Elmere van der Berg, a 192cm South African goal shooter for the Adelaide Thunderbirds, has been described as a confirmed superstar after three games in Super Netball 2026, according to Tim Elbra from Fox Sports on April 3rd, 2026. Her rise has been fast enough to become part of the club’s larger machinery, with the Thunderbirds now being framed as a side chasing a third premiership in four years and a possible treble with different goal shooters. **The Club and Its Moving Parts** Van der Berg has already accumulated 165 goals, averaging 55 per game, and shot 59/61 in her record-breaking debut against the NSW Swifts. That debut shattered several club scoring records and immediately turned her into the center of the Thunderbirds’ attack. The numbers are the club’s currency, and van der Berg has been producing them at a pace that has made the rest of the competition take notice. Cath Cox, a FOX Netball expert, said, “It’s funny how quickly we’ve started talking about her like we just expect this from her now,” and added, “I think the first week we were all like, ‘Wow, this is amazing’. Second week, ‘Oh my God, she’s nearly broken her record again’. Then in commentary on Sunday, we weren’t talking her up that much, and she was awesome; we just expect that from her now. The poor thing! She’s three weeks in and she’s the new Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. We just expect great games and massive numbers and good accuracy all the time.” **What the Experts Say the System Needs** Cox also said, “I didn’t expect her to be this good, no. But I guess it just goes to show what having some good service out the front looks like, and she’s certainly got that with Georgie Horjus and Kate Heffernan,” and, “She’s just really standing up to it as well, because she’s still young. It’s pretty amazing to watch her be able to do that. She’s not shying away from anything, she’s attacking Super Shots as well, and really is the full thing. But having said all of that — we did see last year the same sort of awesome opening half from Grace Nweke and then people worked her out in the second half of the season and got on top of her. So we’ll try not to put too much pressure on her but at the moment, she’s having an outstanding start to the season.” Bianca Chatfield, another FOX Netball expert, called van der Berg “such an enormous pick-up for the Thunderbirds,” and said, “She always showed she had potential, she always showed that there was a lot she could offer as a moving shooter, very versatile. But for South Africa, we haven’t see her have the right players around her to really bring her play to life. You’d just see moments of it. Whereas the Thunderbirds, having the experience of Georgie Horjus, even Lauren Frew in goal attack and Kate Heffernan at centre, the way that they connect with her, the way they really bring out the best of her game ... and she is just not letting them down. She is showing them so far that she’s going to shoot the volume for them but also just give them so many clear options to post. To me, she’s been an absolute standout (among the imports), as has Kate Heffernan in the role that she’s played with the Thunderbirds too. The way she’s finding herself in the hard, physical, Australian one-on-one style of play, she feels like she’s been part of it for a long time.” **Premiership Ambitions and Contract Pressure** Van der Berg, aged 24, could become the third different goal shooter to lead the Thunderbirds to a premiership this season, following Eleanor Cardwell in 2023 and Romelda Aiken-George in 2024. When all players go off-contract at the end of the season due to a new broadcast deal, van der Berg is expected to be a top re-signing priority. The club’s success is being built through constant turnover, constant pressure, and constant expectation that the next scorer will keep the machine moving. Cox described van der Berg as “so strong and smart, but very calm,” noting, “There’s not anything that’s ever happened, from what I’ve seen in the first three rounds, that’s unsettling her at all. There’s obviously a lot going on on a court, people pushing and shoving and trying to put her off, and she doesn’t ever look rattled. Always very calm, and I think that reflects on her team down that whole attack line. Really smart use of her body, super solid, really strong, really great timing; and obviously there’s no issues with what she’s doing on the shot. Thus far, looks to be the full package.” Lauren Frew, van der Berg's goal circle partner, scored 12/12 and provided 10 goal assists against the Firebirds. Cox said, “I actually really enjoyed watching it on Sunday. I thought Frew had one of her better games,” and added, “I think we’ve seen players get stuck just kind of letting the strike shooter do all the work, but Frew really injected herself in the game and I thought that made them super dangerous. If she can keep playing like that throughout the season, they’ll really become unstoppable. I think the goal attacks can get in the habit of going missing sometimes but she was injecting herself really well, had great timing, and I think that pairing is obviously going to get better every outing and they’re only three weeks in. I don’t think she (Frew) is necessarily a world-beater. I wouldn’t see her every playing for Australia. But I think what she does is instrumental in her particular team at the moment and she’s going to be very important to them.” Kate Heffernan, a Silver Ferns player, has also been a key import for the Thunderbirds, with Cox noting, “Kate’s definitely fit in beautifully in that team and they obviously needed her after the departure of Hannah Petty. She’s just really complementing what’s happening in that frontline and also the defensive stuff she brings is bolstering their defence end even more so, if that was possible.” Coach Tania Obst's side is considered a strong contender for the SSN trophy, especially with the reunion of defenders Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, who recently became a mum, Latanya Wilson, and Matilda Garrett. Cox said, “I don’t see anyone touching them at all,” and added that “the Adelaide Thunderbirds are never going to struggle to win ball back. So they’re going to continue to have plenty of opportunity and I think that will set them apart from what we saw from the Swifts last year.” The Thunderbirds will play the Melbourne Mavericks away at John Cain Arena on Saturday night for SSN Round 4.
