Season gets underway on Saturday with Queensland Firebirds vs Sunshine Coast Lightning; first six rounds of fixtures announced
Wednesday 29 July 2020 07:59, UK
Ahead of the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season commencing on Saturday, over two months after its original start date, we take a look at some of the key talking points.
At the end of March, the 2020 season was postponed due to COVID-19 and because of the ongoing situation in some parts of Australia, it has now been relocated to Queensland.
The league has taken the decision to announce the first six rounds and it's expected that the next phase of fixtures will be confirmed in mid-August.
So before any of the teams take to court, let's discuss some of the most pertinent topics...
There's only one place to start and that's with the league's new rule; a rule that's divided netball's fans, players and coaches across the world.
The Super Shot, the opportunity to score two goals by shooting from a 1.9m designated zone within the circle in the last five minutes of a quarter, was announced six weeks ago and adds a completely new dynamic to Super Netball's matches.
When a sport or league takes a decision to evolve in some way, it often ruffles feathers and produces strong opinions on both sides of the fence - remember fans' early views about T20 cricket?
After being told about the Super Shot, some Suncorp Super Netball players said that it's "not a problem" - the view of Sam Wallace at the NSW Swifts. On the flip side others, like Jo Weston of the Melbourne Vixens, have shared that it's "the last thing" teams needed after all that's happened so far this year.
Come Round One, the final five minutes of every quarter will be scrutinised to the nth degree and without a doubt, will provide some of the major talking points of the weekend.
That may well be the case for the duration of the season and, as Dan Ryan shared with Sky Sports, only once the season has been completed will we know whether the Super Shot enhances or detracts from the Super Netball's product.
For the Sunshine Coast Lightning, this season marks their first without having the two-time title-winning genius, Dame Noeline Taurua, at the helm as their head coach.
Despite losing Taurua's considerable netball nous, the franchise have maintained a great level of consistency with Kylee Byrne, Taurua's previous assistant, stepping into her shoes.
Under Byrne, the world-class Laura Langman will remain as their captain and Karla Pretorius will again takes on the role of vice-captain.
In the netballing world, it's an undisputed opinion that Taurua is one of the best in the business, so losing her from the day-to-day goings on will take something away from Lightning.
However, with a squad that includes Langman, Pretorius, Peace Proscovia and Phumza Maweni, you anticipate that they should enjoy a fairly seamless transition into the post-Taurua era and that they'll be there or thereabouts at the top of the ladder.
You cannot look ahead to this new season without discussing the circumstances surrounding its postponement.
Across the globe, COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on all aspects of people's lives. Some athletes in the league may have had family members or friends affected, some have been miles away from their families during lockdown and in the case of Layla Guscoth, she experienced it on the frontline at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
From a training perspective, all had to adapt to training at home and many will have experienced the longest period away from a netball court since they were children.
The time away from court is likely to have made for some 'interesting' starts to training sessions, however with such a wealth of netball behind them, all teams should still be able to hit the ground running come August 1.
The Melbourne Vixens and Collingwood Magpies face each other in the first round and both will be coming off the back of a 14-day quarantine period.
The teams have been able to continue training during that time, but will have had to manage their downtime being a little quieter than usual. In what has already been an unpreceded period and pre-season, this has added another hurdle for both to jump over.
The hope is that because their first hit-out is against each other, it will allow both to 'catch up' with their fellow teams and ensure that there's as much of a level playing field as possible, from that point on.
The return of Suncorp Super Netball means some of England's most experienced Vitality Roses will compete against each other, week in and week out.
Depending on selection calls, Round One could see Jo Harten and Stacey Francis duelling and then the NSW Swifts' Helen Housby taking on Adelaide Thunderbirds' Kate Shimmin or Guscoth.
For all of the Roses, August 1 will mark a welcome return to the game that they love and push them to regain their international form.
In the case of Harten, she'll be adding to her leadership skills after being announced as the GIANTS' captain and Geva Mentor will do the same, as she co-captains the Collingwood Magpies alongside Madi Browne. Chelsea Pitman also takes on the role of co-captain at the Adelaidle Thunderbirds.
