The Netty Life

Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward is back playing Super Netball, 10 months after rehabbing an ACL injury. Last week her bottom-ranked, winless Giants ALMOST beat the No.1 ranked favourites Adelaide Thunderbirds. In the end, they lost by just two goals but there were so many positives to take from the result that they're hoping it will be a turning point for the rest of the season. Ward speaks about her incredible combination with young goal keeper Erin O'Brien and her aspirations of playing at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games this year.

Netball Australia have confirmed there will be no new teams joining Super Netball next season. Sad face. But we have at least found out the main contenders vying for a licence and eager to be part of the world’s best league. 

Round five was the closest weekend of games yet, as the bottom four challenged the top four and the NSW sides proved there is life in them yet.

Silver Ferns defender Karin Burger joins us for the first time ever to chat about her growing combination with new Sunshine Coast Lightning teammate Courtney Bruce and what life has been like since her move to Australia to play in the Super Netball league. The New Zealand captain also shares some of her learnings from last year's tumultuous international period, where the team's national head coach was suspended during a very important part of their preparations for the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Many hoped that at least one New Zealand team would join Super Netball for 2027. With a new broadcast deal on the horizon the league put out an expression of interest, hoping to expand and add two new sides to the competition. Sadly, reports across the ditch say it is not a financially viable option for the kiwis.

We unpack this disappointing news before we analyse the games from round four. There was a really mixed bag of results over the Easter long weekend, with margins ranging from seven to as many as 23 goals.

Maddie Hay was linked to the Giants for eight years and bled orange before the Super Netball club decided not to re-sign her at the end of the 2025 season. The midcourter felt like it was the end of the road for her in the competition and despite feeling like she had more to give, announced her reluctant retirement. Fast forward to January of this year and she got an interesting call from her former teammate Amy Parmenter asking if she'd be interested in a move to Melbourne. Now she's playing at the Mavericks as a pregnancy cover for Molly Jovic and has found her love for the sport again. Here she chats about her unexpected career trajectory, the lack of opportunity for homegrown Australian players and where it would be good to locate more teams.

It’s been a tough week for the Mavericks who had control of the Melbourne Derby for the majority of the match before they lost Tara Hinchliffe to an ACL injury and fell to the might of the Melbourne Vixens in an extra-time thriller.

Elsewhere, the Sunshine Coast Lightning pulled off back-to-back one-goal victories at home, before the Queensland Firebirds and Giants struggled to meet Super Netball standard. You’ll hear our regular game analysis and our thoughts on potential innovations for the modern game.

Emily Mannix and Sharni Layton are two of the most beloved goal keepers in the game. There's been big changes for the both of them this season, as Em returns to the court for the Melbourne Vixens after giving birth to her daughter Mabel and Sharni leaves Victoria behind to take on a new role as the assistant coach of the West Coast Fever. The double header in Sydney was so successful last weekend offering two Super Netball games for the price of one — attracting a record home and away crowd — we thought why not be a bit cheeky and offer our listeners a two for one deal as well.

Hear from Em first, as she details the tough start to life her baby girl faced after she was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Before Sharni talks us through her decision to join Dan Ryan's coaching staff, as well as her thoughts on the shock news of England Roses head coach Jess Thirlby stepping down just four months out from the Commonwealth Games.

England’s head coach has resigned just four months out from the Commonwealth Games and the news has sent the netball world into a bit of a tizzy. Will the Roses still have a chance to win gold? Who is the right person to replace Jess Thirlby in the top job? We dive into all of that in this week’s episode and hear from those within the inner sanctum about how lonely it can be to be a woman in such a high-profile position.

Plus there’s all our usual game analysis of the Super Netball league after round two. Are the Thunderbirds superhuman? They are sure living up to their favourites tag for 2026.

Coming up on this episode of The Netty Life we talk about the shock resignation of England head coach Jess Thirlby four months out from the Commonwealth Games.

Following a messy six months for netball in New Zealand, sports journalist Bridget Tunnicliffe joins us to look back on the issues that plagued the Silver Ferns' international season.

The ANZ Premiership is due to start in a month. Is there much excitement building in the country for their elite league? After pay cuts for players led nine Kiwi athletes to jump ship and sign with Australian clubs. What chance does the world number two team even have at the Commonweatlh Games? Considering their prep was impacted by the suspension of head coach Noeline Taurua.

Having covered the sport for two decades, Bridget Tunnicliffe shares her insights and opinions.

Will it be the most unpredictable season of Super Netball yet? Everyone keeps saying so. Maybe that’s because there have been so many roster changes. 11 brand new players got their first taste of Super Netball in round one. Eight more switched clubs and playing colours.

Despite there being so many fresh faces and combinations, it was easy to pick a clear standout. In this episode we fan girl over Adelaide Thunderbirds shooter and South African import Elmeré van der Berg, before we touch on a scoring change and share our detailed game analysis.