Netball Super League | Mary Cholhok leaves the Netball Super League after six spectacular years

After a spectacular six seasons in the Netball Super League (NSL), Ugandan shooting star Mary Cholhok is heading to the Suncorp Super Netball league in Australia, where she has signed a multi-year deal with the Queensland Firebirds.

Cholhok has spent the last six seasons at Loughborough Lighting where she has become a lynchpin of the side, always reliable under the post and causing constant headaches for goal keepers across the League thanks to her outstanding, athleticism, accuracy and volume.

She topped the Gilbert top scorer leaderboard consistently throughout the 2024 season, from round one through to the Grand Final, and it is an award she has won a remarkable four times throughout her six years in the NSL.

🔝 2024
🔝 2023
🔝 2021
🔝 2019

It’s a fourth @GilbertNetball Top Scorer award for the unstoppable @MaryNubas2 who not only finished the regular rounds with 878 goals but ended her season with 975 scored in total – her highest tally in the Netball Super League to date 👏 pic.twitter.com/mrA4LsJuXR

— Netball Super League (@NetballSL) July 9, 2024

Picking up the Experience Kissimmee Player of the Match award in round ten and being named in the Team of the Week three times in NSL 2024, Cholhok’s fine form was evident throughout the season. She scored an astonishing 975 goals throughout the season, marking her highest tally in her NSL career.

And what an NSL career it has been. Cholhok leaves the NSL as a champion, as she marked her final season in the League by defending her 2023 title with her Loughborough Lightning teammates.

This victory made her not only a back-to-back NSL champion, but also marked her third NSL title win, after also lifting the trophy with Loughborough Lightning in 2021. A true champion, Cholhok has been a key player in all three of Loughborough Lightning’s NSL titles.

💡 The return of the NSL means one thing for certain…

The return of the Mary Cholhok lay-up ™️#NSL2024 l #SeeUsNow pic.twitter.com/rVvrN9CVdc

— Netball Super League (@NetballSL) February 17, 2024

Named as the NSL All Star VII Goal Shooter at the end of the 2024 season for the second consecutive year, Cholhok’s domestic success has been mirrored on the international stage throughout her time in the NSL. Cholhok has consistently shined for the Ugandan She Cranes, and nowhere more so than at both the 2019 and 2023 Netball World Cups (NWC). At the NWC in Cape Town 2023 she scored 185 goals, powering Uganda towards an historic fifth-place finish.

It is not just on the court that Cholhok captured the heart of NSL fans. As part of the League’s #SeeUsNow video series, she spoke candidly about her experience balancing her elite netball career with motherhood. After a challenging few years spent living apart, Mary’s son Jackson joined her in the UK during the 2023 NSL season, and he was seen on the sidelines at the Sir David Wallace Arena throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons proudly cheering on his mum. Mary’s openness to discuss the challenges and the joy of combining motherhood and elite sport earned her numerous fans regardless of their NSL team allegiance.

🤝 The importance of her support network and family
🗺️ Bringing her son to the UK
💗 Balancing being a mother and an elite athlete

Hear from #NSL2024 @GilbertNetball top scorer and @LboroLightning star @marynubas2 on her netballing journey in our #SeeUsNow series 👇

— Netball Super League (@NetballSL) July 9, 2024

As Mary prepares to move to Australia next year she reflected on her time with Loughborough Lightning in the NSL, saying: “Having been in the Grand Final four times is amazing… I’ll miss this place because it made me who I am and I’m grateful for the opportunity… It just feels like I’ve held a lot of Grace whilst I was here, and I cannot forget the confidence that has installed in me.”

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