Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures
Australian Netball League team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures, formerly the Southern Force, is an Australian netball team that represents Netball South Australia in the Super Netball Reserves competition. The Thunderbirds Futures is the reserve team of Suncorp Super Netball club, Adelaide Thunderbirds. The team is made up of selected stand-out players from the Netball South Australia Premier League, Adelaide Thunderbirds training partners and some contracted Thunderbirds players.
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| Founded | 2008 | |
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| Based in | Adelaide | |
| Regions | South Australia | |
| Home venue | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | |
| Head coach | Jacqui Illman | |
| Premierships | 2 (2012, 2022) | |
| League | Super Netball Reserves | |
| Website | sa.netball.com.au | |
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Under the Southern Force name, the team were champions of the Australian Netball League/Australian Netball Championships in 2012 and 2022 and were runners-up in 2015.
History
Australian Netball League
Between 2008 and 2011, Netball South Australia's ANL team simply played as South Australia. They were a foundation member of the league. In 2012, they rebranded to become the Southern Force, a name that was first suggested by members of the 2011 ANL squad.[1][2][3] In 2012 with a squad that included Kelly Altmann, Georgia Beaton, Cody Lange, Maddy Proud, Melissa Rowland, Kate Shimmin and Sheree Wingard, Force finished as ANL Champions, defeating NNSW Waratahs 50–36 in the grand final.[1] In 2015, with a squad that saw Lange, Shimmin and Wingard joined by Sarah Klau, Hannah Petty, Samantha Poolman and Maddy Turner, the Southern Force reached the grand final for a second time. However, on this occasion they lost 58–46 to Victorian Fury.[4][5]
Super Netball Reserves
In 2025, the Australian Netball Championships (ANC) was rebranded to the Super Netball Reserves by Netball Australia. This new format of the competition ran alongside the Suncorp Super Netball season, with Thunderbirds Futures games taking place alongside the Adelaide Thunderbirds games, usually pre- or post-SSN match at the same venue, or alternatively the day before or after an SSN match at a different venue.
Grand finals
| Season | Winners | Score | Runners up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012[1][6] | Southern Force | 50–36 | NNSW Waratahs | Waverley Netball Centre, Melbourne |
| 2015[4][5] | Victorian Fury | 58–46 | Southern Force | Waverley Netball Centre, Melbourne |
| 2022 | Southern Force | 59-57 | Victorian Fury | Traralgon |
Notable players
2026 squad
| 2026 Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Player profiles: Team website | Last updated: 27 April 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Contracted eleventh player for Adelaide Thunderbirds
- Training partner for Adelaide Thunderbirds
- Training partner for Thunderbirds Reserves
Source:[7]
Internationals
- Lucy Austin
- Georgie Horjus
- Sarah Klau
- Samantha Poolman
- Maddy Proud
- Kate Shimmin
- Maddy Turner
Adelaide Thunderbirds
- Kelly Altmann
- Lucy Austin
- Georgia Beaton
- Sophie Casey
- Lauren Frew
- Kayla Graham
- Georgie Horjus
- Sarah Klau
- Cody Lange
- Hannah Petty
- Samantha Poolman
- Maddy Proud
- Melissa Rowland
- Kate Shimmin
- Cathrine Tuivaiti
- Sanmarie Visser
- Tayla Williams
- Sheree Wingard
League MVP
| Season | Player |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Kate Shimmin |
| 2025 | Lucy Voyvodic |
Head coaches
Premierships
- Australian Netball League
- Winners: 2012
- Runners up: 2015
- Australian Netball Championships
- Winners: 2022