How Is Netball Scored?
How goals are scored in netball, who is allowed to shoot, and how the winner of a match is decided.
A goal is worth one point and can only be scored by the Goal Shooter or Goal Attack, shooting from inside their attacking goal circle. Whichever team scores more goals over the match wins.
Scoring in netball is simple in principle, but a few restrictions shape how teams actually go about it.
One goal, one point
Every successful shot through the goal ring is worth one point — there's no equivalent of a three-point shot or bonus scoring. The team with the most goals when the match ends wins.
Only two positions can score
Goals can only be shot by the Goal Shooter (GS) and Goal Attack (GA). No other position — including the Wing Attack, who feeds the circle but can't enter it — is allowed to shoot, even if they somehow found themselves inside the goal circle.
Shots must be taken from inside the circle
A shooter must have no contact with the ground outside the attacking goal circle — including while catching the ball. The circle's line counts as inside. Shoot while touching the ground outside the circle, and the goal won't count even if the ball goes in; the other team gets a free pass. Under the 2024 rules, a shot released before the whistle for the end of a quarter still counts if it goes in. And if a defender deflects a shot that then goes through the ring, the goal still counts (Rule 9).
Rebounds
If a shot is missed and the ball stays in play, any player legally positioned in the goal circle — attacking or defending — can catch or contest the rebound. An attacking rebound can lead directly to another shot.
Draws and extra time
A match can end in a draw unless the event organiser has said a winner is required. If so, the World Netball rules set out extra time: two halves of up to seven minutes each, then — if still level — play continues until one team leads by two goals. Competitions at other levels may vary this. See extra time.
Where scoring fits into the bigger picture
Because only two positions can shoot, a huge amount of netball tactics is about getting the ball to the GS or GA in a strong position — see circle feeding tactics — and, on the other side of the ball, stopping them getting it. Understanding who can score is the key that unlocks why the other five positions play the way they do.
Sources
All information on this page is given to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing (October 2026), after referring to the official sources below.
- World Netball: Rules of Netball, 2024 edition — Rule 2 (time and extra time) and Rule 9 (scoring a goal).