When the Adelaide Thunderbirds faced the NSW Swifts at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday night, one player's return meant more than a line on the ladder. Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, the world's best goalkeeper and a cornerstone of Adelaide's premiership teams, took the court for the first time since becoming a mother. It was meant to be a quiet night statistically. The headlines instead went to debutant Elmere van der Berg, who scored 59 goals in 60 minutes, propelling the Thunderbirds to a dominant victory in the third quarter, clinching a 74-54 win.
But it was Sterling-Humphrey's quiet strength that will linger long after the scoreboard fades. In January, she posted to Instagram about her postpartum depression, describing a battle that many athletes face in silence. "I don't think they talk about postpartum depression enough," she wrote. She recounted constant vomiting, mood swings, crying, and dark thoughts that arrived after her son Xaihire's birth. "It went on and on and on," she shared, "until I started having suicidal thoughts. I prayed hard during this time. Prescriptions helped me a lot. I'm in a better place."
Sterling-Humphrey's willingness to name her struggle, publicly and specifically, breaks a silence that runs deep in sport. Professional athletes are expected to be bulletproof, compartmentalised, ready to perform. Motherhood, mental health, the vulnerability of postpartum depression; these remain largely unspoken. She has since highlighted netball as a refuge and a source of joy in her life, as she prepares to balance her roles as a mother and an athlete.
Before Saturday's match, Sterling-Humphrey told Fox Netball she felt "a bit emotional" but happy that "my body was good to me." There was no swagger, no invincibility. There was presence and perspective. Three other mothers also took the court that night: Maddy Proud and Gina Crampton returned for the Swifts, both coming back from maternity leave. The Thunderbirds fielded returning centre Gina Crampton as well.
The match itself announced a new Suncorp Super Netball season bristling with change. The Swifts have since revealed that their side is reintegrating experienced campaigners who missed last season, and they showed it through patches of promise. But the Thunderbirds' dominant third-quarter shooting and defensive performance sealed the contest. Van der Berg, arriving from the UK Netball Super League, set a club record with that 59-goal haul. Fellow Thunderbirds newcomer Kate Heffernan shone bright on debut.
Elsewhere across the round, the Melbourne Mavericks defeated GIANTS 61-52 in Bendigo, the Melbourne Vixens beat the Queensland Firebirds 60-49, and West Coast Fever upset Sunshine Coast Lightning 68-65 in Perth. Silver Ferns Maddy Gordon, Kelly Jackson and Te Paea Selby-Rickit made their Super Netball debuts for the Firebirds, signalling the influx of international talent reshaping the league.
For West Coast Fever, the upset was built on audacity and survival. The Vixens gave game time to eight players and the Fever just seven, which is unusual for the Fever who generally use all of their squad. However, the injury ravaged group will be looking to bed down combinations before giving court time to several of their replacement players. Romelda Aiken-George, making her return to the circle, scored 48 goals. The veteran had been brought back from retirement specifically to cover for Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who is pregnant.
What emerges from round one is not a league obsessed with titles or records, but one grappling with human reality. Injuries pile up; pregnancies change seasons; mothers return to work changed by their experience. Sterling-Humphrey's courage in speaking plainly about her postpartum depression is not incidental to her return; it is central to it. She has given permission for others to name what they have been through, and to ask for help.
Super Netball in 2026 will be defined by debuts and comebacks, by new names and international arrivals. But it will also be defined by athletes saying what has long gone unsaid: that becoming a parent can break you, that professional sport does not shield you from mental health crisis, and that talking about it matters more than pretending you are fine.
If you are struggling with postpartum depression, support is available through services including Beyond Blue, Lifeline, and Headspace.