ANPA and Netball Australia are still working to repair the damage done in the CPA dispute of 2023.(AAP: Dave Hunt)
We blinked and suddenly there are just two weeks left to play before the Super Netball finals.
Round 12 saw a change at the top of the ladder as the West Coast Fever tallied their 10th consecutive victory and moved into the number one spot by beating the Sunshine Coast Lightning 69-54.
The NSW Swifts suffered a shock upset to the Melbourne Mavericks, 68-64. They've now dropped to second place after losing three of their last four matches.
Both of these teams managed to win eight straight at different points throughout this season.
The Swifts started with an undefeated run before round nine, while the Fever lost their first two without Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and hit their strideonce the Jamaican target returned to the line-up(600 goals in 10 games).
So did the Swifts peak too early? They've done enough to lock in a semifinals spot, but they've now well and truly had their premiership favourites tag pinched by the team in green.
Fowler-Nembhard has made a world of difference to the Fever's chances and is now only one behind Grace Nweke's 601-goal tally despite playing two fewer rounds.(Getty: Daniel Pockett)
The Adelaide Thunderbirds forced their way back into the top four with their first Super Netball win over the Melbourne Vixens at John Cain Arena, 56-53.
The Giants celebrated the 200-game milestone of co-captain Jo Harten by beating the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane, 68-63, but it appears we can put a line through both their and the Mavericks' trophy chances.
Although both teams got the desired result on the weekend, the Thunderbirds and Lightning are tied on 24 points, and because they will meet in the last round, a win or draw for either side would put finals out of reach.
If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our Super Netball Round-Up.
One of the biggest stories of the week happened off the court, as the Australian Netball Players' Association (ANPA)released the findings of its anonymous survey.
Remi Kamo expressed mistrust in Netball Australia's processes earlier this year after making a complaint about the Firebirds' club culture.(Getty: Mark Metcalfe)
The first of its kind, this will now be conducted annually and will guide ANPA's support strategies, give every player a voice and drive accountability across the sport. It was completed by almost every athlete in the Super Netball system.
ANPA saw it as a positive that more than half of the playing group accessed mental health support services in the past year, while 81 per cent were likely to seek help if needed — indicating a strong engagement with resources and a growing awareness of the importance of looking after your mental health.
However, 67 per cent of players felt mentally or emotionally drained due to the demands of elite netball and 56 per cent said balancing training, travel, games, work, study and personal life continued to be difficult — indicating that the workload of these players needed to be reassessed.
Financial security and fair pay was another hot topic, as 69 per cent of athletes cited their concerns about salary equity, job stability, cost-of-living pressures and the need for supplemental income through work outside of netball.
The biggest challenge, though, seems to be repairing the relationship between the playing group and sporting body as just 12 per cent said they felt comfortable raising concerns with Netball Australia and 32 per cent who had done so before said no action had been taken or they felt dismissed.
This follows on fromthe investigation into Remi Kamo's experience at the Queensland Firebirds, as well as theleague's bitter pay dispute of late 2023under different administrative leadership.
"The results staring us in the face are real and … I think you learn more from those that aren't at the level you'd hoped, because they're the areas you can address and hopefully see improvements in," ANPA chief executive Kathryn Harby-Williams told ABC Sport.
"We've got to remember that the Diamonds are the ones that deal more so with Netball Australia and the others deal more directly with their clubs, so that has some impact.
ANPA representative Jo Weston, new Netball Australia CEO Stacey West and ANPA CEO Kathryn Harby-Williams are still working to repair the damage done in the CPA dispute of 2023.(AAP: Joel Carrett)
"But we also can't dismiss the very difficult period we had with Netball Australia 18 months ago, where players weren't paid for three months and Diamonds were being threatened they'd be sued if they didn't turn up to their annual awards dinner.
"It takes a while to build that trust back up again … we are working to improve that relationship because we all need each other to grow in a highly competitive women's sports market."
ANPA is pushing for longer playing contracts, allowing athletes to sign beyond the collective player agreement (CPA) for up to five years in order to lock in better financial stability; especially when weighing up the difficult decision to switch teams or move interstate.
The current CPA expires on September 30.
Goal shooter Jo Harten joined the prestigious 200 club in round 12, tallying her appearances across the Tactix, Magic and Giants during the trans-Tasman and Super Netball eras.
Are we witnessing Jo Harten's final games on a netball court?(AAP: James Gourley)
Harten won gold while representing the Roses at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and two years later received an MBE for her services to English netball. But we've enjoyed watching her play for more than a decade now down under, so she almost feels like one of our own.
No doubt, her proudest work has been helping to establish the Giants Super Netball club alongside head coach Julie Fitzgerald, after signing as a foundation player in 2017 when Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand went their separate ways and launched individual competitions.
Taking over as captain in 2020, she has given the Giants her all, leading them from the front to two minor premierships and two grand final appearances. Her ability to guide the next generation of players at the Netball NSW-owned franchise has been invaluable for the players in the state.
Speaking with the media, Harten reflected on her very first national netball league game back in 2012 and how excited she was to join the likes of two-time world champion and Diamonds legend Sharelle McMahon in the 200 club.
"Sharelle was my idol growing up," Harten said.
"I used to get a VHS video shipped over from Australia to England so I could just copy everything that she does, so to be named alongside someone like her, it's really special.
"I was 22 when I signed with the Tactix, a New Zealand team, and I'd flown out from the other side of the world, left all my network and my first game was actually in Perth, 8 hours from where I was based, so it was a crazy experience.
"Sometimes I can't believe it, when I wake up and find myself living in Sydney, having made it my home, all because of netball, it's such a privilege."
Diamonds skipper Sharelle McMahon carries the Australian flag during the opening ceremony for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.(Mark Dadswell: Getty Images)
It's a huge milestone and one that reminds us to cherish Harten's moments on court while we can. As we near the end of the regular rounds, with the Giants ruled out of finals, the next fortnight could be the swan song of her career.
Over the past few years, the 36-year-old has battled an ongoing knee injury that has limited her movement on court and forced her international retirement ahead of the 2023 Netball World Cup. Instead, she worked as an assistant under Jess Thirlby as the team clinched silver.
Wins have also been hard to come by at the Giants over the past two years. They finished with the wooden spoon in 2024.
Harten's injuries forced her into international retirement ahead of the 2023 Netball World Cup, but she still played a hand in winning silver as an assistant coach.(Instagram: @joharten)
"I think I'm just going to play this season and then see what happens," Harten said.
"At the moment I'm just trying to enjoy as much of the good netball that I can put out as I can.
"Obviously I am an aging, experienced player, so I'm getting closer to the end of my career, but I'm going to leave those decisions for the end of the season.
"I've been super lucky that Giants have allowed me to explore coaching alongside my professional netball career, so I'd be stupid to say I don't want to coach in the future, it's definitely on my agenda … I'm looking forward to the next stage."
Harten has a little more than a month to make her decision.
Clubs can re-sign their own players at any time, but the official contracting window for 2025 opens after the Super Netball Grand Final on August 2.