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It's going to be tough for anyone to beat the Adelaide Thunderbirds after the defending champions pulled off the biggest victory in Super Netball finals history.
Winning by 25 goals in the major semifinal over the Melbourne Vixens, 68-43, they are now the first team through to the grand final with a shot at back-to-back titles.
The result marked the eighth straight win for the team at home in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,651 people.
This semifinal was played at the smaller Adelaide 36ers Arena due to a scheduling clash but the side will return to their usual Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the big dance in two weeks.
It was difficult to pick a player of the match, as the Thunderbirds won every battle across the court. In the end, the honour went to 22-year-old Lauren Frew for her hot start in goal attack.
Frew is a new addition to the team this year and looked like a seasoned player in her first finals campaign – finishing with 16 goals and one super shot at 94 per cent accuracy.
Other contenders included Jamaican powerhouses Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Romelda Aiken-George.
The goal keeper set a new personal best with 14 gains and became the league's first player to crack 300 total intercepts.
Meanwhile, holding shooter Aiken-George has now reached two consecutive grand finals since being dumped by long-time club the Queensland Firebirds and moving interstate to keep her netball career alive.
Which team stands in their way of the trophy still needs to be determined in the preliminary final next week.
Here, the Vixens will get a second chance as they host the West Coast Fever.
After the Fever overcame the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the minor semifinal, 72-62, in Perth.
Their 72-goal total set a new record for a Super Netball finals score.
It was another match where Jamaican imports starred, like Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard.
On her 35th birthday, the shooter nailed 67 goals at near-perfect accuracy to take out the player of the match award.
A beautiful gesture from Fowler-Nembhard in the opening minutes of the game has also earned her extra praise.
If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our semifinal analysis.
TBirds run rampant in major semi
The Thunderbirds are brimming with confidence on a seven-game winning streak.
The Vixens were left to lick their wounds after suffering their biggest loss of 2024.
Head coach Simone McKinnis labelled the result as "shattering" and "one of the Vixens' worst performances ever".
The lop-sided result was certainly unexpected as both teams had won the same amount of games to finish inside the top two.
But the visitors failed to turn up on the night and looked a shell of their former selves. They lacked belief and dropped their heads early.
"The Thunderbirds were away at a 100 miles from the first whistle," McKinnis said.
"We took a step back right from the start ... We were too hesitant and failed to execute the simple stuff."
The opening minutes were a flurry of nerves, as both teams threw the ball away.
But the key difference was that it didn't take long for the Thunderbirds to settle into a rhythm and start to make a dint on the scoreboard.
These early moments were largely thanks to the calm work from Frew, who had been under an injury cloud after suffering an ankle sprain a few weeks ago and aggravating it again in the final round.
But as she flittered around court, there were zero signs of it holding her back.
The Vixens' game plan instead focused on doubling up on the more experienced Aiken-George, allowing Frew to steer the front end. The young gun swept around the circle and roamed freely in space.
As the Vixens started to attract whistle, they struggled to adapt. Standing out of play, they relieved the pressure on the Thunderbirds to help them get back to regular programming and feed Aiken-George.
The Jamaican had also clued into their tactics and lured both defenders with her high in the circle, allowing space for Frew to skim along the baseline.
At the other end of the court, the Thunderbirds defenders got to work.
Matilda Garrett, Latanya Wilson and Tayla Williams did the hard yards out front to win ball on circle edge.
They squeezed the Vixens midcourters and smothered their next phase with incredible closing speed, throwing out the opposition's timing and flow in attack.
As a result, the Vixens conceded eight turnovers in that first period of play and only managed to convert 53 per cent of their centre passes.
Sensing the game was getting away from them early, goal attack Kiera Austin banged home three super shots to make the score look more respectable.
But the Thunderbirds were on a roll, scoring seven of the last 10 goals in the quarter to lead 19-13 at the break.
This was not the way the Vixens had hoped to start the semifinal and yet, things only got worse as last year's season MVP sprung to life in the second quarter.
Sterling-Humphrey currently leads every defensive stat in the league and in this semifinal she took her game to new heights.
Poor Sophie Garbin didn't stand a chance once Sterling-Humphrey's instincts kicked in and her long limbs created havoc.
Put off her shot, the Diamonds shooter couldn't find the net once in this period. Austin was also overwhelmed and dropped from 100 to 77 per cent accuracy.
McKinnis made wholesale changes to try and get her Vixens team back on track.
Emily Mannix shifted to GK, Ellis went to the bench and Jo Weston was injected at GD to try and shut down Frew.
Mannix started the season as one of the in-form defenders, but couldn't get her feet moving quickly enough to get off the body of Aiken-George.
Tensions boiled over when she gave the shooter a shove right in front of the umpire. The crowd booed and it was a clear sign the Vixens were losing the mental battle.
