Vixens Academy | Round 1 Preview

Starting this Saturday April 24 and spanning seven regular rounds, the league includes all eight of the SSN feeder teams, plus a play-in tournament in June for Tasmania, Northern Territory, and ACT to determine seedings before a three-day finals event on June 12-14.

Vixens Academy is the Melbourne Vixens Reserves team and the club’s high performance pathway program coached by Wendy Jacobsen and Tegan Hopkins.

The 2026 squad comprises nine players, in addition to nine training partners, collectively representing six Victorian Netball League (VNL) clubs. The match day squad may be altered to allow for elevations, replacement players, and signed Vixens athletes, in accordance with Netball Australia rules.

Get to know the Vixens Academy team in the lead up to their first game on Sunday April 25 at 6.30pm AEST/4.30pm AWST against reigning Reserves premiers West Coast Fever Reserves. Admission to the Reserves match, held after the Melbourne Vixens versus West Coast Fever Round 7 match, is included with all SSN tickets to this match, and the game will be available to stream live via KommunityTV (subscription required).

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The 2026 Vixens Academy team includes seven athletes returning to the side who finished 7th in the regular 2025 Reserves season including goaler Bella Hodgson and defender Ruby Turner, in addition to 2026 Melbourne Vixens training partners Maggie Caris, Mia Lavis, Zali Anderson, and Ally O’Connor.

The new signings are midcourter Taylah Brown (who has moved across from Melbourne Mavericks) and GA/WA Georgia Moody, both of whom have previously represented Victorian Fury (the open age state team competing at the Australian Netball Championship).

Defender Ruby Pekin-Schlicht has been elevated to the main team from a 2025 training partner position. She has previously represented Victoria at the Under 19 level and recently made an on-court appearance during the Melbourne Vixens’ 2026 pre-season campaign.

The training partners include Reserves-experienced defenders Indya Forde, Charli Nicol, and Tepaea Hobson alongside the following five new faces.

Goalers 18-year-old Sahara Ball and 19-year-old Annecy Lyon are both members of the 19/U Victorian State Team who won Bronze at the National Netball Championships (NNC) earlier this month.

Kate O’Dwyer is another new goaler to the squad with impressive Victorian Netball League (VNL) credentials, having shot 615 goals at 91% accuracy last season

Midcourter Harriet Gall was 2024 Australian 21/U Squad member who has returned to court this year following an ACL injury.

Midcourter Georgie O’Brien was the vice-captain of the 2025 19/U Victorian State team.

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This new-look Vixens Academy side will be tested in Round 1 against the reigning premiers West Coast Fever Reserves at Perth’s Gold Netball Centre.

Fever’s Reserves side includes multiple SSN and internationally experienced players headlined by returning three-time state league MVP Caitlyn Brown, who is currently a temporary replacement player for Ruth Aryang in Fever’s SSN team.

Expect Brown to combine again with Fever training partner and Black Swans First Nations team captain Scarlet Jauncey after winning gold with the Australian 21/U team at the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup,

2025 19/U Australian Squad member and fellow defender Kate Cunningham is a late out for Fever Reserves due to a recent ACL injury.

Crafty playmaking and speed will be required by Vixens Academy goal attacks Mia Lavis and Georgia Moody to overcome Fever’s defensive pressure and find their target shooter Bella Hodgson in this match. Depending on her SSN game time, contracted Melbourne Vixen Lily Graham may also be called upon to bring her accuracy and versatility across both goaling positions

The Fever goalers bring their own valuable experience, even without their World Youth Cup-experienced and 2025 shooter Jasmah Haywood, who will miss the season after recently undergoing meniscus surgery.

Fever training partner Sloan Burton remains in the side after recently made her SSN debut as a temporary replacement player, and goaler/midcourter Sophie Eastaugh brings speed from her athletics background and experience from the 2022 19/U Australian Squad.

Vixens Academy defensive trio Maggie Caris, Ruby Pekin-Schlicht, and Ruby Turner will be tasked with shutting down these moving goalers’ unpredictable movement.

In the Fever midcourt, versatile Jess Repacholi returns for her third season, alongside 2023 19/U Australian squad member Indi Squiers for her second. The new midcourt signings are 2025/26 Black Swans Squad athlete Tierrah Miller, and 2024 21&U Australian Squad athlete Charisse Rond.

With last year’s captain Zoe Cransberg unlikely to play in Fever’s Reserves team while earning considerable minutes in SSN, shutting down Fever’s new centre of choice will be a key part of Vixens Academy’s game plan. Fever Reserves will also be adapting to new structures since the retirement of former Australian Diamond Kelsey Browne post last season.

With some notable injuries, Fever may call upon their training partner defenders Eva Petkovic and Emily Rivers or goalers Halle Richards and Teagan Begovic in this match. Fellow training partners goaler Aitaua Enari and midcourter Clara Wigley are both currently injured.

Super Netball Reserves – Round 1 2026
Vixens Academy v West Coast Fever Reserves
Gold Netball Centre, Perth
6.30pm AEST/4.30pm AWST
Live stream via Kommunity TV here (subscription required)