We blinked and suddenly a month of Super Netball had flown by, as Inclusion Round came and went, and two teams continued to rise above the rest.

Only the West Coast Fever and Melbourne Vixens remain undefeated, with both recording significant victories in round four against the NSW Swifts, 75-59, and Queensland Firebirds, 68-55, respectively.

The Melbourne Mavericks got their very first win as a club thanks to a goal scored by their 11th player against the Sunshine Coast Lightning, 65-64.

Meanwhile, the Giants are struggling after slumping to their worst-ever start to a season, losing to the Adelaide Thunderbirds, 69-49.

If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our Super Netball Round-Up.

Mavericks keep us on our toes

The Mavericks have made it very clear now that they're keen to live up to their name in their maiden season.

Each week they continue to make bold moves that keep everyone on their toes, like signing experienced import Shimona Jok as their 11th player, elevating her to the game-day 10 and using the shooter out of position at keeper.

In round four, Jok was back in attack and went on to score the winning goal in the dying seconds. The other shock of the weekend came late on a Friday, with the news that the Mavericks had pulled off the late signing of Kristiana Manu'a as an injury replacement for Lauren Moore.

Manu'a has previously represented Australia and the New Zealand Fast5 Ferns, before making her debut for Samoa Tifa Moana at last year's Pacific Games.

After five seasons with the Giants in Super Netball, the defender moved across the ditch to play two campaigns in the New Zealand Premiership, winning the 2022 title with the Central Pulse.

This year, Manu'a had decided to head back home to be with her family in western Sydney and was playing for the GWS Fury in the NSW Premier League when she got the Mavericks' call.

South Australian up-and-comer Jessie Grenvold had been filling Moore's spot since she ruptured her ACL and was honestly the most obvious choice to sign as a permanent replacement.

But nothing the Mavericks do is obvious, and Manu'a is a great signing considering her experience at the top level, her strong frame, and the form she's been in for the Fury.

Manu'a only got 19 minutes on court in her Mavericks debut, but given she's had such little time with the team, you can expect her presence to grow each week.

Speaking about the opportunity, Manu'a made a touching comment about Moore.

"I didn't expect to play Super Netball again, so I'm thankful to the Mavericks for making it possible," she said.

"While the circumstances surrounding my signing are bittersweet with Lauren's ACL injury, I hope to honour her by making the most of this opportunity."

Does Inclusion Round need a clearer directive?

For the second straight season, Super Netball celebrated a league-wide Inclusion Round, encouraging each club to celebrate initiatives that felt important to them.

Most teams went for a Pride theme, but two had a twist.

The Thunderbirds instead focused on multi-culturalism, paying tribute to the Jamaican influence on their side through defenders Latty Wilson and Shamera Sterling.

The Vixens tried to incorporate as many initiatives as possible in their "Everyone Belongs" campaign inspired by Netball Victoria's four key pillars of inclusion: First Nations people, LGBTIQA+ people, multiculturalism, and people with disability.

Six teams wore positional bibs featuring the updated Pride colours highlighting the trans flag (pink, baby blue and white) and people of colour (black and brown).

The Lightning's bibs, however, were just the generic Pride rainbow, whilst the Vixens wore colours that matched their campaign – red, yellow, blue and green.

It's hard to knock anyone's approach, knowing the idea is still in its infancy, that every club was encouraged to put their own spin on it and at least it's been a league-wide celebration in 2023/24.

The Vixens in particular, really went all-out for their home match: hosting a curtain raiser with their Victorian Marie Little Shield team; holding a citizenship ceremony; and running pre-game activations from the Koorie Heritage Trust, Special Olympics, Victorian men's netball, and Queer Sports Alliance.

They also, like the Lightning, had an Auslan interpreter in action during live play.

Maybe it was a different experience for fans who attended in person, but for those who watched all four games from home, it did seem like the message got a bit muddled.

Did all the competing themes dilute the meaning of the round or increase its power? It's hard to say.