Up front, Garbin and Austin had swapped bibs, but this was even more of a disaster. The combo lasted four minutes before they were forced to switch back.
At this point, Thunderbirds head coach Tania Obst made her own changes, pairing Wilson and Sterling in the circle to double the jumping pressure over the shot.
As the Vixens scrambled, McKinnis yanked Garbin off and turned to Lily Graham. The 18-year-old has had limited game time in her debut season but is great from long-range.
Two super shots from the youngster before half-time gave the Vixens a glimmer of hope, but they still headed to the change rooms trailing 38-22.
McKinnis questioned where their fight had gone and challenged them to get back into the contest.
Although Kate Eddy came off the bench to provide fresh energy for their defence in the third quarter, the margin grew to 22 goals, 54-32.
Heading into the last period, the game was certainly the Thunderbirds and Obst told them to soak up the moment.
Local talents Georgie Horjus and Lucy Austin got a chance to combine up front and were cheered loudly.
In the final minute, Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson hugged as they celebrated.
When the siren sounded with the score in their favour 68-43, the raucous fans almost lifted the roof off the arena.
"We respect the Vixens, they're a quality team so to see that scoreline at the end is quite spectacular, it was a bit of a surprise," Obst said.
"For us now, it's about enjoying this moment.
"We've had some really lean years in Adelaide and it has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get here … I certainly won't be getting ahead of myself ... but we will sit back over the next few days to reflect on what we've achieved."
The Thunderbirds spent close to a decade at the bottom of the ladder prior to 2023 and Garrett said she hoped the club could build a dynasty in this next chapter.
"Making grand finals is really hard and we've been building over the last three, four years, it isn't just something that's happened overnight," she said.
"I'm just so proud of the team and the connections that we've built and it's exciting that we'll be in another grand final."
Jamaicans star in minor semi
A record eight Jamaicans are playing Super Netball this year and they're dominating the league. Six of them took the court across the weekend in the semifinals and each made an impact.
In the game played in Perth, it was the bookends Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Kadie-Ann Dehaney who stole the spotlight as 10,023 people turned up to cheer on the team in green.
Dehaney played one of the best games of her career against her old club, tallying eight gains and terrorising the Lightning shooters with her tall lean to put them off their shots.
In that circle, World Cup champions Cara Koenen (29/34) and Steph Fretwell (17/28) baulked a lot under Dehaney's defensive pressure. The team's overall accuracy finished at 70 per cent – well below their standards.
Their super shot specialist Reilley Batcheldor did her best to keep them in the fight but the lack of accuracy was even more apparent from two-point range, where the Lighting only managed to get eight of their 21 attempts in.
At the other end of the court, the world's best shooter was in fine form.
There were a couple of moments where she was challenged by Ash Ervin and former teammate Courtney Bruce, but ultimately she was far too strong for them to keep up.
By the end of the game, Fowler-Nembhard had converted 67 goals at 97 per cent accuracy. Her only misses came in the final two minutes as she had a couple of cracks at the super shot for fun.
But the most important goal came in the first minute.
As she opened the Fever's account, Fowler-Nembhard turned and crossed her arms to tap her shoulders.
It was a small gesture and yet it didn't go unnoticed by fans.
Earlier in the week, she had completed a one-on-one coaching session with 12-year-old Holly from Kalamunda District Netball Association.
The youngster had the time of her life getting tips from the Jamaican but unfortunately dislocated her shoulder during her game on Saturday, as she took to the court in her grassroots match and tried to implement what she had learned.
The message got back to Fowler-Nembhard that Holly had hurt herself and the Super Netball player sent her a message of encouragement, promising to touch her shoulders to try and cheer her up after her first goal.
It was something small, but will leave a big impact on Holly and is a testament to the legend of Fowler-Nembhard.
Head coach Dan Ryan was glowing in his assessment of her performance.
"She is the greatest goal shooter our game has ever seen and because she has such high standards every single week, everyone expects that from her," Ryan said.
"We're so grateful that she's in our team and have a real priority to ensure we get the best out of her.
"She's been a whole new person in our environment this year and an incredible leader, we do not take her for granted."
The first half of the minor semifinal was a willing contest where the lead changed six times and the teams could only be separated by one goal at the main break.
But the second half belonged well and truly to the Fever, who came firing out of the blocks.
They scored seven of the opening 10 goals to start the third quarter and from there, they ran away with the game.
Reflecting on his team's performance, Ryan said the beginning had been a real grind. But he was proud the Fever absorbed the pressure to eventually pull away.
"That was a real challenge and we were under the pump, but we came out of the half-time break wanting to achieve a new level of play," he said.
"I'm really proud of the girls and how they took hold of crucial moments."