For the first time, the Netball World Cup (NWC) which is taking place in Liverpool from 12-21 July, overlaps with the Suncorp Super Netball season, presenting a unique situation for Netball Australia to coordinate. For this reason, the 2019 Suncorp Super Netball season is going to be split in two:
- The first nine rounds of the season will be played from 27 April to 23 June.
- At this date, a four-week break for the 2019 NWC will take place.
- At the conclusion of the NWC, the Samsung Diamonds and other international players who have represented their countries at the NWC will return to their respective Suncorp Super Netball clubs for the final five rounds of the Suncorp Super Netball season which will take place from 27 July to 25 August.
- The 2019 Suncorp Super Netball finals series will then roll out as follows:
- Semi-finals – 31 August and 1 September
- Preliminary final – 8 September
- Grand final – 15 September
With the final details of this unique season currently being locked away, a 2019 Suncorp Super Netball fixture will be released on Wednesday 5 December.
Netball Australia Executive General Manager of Events Chris Symington says the four-week Suncorp Super Netball break has provided Netball Australia with extra time to craft the 2019 fixture to ensure the schedule is the best fit for players, clubs, officials and most importantly the fans.
“Given the unique nature of the 2019 netball year, balancing athlete availability across the Suncorp Super Netball season, the Samsung Australian Diamonds team and other international representative teams has added an element of complexity,” he said.
“We have worked closely with the Netball Australia performance team and Suncorp Super Netball clubs to ensure the Suncorp Super Netball timeline we’ve established caters to all stakeholders and we’re now locking in the finer details of the fixture to ensure fans have the best experience possible – stay tuned for a fixture release in six weeks’ time.”
Suncorp Super Netball athletes who are not taking part in the Netball World Cup will continue to train within their respective Suncorp Super Netball club environments during the four-week hiatus, however different clubs may take different approaches depending on how they prefer to manage their athletes.
