The Melbourne Mavericks are thrilled to announce that Super Shot queen, Uneeq Palavi, has been elevated to full playing contract ahead of the 2026 Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) season.
After joining the Mavs family during the club’s inaugural year as a Training Partner, Palavi made her SSN debut with the New South Wales Swifts in 2024, when the team were looking for a shooter as a Temporary Replacement Player (TRP).
Palavi returned to Melbourne and the Mavs as a Training Partner in 2025, and ended up being named in the playing squad of 10 for all 14 Mavs games, as a TRP for injured English international, Eleanor Cardwell.
Palavi officially gained her Mavs wings when she threw her first ball for the Mavs in Round 1 of the 2025 season, and quickly showed the SSN world just what she can do. The 23-year-old has worked effortlessly to assert herself as a leading athlete in the world’s top netball league, with her sharp-shooting allowing her to tally 37 Super Shots across the13 games she took to the court in the 2025 season – the equal fifth highest tally in the League, shooting at 61% from the two-point range alone.
The Melbourne-born Tongan-international is also a force on the world netball circuit, having played 51 Tests for Tonga. With a Tongan father and Samoan mother, Palavi’s international career highlights include being named both series and Grand Final MVP at the 2022 Pacific Australia Netball Series, as well as being a standout contributor for Tonga at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
Palavi spoke on her excitement to become an officially contracted Mav for the 2026 season.
“It’s really exciting to solidify my position with this team,” Palavi said. “The girls, the coaches and the fans have absolutely wrapped their arms around me throughout the last season in particular, and its been the most welcoming environment to really hone in on my game. I can’t wait to continue to work with the team and see what we can achieve in 2026.”
Mavs General Manager, Shae Bolton-Brown, added that the team was thrilled to once again promote from within when it came to offering Palavi a contract.
“Elevating Uneeq to a full contract is a testament not just to her and the mountain of work she’s done on her game over the past two seasons, but also to our entire high performance staff, who’ve worked with Uneeq to bring her game to a point where she’s both an asset to any team she’s a part of, but also, an offensive threat to any opposition she comes up against,” Bolton-Brown said.
“Uneeq is a fan favourite, so we’re so excited to share this signing with our fans, and hope they’re looking forward to 2026 as much as we are!”
Palavi’s signing means there is now one spot remaining in the Mavs’ list of contracted 10 players for the 2026 season. Palavi joins Reilley Batcheldor, Kim Brown, Jessie Grenvold, Tara Hinchliffe, Shimona Jok, Molly Jovic, Amy Parmenter and Jamie-Lee Price as contracted Mavs for 2026.
[With the current Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) broadcast and digital rights deal between Netball Australia and the Foxtel Group expiring at the end of next year, the end of the 2026 SSN season is the longest any club can contract a player for this point in time.]
