2020 Suncorp Super Netball season


The 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season is 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 are the New South Wales Swifts.

Overview

Teams

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 and the 3rd ranked team hosts the 4th ranked team in the minor semi-final. 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 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.
NameMoving fromMoving toRef
Maddie Hay Giants Netball Giants Netball
Molly Jovic† Tasmanian Magpies Collingwood Magpies
Melissa Bragg Tasmanian Magpies Collingwood Magpies
Ine-Mari Venter Melbourne Vixens Queensland Firebirds
Rudi Ellis Victorian Fury Queensland Firebirds
Macy Gardner Queensland Fusion Queensland Firebirds
Jodi-Ann Ward Severn Stars Collingwood Magpies
Kate Eddy New South Wales Swifts Melbourne Vixens
Lara Dunkley† Melbourne Vixens Queensland Firebirds
Kayla Johnson Northern Stars New South Wales Swifts
Maisie Nankivell Southern Force Adelaide Thunderbirds
Lenize Potgieter Southern Steel Adelaide Thunderbirds

† 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.

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

Finals series

Major semi-final

Minor semi-final

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Preliminary final

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Grand Final