Super Netball stirred by rule tweaks that give license to the fast and the physical
Super Netball have introduced rule changes that have livened up the contest while average crowds and broadcast figures are on the rise. Photograph: Matt Turner/AAP
Giants’ centre Jamie-Lee Price caused a stir among Super Netball fans with a defensive play in round four, moving into Shamera Sterling-Humphrey’s path and causing the Thunderbirds’ goal keeper to fall to the ground. Price was penalised, but no further sanction was given. While the result of the game was by then all but beyond doubt, the incident energised the crowd on the stroke of three-quarter time and was a reminder of some key rule changes this season.
When World Netball’s new rules came into effect at the start of the 2024 season there was plenty of interest around how they would be applied in Super Netball. Some of the bigger rule changes – such as tactical substitutions being allowed after a goal is scored – have not been noticed with rolling substitutions already part of the league. Others are mere tweaks that allow for a smoother flowing game.
Perhaps the most interesting changes have been around game management. The new rules are designed to empower umpires to nip dangerous play in the bud through a more streamlined process to suspend players. While four suspensions were issued in the first round of New Zealand’s Premiership Netball, four rounds into the Super Netball season and there has yet to be a single suspension.
It is a distinction that highlights that Super Netball is first and foremost an entertainment product. While this has long been clear through high-profile rule changes like rolling substitutions and the still-controversial two-point super shot, it is the subtle differences in the interpretation of rules that highlight the distinction best.
The flashy super shot did not attract crowds to the game as promised, but it appears the latest umpiring interpretations are having a greater impact on the entertainment quality of games. With more contesting allowed, the game has become faster and more physical, creating a more appealing product for fans at the same time as average attendances and broadcast figures are reported to be on the rise.
While the incident involving Price and Sterling-Humphrey has since been raised as one worthy of a suspension, the eyes that it has drawn to an otherwise innocuous game highlights the importance of fan engagement when deciding how rules are interpreted.
While penalty counts are higher in Super Netball than in New Zealand – partly due to Australian teams favouring a one-on-one defensive style, while a zone defence is often preferred across the Tasman – the lack of escalation means that the contests are not being curtailed. Players do not fear putting their team at a disadvantage and so they continue to fly after the ball. Whether or not this is in the best interests of the game in terms of player safety is another matter, however the entertainment value is hard to deny.
In the previous seven seasons of Super Netball, the full game management process under the old rules was only applied in its entirety once. In 2020, during the Covid-19 hub season in Queensland, Giants’ defender Kristiana Manu’a was suspended for two minutes, then finally ordered off for the final nine minutes of a game, which the Giants lost by one goal despite playing the majority of the final quarter with only six players.
This highly contentious decision had long-lasting impacts on the league while demonstrating the harsh consequences of suspending a player in a sport with only seven on the court and restrictions on the areas that players can enter.
Under the new rules, the process has been simplified – umpires no longer issue cautions and are now able to advance penalties down the court as part of the game management process before escalating to an official warning, followed by a two-minute suspension and ordering off for the remainder of the game. However, players who are ordered off can now be replaced by another team member after four minutes.
As the new rules continue to be understood and interpreted for the different competitions, suspensions may begin to play a part in Super Netball, though it is likely there will be a careful balance struck between player safety and fan engagement. Importantly in this area, new rules allow for primary care personnel on the team benches to appeal to umpires to stop the game if they believe a concussion check is required.
With close games across the opening rounds of the Super Netball season – including two drawn games that were taken into extra time – the intensity of the league is only increasing and this is likely to lead to more physical challenges. The rules now empower the umpires to bring this intensity under control – as the remainder of the competition plays out, more eyes will be on them to watch if they use these new powers to their full effect.