Live: Thunderbirds and Vixens face off in Super Netball grand final

live Super Netball grand final live: Adelaide Thunderbirds vs Melbourne Vixens The Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Vixens meet in the Super Netball grand final, with a sell-out crowd at John Cain Arena. The Thunderbirds were minor premiers and have lost just once all season. The Vixens are seeking back-to-back championships after winning last year's grand final. Follow all the action from the Super Netball grand final in the live blog below. Submit a comment or question Live updates New: Filters Choose what information you see below by using filters Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:40pm Mabel watch In 2026 a lot of the focus has been on the mothers returning to court after Super Netball’s baby boom. Earlier in the season, we caught up with Emily Mannix and heard about her birth story and the tough start her daughter Mabel had in life. These days, Mabel is thriving. She has been spotted at Vixens games and stole the show in the team’s celebrations after the preliminary final. The crowd was cheering as she appeared on the big screen, clapping and dancing in Mannix’s arms. So cute. Keep an eye out for her tonight! Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:38pm What it means to Shamera Thunderbirds goal keeper Shamera Sterling-Humphrey missed most of last season as she was pregnant with her baby boy Xaihire. Returning to the game this year, she has openly spoken about her battle with postpartum depression and how netball is her happy place that has helped her keep going. Although Sterling-Humphrey already won back-to-back titles with the Thunderbirds in 2023 and 2024, ahead of this grand final she has said a premiership this year would mean more. Given all she’s been through to turn up and play. Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:38pm Who will Di Honey start at GK? Melbourne Vixens head coach Di Honey has three different goal keepers in her team and we’re not sure which of them start the match against Elmeré van der Berg. Jo Weston – The Diamonds star is more of a goal defence, but Honey has turned to Weston to play GK a couple of times this season with varying success. As a dogged ball chaser and one-on-one Australian style tagger, you know what to expect from Weston. At 188cm tall, she is extremely consistent and intimidating to face because she is so relentless. When she’s popped up unexpectedly at GK this season, she’s had Kate Eddy play with her inside the circle at GD. Although Honey started this combination in the major semifinal its effectiveness waned by the second quarter and would have probably been better as an impact switch later on. Rudi Ellis – Ellis is the tallest, standing at 190cm. She is typically the Vixens starting GK but only played seven minutes of the major semifinal for tactical reasons, entering the game in the third quarter. In the preliminary final, Ellis resumed her starting GK role and all that time spent sitting on the bench the previous week riled her up. With a point to prove, she helped her team get out to an early lead and tallied three gains, five deflections, one intercept and one rebound in 50 minutes of game time. She would have been our Player of the Match. Em Mannix – Mannix is a veteran of the team and stands at 188cm tall. She made her Vixens debut in 2015 and played the 2024 grand final against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide while 17 weeks pregnant. Her daughter Mabel was born with the cord wrapped around her neck which led to some health complications and Mannix decided to take the entire 2025 season off to focus on her child. Making a comeback this year, Mannix has had limited game time across her 14 match appearances and been more of an impact player. But she’s still getting results and could be a surprise starter for Vixens if Honey wants to catch the Thunderbirds off guard. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:37pm Why are Thunderbirds favourites? Apart from their almost flawless win-loss record, their depth is incredible. Not only do the Thunderbirds have great bench depth, but the have an attack swing and a defence swing that tend to switch positions throughout a game. Georgie Horjus will start at wing attack and end up in goal attack. Jamaican Latanya Wilson will begin at wing defence and finish at goal defence. These are the patterns that have emerged in coach Tania Obst’s game plan throughout 2026. Horjus and Wilson play each of their positions just as well. The Thunderbirds have been up by such a big margin in most of their games this season and that has allowed them to also rotate through the team and bring bench players on for impact. Adding to this, they have also bought the two best imports this season. Luring New Zealand centre Kate Heffernan and South African shooter Elmeré van der Berg to South Australia. Both is in epic form and found their feet quite quickly upon joining the league. They know how to attack the game directly and score quickly. If the Vixens have any chance tonight they’ll need to try and shut down these players. