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2025 Super Netball Grand Final: Who will win?
Nicholas Quinlan • August 2nd, 2025 1:15 pm
The 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season reaches its crescendo tonight, and it is expected to be an absolute belter.
This year’s grand final will feature the West Coast Fever and the Melbourne Vixens, which will be the third time this decade that these sides have faced off in the decider.
Both teams have managed to win against each other at this stage, with the Vixens having won in the 2020 season, while the Fever got their revenge on their home court in 2022, making this clash even more exciting for netball fans.
But how did both the Fever and Vixens manage to reach the most important day of the Super Netball season?
For the Fever under coach Dan Ryan, they have consistently been a contender for the premiership.
In his first season, Ryan was able to do what no other coach had done before and helped the Perth-based side win their first title in club history back in 2022.
However, the ultimate success has eluded the Fever ever since having had back-to-back preliminary final losses.
Coming into this season, the Fever were somewhat of an unknown quantity, as they expected that their 5x Super Netball Player of the Year and goal-shooting superstar Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard would be out for the season through maternity leave.
But before the start of the season, the Fever made the heartbreaking announcement that the Jamaican had lost the baby during pregnancy, which meant that she would be available to play if and when she felt ready to.
That would not be until Round 3, with the Fever finding themselves last on the ladder with a 0-2 record (which marked their worst start in Super Netball history).
And when she did return, she made an immediate impact. Within the twelve games she played during the regular season, Fowler-Nembhard scored 658 goals, which led the competition, showing how dominant she truly is.
This has coincided with the Fever going on a tear as they won their remaining 12 games to be minor premiers.
In fact, the 12-2 record is their best regular season record in the Fever’s 17-year existence.
And they continued their hot form as they defeated the NSW Swifts by 32 goals in the Major Semi-Final—which broke the record for the biggest winning margin in a finals game—to secure their place in the Grand Final.
Reflecting on their success this season, goal attack Olivia Wilkinson puts part of it down to their depth and versatility.
“I think our versatility and depth to roll changes and make an impact straight away,” Wilkinson noted on SEN WA Breakfast.
“I think the perfect example is our defensive end. We’ve got so many options back there in defence, and everyone is a little bit different and brings something a little bit different.
“But the impact is always there, so I think for us it’s utilising that to our strengths, and I think that puts us in good stead for a really hard-fought battle in the Grand Final.”
On the other hand, the Vixens will be looking to redeem themselves following last year’s Grand Final loss against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
But midway through the season, the Vixens found themselves with a 2-4 record, sitting 7th on the ladder, and looked set to miss finals.
That fourth loss against the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Round 6 would prove to be a pivotal moment for the Vixens, as coach Simone McKinnis would publicly announce her departure from the side at the end of the year.
McKinnis has coached the team for the last 13 seasons and has been influential in maintaining the Vixens' legacy from their initial years in the ANZ Championship and Super Netball competition.
As a coach, she has won two premierships and made a further four grand finals, showing her ability to maintain her game plan.
Following that Round 6 loss, where McKinnis joked that the team should go to the pub, the Vixens have looked like a different team, having rattled off five wins in a row to get themselves into the top four.
And despite entering the finals in 4th place, they have shown across the last two games how damaging they can be.
In the cutthroat Minor Semi-Final, they avenged themselves from last year as they inflicted the same two-goal margin on the Thunderbirds on Adelaide’s home court.
This then saw them travel to Sydney to take on the Swifts in the preliminary final. And at three-quarters time, they looked dead and buried with the Swifts 10 goals in front.
But after an inspired speech from McKinnis, the Vixens managed to recover the margin, with the attacking duo of Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin combining for 22 goals to help them win miraculously and give themselves every opportunity of sending off their coach in the perfect send-off.
Despite the Fever being in first place, the match will be held in Melbourne at a sold-out Rod Laver Arena as per Netball Australia’s agreement with the Victorian Government, who purchased the hosting rights to the grand final before the season started.
SEN will have live commentary of the match this Saturday from 9:15pm NZST, available in New Zealand on the Sport Nation website/app via the SEN Fanatic stream.
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