In our season preview earlier this year, Vixens and Fever stood out as teams likely to enjoy a strong record in Australia’s top flight netball league. Now just 2 games remain in the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball contest, and both those teams stand a chance of winning the championship.
Melbourne Vixens have already claimed the minor premiership, finishing the regular season at the top of the ladder with 48 points. Fever were hot on their heels with 40 points, ensuring that the teams would meet in the Major Semifinal, the first game of the Finals Series that sets the first and second placed finishers against one another. Fever triumphed in that game, winning 71-62 thanks to a monumental performance by Jhaniele Fowler. We wondered in the season preview whether Fowler would make it 5 years in a row as top scorer, and she has achieved that feat in style, outscoring her nearest rivals by more than 100 goals. The Jamaican superstar showed all her class in the Major Semifinal, scoring 67 of her team’s 71 points and booking the Fever a place in the Grand Final.
Vixens’ loss relegated the team to the Preliminary Final, a matchup between the loser of the Major Semifinal and the winner of the Minor Semifinal. This game determines which team will claim the second spot in the Grand Final, so the stakes are high.
After securing third and fourth place on the regular season ladder, Giants and Magpies lined up against each other for the Minor Semifinal. Magpies were leading on points going into halftime, but Giants came back stronger in the second half and eventually won the match 55-48. It was devastation for the Magpies, who lost at the same stage in 2017 and 2019 in their only Suncorp Super Netball Finals appearances to date. Giants made it to the Grand Final last season before falling to the New South Wales Swifts, so this semifinal victory has fans dreaming of going one better this year.
Giants’ next challenge is the Preliminary Final on 25 June, where they will take on Vixens in Melbourne’s John Cain Arena. Tickets are available in several different pricing categories, starting at AUD $30 (USD $20) for adults. The winner of the Preliminary Final will then head to Perth, where West Coast Fever await their opponents for the Grand Final. Fever will be on home turf in the RAC Arena, but they have never won a Championship before – will 2022 see the biggest prize in Suncorp Super Netball head to Western Australia for the first time? Tickets have gone on sale for the Grand Final, starting at AUD $30 for adults, but sections of seating have been held back for fans of the second team to qualify.
It’s been a dramatic season, so get your tickets now for what’s sure to be an explosive finale!