giants Netball by 63–59 in the Grand Final. Overview. 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. Rules. The league retained the two-goal super shot rule, which allowed a goal shooter or attacker to score two goals for a shot successfully made in the designated area inside the circle during the last five minutes of each quarter. The league also retained the rolling substitutions that were introduced the previous season. The decision to retain the super shot was met with disapproval from many fans and players, with Australian Netball Players’ Association CEO Kathryn Harby-Williams saying a player survey indicated 60 per cent were opposed to the super shot. Extra  time in the event of drawn matches was retained. In the event of a tied score at the end of the fourth quarter, a five-minute period of extra time is played, and if the teams remain tied, the match is declared a draw. The bonus point system, last utilised in the 2019 season, was not implemented, with the league's competition committee saying it would "be shelved for the foreseeable future". West Coast Fever salary cap breach. The West Coast Fever commenced the season on negative-12 premiership points after a Netball Australia investigation discovered the club had paid players  more than $120,000 above the salary cap in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The Fever were also fined $300,000 ($150,000 of which was suspended), making the penalties the harshest in Australian netball history. Player signings. Important dates in relation to player signings for the 2021 season were: All player contracts were required to expire at the end of the 2021 season in accordance with the provisions of an agreement struck between Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players’ Association during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following table is a list of players who moved clubs/leagues  into Super Netball, or were elevated to 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. Awards. The following players were awarded for their performances in the 2021 season: