The Melbourne Mavericks are thrilled to welcome powerhouse defender, Tara Hinchliffe, to the club for the upcoming 2026 Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) season.
The 27-year-old joins the Mavs from Sunshine Coast Lightning, bringing to the team her strong intercepting instincts and defensive smarts, to join 2025 season teammate Reilley Batcheldor, who was also officially announced as a Maverick last week.
Hinchliffe made her SSN debut in 2018 with the Queensland Firebirds, where she spent four years building her defensive skills, before further honing in on these talents upon her move to the Lightning in 2022. After being vice captain at the Firebirds, she was also made vice captain of the Lightning in 2022 – her first year at the club – a position she held throughout the rest of her tenure on the Sunshine Coast.
As well as being Australian Diamond #190, Hinchliffe captained the Australian Fast Five team to their first ever Fast Five Netball World Series gold medal in 2022. Not only did she lead the team to the title, but she was also named MVP in the gold medal game.
Hinchliffe’s defensive prowess is undeniable, tallying an impressive 41 deflections, 16 intercepts and 525 Net Points over the 2025 season. At the Lighting’s end of season Awards Night, Hinchliffe was awarded both the ‘Players’ Player’ and the ‘Team Spirit’ Awards, further highlighting what an asset she is to any team both on and off the court.
Hinchliffe spoke on her excitement to start a new chapter of her career with the Mavs in 2026.
“It’s really exciting to be joining the Mavs for this upcoming season,” Hinchliffe said. “The team is full of such talent and skill, and the club values really resonated with me. I’m really keen to get amongst it and contribute what I can both on and off the court to build sustained success in 2026 and beyond.”
Mavericks General Manager, Shae Bolton-Brown, said the club was thrilled to ink Hinchliffe’s signature.
"We're thrilled to have someone of Tara’s calibre join us at the Mavs,” Bolton-Brown said. “Not only is she an exceptional player to help anchor our defence end of the court, but from all accounts and our dealings with Tara so far, she is also an exceptional human, and we are thrilled to have someone with those qualities join our club.”
Hinchliffe’s signing is a huge addition to the Mavs’ 2026 roster, as she joins a current list that includes Reilley Batcheldor, Kim Brown, Shimona Jok, Molly Jovic, Amy Parmenter and Jamie-Lee Price.
[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.]
