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Round nine is done and with just five weeks left of the regular Super Netball season, some important jostling took place for ladder position.
Ahead of their showdown, the Sunshine Coast Lightning and NSW Swifts were tied on 12 points, with the Lightning ever so slightly in front in fourth place based on for and against.
But the constant speculation surrounding Samantha Wallace-Joseph's omission wore down the Swifts and the Lightning managed to keep themselves within finals contention, winning 66-64.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds quickly learnt from their failed attempt to dismantle the West Coast Fever in round six, to turnaround and hand the team in green its biggest loss since 2019, 68-50.
The battle between the Giants and Queensland Firebirds became the unexpected game of the round, as both sides desperately try to avoid the wooden spoon.
The Giants eventually came out on top, 71-67, to leapfrog the Firebirds into seventh place.
Finally, the second Melbourne Derby of the season saw the Vixens register a new crowd record for a home-and-away season match, as 9,022 people turned up to watch the old guard maintain its bragging rights against the Mavericks, 77-58.
With that, the Vixens overtake the Fever in top spot. It could be a pivotal moment in their push towards the minor premiership.
If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our Super Netball Round-Up.
Wallace-Joseph controversy rolls on
Sam Wallace-Joseph has now been missing from the Swifts line-up for two straight weeks and as the club remains tight-lipped about their reason to drop her from the side, the rumour mill has been sent into overdrive.
In other sports, this would be back-page news and by now there would have been some kind of leak.
On Monday, the Swifts released an update that stated it had nothing to do with a social media incident earlier this year – when the Trinidad and Tobago shooter criticised an overlap between Easter Sunday and International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Later, she apologised and said she was taken out of context.
But the club confirmed she would be unavailable for selection as they dealt with a matter relating to behaviour within the team environment and that it was working with Wallace-Joseph and her management team.
All signs point to these negotiations leading to termination or a mutual parting of ways — unprecedented in netball.
The situation has been extremely sad to watch unfold, considering Wallace-Joseph has been a beloved member of the team since her signing in 2017 – taking the Swifts to two Super Netball titles and being named club MVP three times.
She was celebrated league-wide in her return to the court this season after two years out of the game with a serious knee injury.
There have been several moments during her time living in Australia where Wallace-Joseph has thought about throwing in the towel – when her father suffered a stroke, when he passed away, and during her recent gruelling knee rehabilitation.
But through difficult times, the Swifts have built their reputation on being a close-knit family, particularly for athletes living overseas or interstate without a support network.
As such, two teammates were Wallace-Joseph's bridesmaids at her wedding in March and their partners were also part of the bridal party as groomsmen. Plus, all 10 full-time contracted players and some training partners attended the nuptials before the season start.
Although the Swifts are adamant the recent issue has nothing to do with Wallace-Joseph's gaffe at Easter, it seems undeniable that fractions in the group started to appear at this point.
Fans have speculated about various teammates unfollowing Wallace-Joseph on social media and deleting photos from her wedding, but this may be overblown — it appears only one has unfollowed at the time of publication and there are plenty of happy snaps with her teammates still in her tagged photos.
Another report suggested Wallace-Joseph failed to turn up at the airport for the Swifts' flight to Melbourne last week, but the shooter had been dropped from the team and it is uncommon for a player outside the top 10 to travel unless it is for leadership reasons.
Should Wallace-Joseph and the team part ways, the league would allow the Swifts 21 days from that date to name a replacement – temporary or permanent – and it could be any player they wish. It does not have to be one of their training partners.
All of this makes for a fascinating case study about player relationships within a team.
Do you have to be friends as well as teammates in a squad as small as 10? Has the weight of a difficult season — with just three wins — made a breakdown more difficult to overcome?
We'll keep you in the loop as the story develops.
Garbin's best year yet
Last round, Diamond Sophie Garbin shot 50-plus goals in a Super Netball game for the very first time and now she's gone and done it again.
Against the Giants, Garbin registered 51 goals at 93 per cent and against the Mavericks it was 51 goals at 91 per cent. Her previous best total was back in 2021 when she was still with her first Super Netball club at the Swifts: shooting 34.
Garbin has also been one of the players that has most enjoyed netball's rule changes this year.
Now that a goal is counted if it has left the hand before the buzzer, we've seen her put up various shots at the end of a quarter or match.
Her game has gone to new heights in the Vixens camp under the watch of Simone McKinnis and she looks fitter and more conditioned than ever before.
On the weekend, Garbin was featured in an in-depth interview with Fox Netball.
She spoke about the form slump she faced at Collingwood over the past two seasons while learning how to play more at goal attack.
She was also asked about the support she had experienced since Collingwood folded and she went on to play a big part in Australia's win at the Netball World Cup.
"There were some dark days … It is good to have their support and we [the Vixens] do have such great fans, but it is hard when you know some of them hated you 12 months ago," Garbin said.
Garbin said she has tried meditating and visualisation when it comes to improving her accuracy, particularly on the super shot.
It appears the Vixens have unlocked her true potential and the crazy thing is they believe there is still a long way for her to go.
"I remember my first session with [assistant coach] Di Honey and she said, 'You've got so much potential' after we'd just come back from winning a World Cup," Garbin said.
"But no, I agree with her, I feel like I've only scratched the surface."
Fever slump to biggest loss in 'poor' performance
There's a long-running and widespread theory in sport that a team needs to build its form over the course of a season in order to peak right before the finals.
This way, they're unlikely to run out of steam before the deciding matches.
So, have Dan Ryan's team mistimed their push for the trophy?
In round nine, the Fever slumped to its worst loss in five years and its lowest-ever total since the two-point super shot was introduced in 2020.
They scored just nine goals in two quarters, and it was their second loss in three weeks, after a six-round winning streak to start their campaign.
They've now gone 1-1 in their meetings with the other top-three teams – Vixens and Thunderbirds – which keeps things interesting.
Their early run had us wondering if anyone had a chance against them, as their average winning margin during those six weeks was 17 goals.
The Fever's biggest drawcard is 198cm-tall holding shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, but she can't put the ball through the hoop if her midcourt continues to throw away possession.
Altogether, the players that occupied their centre, wing attack and goal attack bibs gave away 18 general play turnovers and Ryan was forced to make a series of drastic changes.
After starting young gun Olivia Wilkinson at goal attack in place of the usual Shanice Beckford and making the switch back in the second quarter to no avail, he turned to wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld coming out of the half-time break to fill that position.
Teague-Neeld had not played goal attack in Super Netball for two years and only managed two goals from five attempts in 27 minutes at GA.
The team looked fatigued and struggled to adjust.
Perhaps their tight affair against the Thunderbirds in round six (57-56), followed by a big loss at home to Vixens (76-65) and then another hard-fought tussle with the Lightning (71-68) spooked them heading into round nine?
Ryan was honest with his thoughts after the match, describing the performance as "well-below standard and really poor."
He pondered, "We have to work out is this where we are at? Or was this just a bad day?"
Either way, you'd expect them to bounce back this week as they're normally such a disciplined and well-drilled team.