Critical on-court issues cause chaos as Super Netball again chases its tail

A fter a series of off-court issues plagued Australian netball throughout 2022, executives must have breathed a sigh of relief when everything appeared to run smoothly into the start of the 2023 Super Netball season – only for critical on-court issues to hit in round two.

When the lights went out at Netball SA Stadium during half-time of the match between the Adelaide Thunderbirds and NSW Swifts on Saturday night, it was particularly notable for two reasons. It was the second delay to this particular match, after it had been pushed back an hour due to the decals on the court being deemed unsafe, and it was not the first sporting event to be struck by a power outage this weekend.

On Friday night, the men’s AFL match between Brisbane and Melbourne was delayed for over 30 minutes due to a power outage at the Gabba. But there was a difference – while the AFL players returned to the field to complete their match, the netballers were forced to abandon their game, which was declared a draw.

Denying an opportunity for a result could have serious ramifications on both teams’ finals hopes. But the move, based on a little-known rule regarding a 120-minute window in which games must be completed, also called processes and procedures into question.

“Earlier today we had to delay the match within the match session time window,” Netball Australia head of integrity Nicole Malcher said during an interview with Fox Sports. “We extended it to allow us to complete the match within 120 minutes. Because we’ve extended it into that time, we don’t have enough time to complete it within the session time window so we do have to declare the match at half-time [and] both teams will have two points for tonight’s game.”

It is a series of