And although the bib colours – in the grander scheme of things – feel like a small gesture, the fact teams wore different colours was confusing.

Perhaps a one-bib-fits-all approach would work better next year for consistency?

Fever and Vixens still undefeated

Tied on 16 points, it's the team in green's for and against percentage (127.69) that gives them a slight edge over their 2020 and 2022 grand final opponents, the Vixens.

Boasting a total 309 goals, the Fever has scored more points than any other Super Netball side and that's kudos to the incredible service it's providing target Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard.

The world's best shooter, standing at 198cm tall, hit a national netball league career milestone last week of 8,000 goals. On Sunday, she added another 60 to her season tally to take it to 243 goals.

That's 65 more than the next best in the league and what's even more impressive is Fowler-Nembhard has missed just five of her attempts so far to record an overall 98 per cent accuracy.

Of course, the wider Fever squad deserve credit for its hard work out front.

Midcourters Alice-Teague Neeld and Kelsey Browne alongside goal attack Shanice Beckford are humming beautifully together in attack.

Leading in, the Fever flew under the radar as it very much felt like an unknown entity with six changes to its roster, plus the departure of long-time captain Courtney Bruce.

Another team that didn't rate a mention in the favourites discussion this year were the Vixens.

If the Fever players are the best attackers, then the Vixens are the best defenders.

They have let in fewer goals than anyone else (213) thanks to a beautiful cohesion between their defensive unit and on Sunday, the Vixens were back to full strength, as Weston played her first 60 minutes since returning from a lower-leg injury.

Previously, Weston's omission would have hampered the side, but this year, the trio of Emily Mannix, Rudi Ellis and Kate Eddy have really stepped up.

Of course, we've still got 10 weeks to play before the finals and a lot could change between now and then, but if the Fever and Vixens remain frontrunners, we could very well see them meet in a Super Netball decider for a third time in just five seasons.

We're already counting down the days until they face off in round seven!

Is this the year Georgie Horjus gets a Diamonds call-up?

As the reigning champions, the Thunderbirds are looking good for 2024, sitting third on the ladder as they aim to defend their Super Netball title.

The side have only dropped one game so far by a single goal and their clash against the Giants in round four saw them secure their biggest win yet by 20 goals.

One of the things working in their favour is the work done by 22-year-old zippy South Australian player Georgie Horjus at the front end of the court.

The Kangaroo Island product has swung regularly between wing attack and goal attack in her fifth Super Netball season and is currently in the top five in the league for goal assists (73) and centre-pass receives (82).

As for her work in the circle, Horjus is shooting at 81 per cent accuracy (25/31) and has been a handy option for her side in the super shot period.

Although she's also turned the ball over 18 times, early inclusion in the Australian camp could very well help this young star take her game to the next level.

With her ability to occupy both the GA and WA bib, and standing at just 172cm high, we can't help but compare some elements of her game to recently retired Diamond Steph Fretwell.

Could they be a like-for-like replacement? Minus the experience of course. Thunderbirds teammate and fellow midcourter Laura Scherian certainly rates Horjus's ability to read the game.

"Definitely one of the smartest players I've played with," Scherian said, "Her creativity is amazing."

Giants stuck in a hole

The Giants are facing their biggest uphill battle since they were established in 2017, as they sit at the bottom of the ladder, none from four for the first time in history.

Last season, they slumped to three straight losses to start before they got their first victory. In the end, they turned it around to finish sixth overall with five wins to their name. This year, however, the vibe is different. The team's body language feels heavy and frustrated.

In the first couple of weeks, the problem looked like it was in defence, now it looks like it is in attack, making it hard for pundits to put their finger on one particular issue.

What's especially made it tough for the Giants to grapple with, is knowing they put out some really impressive performances in the pre-season.

"One of the reasons why we're so upset is the culture of this team and the way we've backed each other from the very minute we came together and all through pre-season has been so good.

"It's really upsetting that we can't get back to where we were."

Young goal keeper Tilly McDonnell echoed Fitzgerald's sentiments.