2017 Suncorp Super Netball season explained

The 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season was the inaugural season of the premier netball league in Australia, following the disbanding of the ANZ Championship in 2016. The regular season began on 18 February 2017 and concluded with the Grand Final on 17 June 2017.^[1]

Expansion team Sunshine Coast Lightning won the Grand Final, comfortably defeating Giants Netball at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.^{[2] [3]}

Overview

The season was played over 14 rounds, allowing every team to play each other twice, once at home and once away. The top 4 teams on the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualified for the finals series. In the first week of the finals series, the 1st ranked team hosted 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 hosted the 4th ranked team in the minor semi-final (with the loser of that match eliminated). The loser of the major semi-final then hosted the winner of the minor semi-final in the preliminary final. The winner of the major semi-final then hosted the winner of the preliminary final in the Grand Final.^{[1] [4]} YES

Regular season

• All times are local; a full list of season results and match statistics can be found here

Round 14

Finals series

Minor semi-final

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Preliminary final

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Grand Final

• Karla Mostert (Sunshine Coast Lightning) was awarded the Most Valuable Player award in the Grand Final.^[5]

Awards

Team of the Week Award

Round	GS	GA	WA	C	WD	GD	GK	Ref.
Round 1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Round 2	S. Wallace (NSW)	T. Philip (MEL)	K. Green (GIA)	L. Langman (SCL)	A. McCulloch (NSW)	R. Bulley (GIA)	S. Layton (COL)	Ref.
Round 3	C. Bassett (SCL)	G. Tippett (QLD)	L. Watson (MEL)	E. Burger (QLD)	G. Simpson (QLD)	F. Themann (ADE)	S. Poolman (GIA)	Ref.
Round 4	C. Thwaites (COL)	G. Tippett (QLD)	K. Green (GIA)	L. Watson (MEL)	K. Mostert (SCL)	E. Mikaere (SCL)	S. Layton (COL)	Ref.
Round 5	C. Thwaites (COL)	T. Philip (MEL)	E. Bell (ADE)	L. Scherian (SCL)	G. Simpson (QLD)	R. Bulley (GIA)	C. Bruce (WCF)	Ref.
Round 6	C. Bassett (SCL)	T. Philip (MEL)	M. Robinson (COL)	C. Nevins (QLD)	R. Ingles (ADE)	R. Bulley (GIA)	S. Klau (NSW)	Ref.
Round 7	M. Kumwenda (MEL)	T. Philip (MEL)	L. Watson (MEL)	S. Guthrie (GIA)	L. Langman (SCL)	K. Shimmin (QLD)	G. Mentor (SCL)	Ref.
Round 8	C. Thwaites (COL)	T. Philip (MEL)	L. Watson (MEL)	S. Guthrie (GIA)	A. McCulloch (NSW)	K. Mostert (SCL)	S. Layton (COL)	Ref.
Round 9	C. Thwaites (COL)	S. Pettitt (GIA)	M. Robinson (COL)	K. Maloney (MEL)	A. Brazill (COL)	R. Bulley (GIA)	A. Agbeze (ADE)	Ref.
Round 10	M. Kumwenda (MEL)	S. Wood (SCL)	L. Watson (MEL)	M. Proud (NSW)	G. Simpson (QLD)	R. Bulley (GIA)	E. Mannix (MEL)	Ref.
Round 11	M. Kumwenda (MEL)	S. Wood (SCL)	L. Watson (MEL)	S. Guthrie (GIA)	R. Ingles (ADE)	J. Weston (MEL)	G. Mentor (SCL)	Ref.
Round 12	C. Thwaites (COL)	J. Harten (GIA)	M. Robinson (COL)	K. Ravaillion (COL)	A. Brazill (COL)	R. Bulley (GIA)	S. Poolman (GIA)	Ref.
Round 13	C. Thwaites (COL)	G. Tippett (QLD)	L. Watson (MEL)	L. Langman (SCL)	G. Simpson (QLD)	F. Themann (ADE)	E. Mannix (MEL)	Ref.
Round 14	C. Bassett (SCL)	G. Tippett (QLD)	K. Browne (SCL)	S. Guthrie (GIA)	R. Ingles (ADE)	J. Weston (MEL)	C. Bruce (WCF)	Ref.

Postseason Awards

Award	width=125	Winner	width=125	Position	width=125	Team	width=75	Ref.
Player of the Year Award	Geva Mentor	GK	Sunshine Coast Lightning	Ref.
Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award	Karla Mostert	GD	Sunshine Coast Lightning	Ref.
Young Star Award	Liz Watson	WA	Melbourne Vixens	Ref.
Joyce Brown Coach of the Year	Simone McKinnis	Coach	Melbourne Vixens	Ref.
Leading Goalscorer		GS	Collingwood Magpies	Ref.
Team of the Year	Mwai Kumwenda	GS	Melbourne Vixens	Ref.
	Tegan Philip	GA	Melbourne Vixens	Ref.
	Liz Watson	WA	Melbourne Vixens	Ref.
	Laura Langman	C	Sunshine Coast Lightning	Ref.
	Gabi Simpson	WD	Queensland Firebirds	Ref.
	Jo Weston	GD	Melbourne Vixens	Ref.
	Geva Mentor	GK	Sunshine Coast Lightning	Ref.

Reserves in the Team of the Year: Caitlin Thwaites (Attack Reserve), Serena Guthrie (Mid Court Reserve) and Rebecca Bulley (Defender Reserve)^[6]

Team captains and coaches

Team	width=125	Captain	width=125	Coach	width=60	Ref.
Adelaide Thunderbirds	Erin Bell	Dan Ryan	Ref.
Collingwood Magpies	Madison Robinson	Kristy Keppich-Birrell	Ref.
Giants Netball	Kimberlee Green	Julie Fitzgerald	Ref.
Melbourne Vixens	Kate Moloney	Simone McKinnis	Ref.
NSW Swifts	Abbey McCulloch	Rob Wright	Ref.
Queensland Firebirds	Gabi Simpson		Ref.
Sunshine Coast Lightning	Geva Mentor	Noeline Taurua	Ref.
West Coast Fever	Natalie Medhurst	Stacey Marinkovich	Ref.

External links

• • Season results

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2017 Fixture. Suncorp Super Netball. 1 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170529031052/https://supernetball.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SSN2017_v2_Fixture-1.pdf. 29 May 2017.
2. Web site: Sunshine Coast win Super Netball title. Wide World of Sports. 17 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170617133232/http://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/06/17/21/09/sunshine-coast-win-super-netball-title. 17 June 2017.
3. Web site: Sunshine Coast Lightning put on masterclass over Giants to claim title. ESPN. 17 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170617133509/http://www.espn.com.au/netball/story/_/id/19660190/sunshine-coast-lightning-put-masterclass-giants-claim-super-netball-title. 17 June 2017.
4. Web site: Netball Australia has revealed fixture for 2017 season. Suncorp Super Netball. 18 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170529031200/https://supernetball.com.au/2016/11/06/netball-australia-reveals-name-fixture-new-national-league/. 29 May 2017.
5. Web site: Lightning named Suncorp Super Netball champions. supernetball.com.au. 17 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171202052806/https://supernetball.com.au/2017/06/17/lightning-named-suncorp-super-netball-champions/. 2 December 2017. dead.
6. Web site: 2017 Australian Netball Awards. 24 June 2017. Netball Australia. https://archive.today/20170713030504/http://netball.com.au/australian-netball-awards/. 13 July 2017.