Super Netball 2025 grand final: The key match-up which will decide if West Coast Fever or Melbourne Vixens win

Lock Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard in for 60 goals. West Coast Fever know it. Melbourne Vixens know it. The contest which is likely to decide who wins the 2025 Super Netball premiership is going to take place up the other end of the court. If Vixens are any hope of beating the all-conquering Fever, they’re going to need sharpshooter Kiera Austin to pile on the super shots. And this means that for Fever, the most important player on the court is going to be goal defender Sunday Aryang. The two will likely go head-to-head for a full 60 minutes at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday but it will be the last five minutes of every quarter where they will have all the attention. Fowler-Nembhard’s dominance means they’re going to almost certainly dominate the one-goal period, meaning if the Vixens are going to have any hope of chasing them down they’re going to have to do it from long-range. Austin is lethal from deep and there was no better example than in the final quarter of the preliminary final thriller when she held her nerve to shoot three from three to give the Vixens a one-goal win over the NSW Swifts. Aryang will know this and will understand that the key to her stopping Austin is making sure the ball doesn’t get in her hands in the first place. The 24-year-old Fever defender is in the best form of her career and her confidence is at an all-time high. Her ability to read the play out the front and intercept has gone to a new level in latter stages of this season. In the major semifinal demolition of the NSW Swifts she was monumental with a game-high seven gains and three deflections. If she can replicate that performance in the decider, Fever will be in the box seat to bring home a second premiership trophy. Her teammates are going to need to be aware as well that Austin is the biggest threat to a 14th consecutive win. During the super shot period they must dominate possession and make it a slow, dour time. Take away the long-range shooting and the Vixen stand little chance of causing an upset.