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:31pm What if there’s a draw? Just as it is done in the regular season, extra time will be played if the score is level after 60 minutes. The teams will play 2x five-minute halves. They will swap ends before extra time begins and in the middle break. The two-point super shot will be in play the entire period and no timeouts will be available to take by the coaches. If the score is still level after those 10 minutes then double extra time will automatically roll on and the match continues until one team is ahead by three points. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:31pm Head to Head A reminder, these teams each won a game in the regular season. Then the major semi-final went the way of the Thunderbirds. Round 6: Vixens won, 56-50 Round 12: Thunderbirds won, 61-42 Semifinal: Thunderbirds won, 58-44 They've also had some great finals battles in recent years. 2025: Minor semifinal - Vixens won, 58-56 2024: Major semifinal - TBirds won, 69-43 Grand final - TBirds won, 59-57 Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:20pm Each team's form Thunderbirds last lost one game all year in round six. The minor premiers have now won nine straight enroute to the grand final. Meanwhile, the Vixens snapped a four-game losing streak to reach the decider. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:19pm Sold out The match has been classed as a sell-out at John Cain Arena. We will bring you the final crowd figure when it is confirmed later on, but it is expected to be over 10,000 people. This marks the fifth consecutive Grand Final sell-out for the league, following full houses in Melbourne (2025, 2023), Adelaide (2024) and Perth (2022). Unfortunately, tonight’s count won’t break any records. It’ll be about 5,000 short of the record set at Rod Laver Arena last year. You can find more information on why the game is being played in Melbourne at a smaller venue here. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:18pm Brand new trophy A new trophy has been launched to mark a milestone 10th year of Super Netball. The new custom design is made from solid brass bronze in a 24ct gold finish with an Australian timber base. According to the league it is “a modern reinterpretation of the existing trophy, honouring the competition’s history while also reflecting its identity as the world’s best netball league. The trophy is a symbol of all players – past, present and future.” Personally, it reminds me of the old Commonwealth Bank Trophy logo! But the important thing is that it is bigger than the previous Super Netball trophy. Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:09pm Vixens won the preliminary final You can relive the preliminary final here. Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:08pm TBirds won the major semifinal You can relive the semifinals here. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:08pm How each team got here Here’s a reminder of how the competition’s finals work. The Vixens suffered a 13-goal loss to the Thunderbirds in the major semifinal 57-44 in Adelaide on Sunday June 21. Then that same day, the West Coast Fever knocked the Melbourne Mavericks out of the title race with a four-goal 56-52 victory in the minor semifinal in Perth. Almost a week later on Saturday June 27, the Vixens defeated the Fever in emphatic fashion in the preliminary final 62-51 in Melbourne. It was a tough way for the third-placed team to bow out but will have given the second-placed Vixens a much-needed boost in confidence. Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:06pm The buy of the season There is no doubt Elmeré van der Berg is the best recruit of the 2026 season and the South African import will have a huge role to play for the Thunderbirds tonight, spearheading their attack. Van der Berg stands at 191cm tall and finished the regular season as Super Netball’s leading goal scorer with a total 708 goals at 90 per cent. She was also named Player of the Match in the major semifinal between these two teams two weeks ago. The Vixens tried three different goal keepers against Van Der Berg and still failed to contain her. This week we found out she almost signed for Vixens two years ago. You can find out more about her story by reading this profile. Key Event Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 6:04pm Happy Grand Final Day Hello and welcome to ABC Sport's Super Netball grand final blog. It’s the biggest game on the netball calendar in the world’s best league and after 17 weeks of competition, we’ve finally reached the deciding game. It will have huge interest with people tuning in globally to watch the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Vixens play off for the title. I'm Brittany Carter and I'll be keeping you across all the action as it happens live. Feel free to join the conversation and comment your thoughts as the game rolls on. [Image text:] Work Safe L DEAKIN UNIVERSITY TC VALOUR Adelaide University GK SIXT SiXT