With the CEO, chair and a team gone, a new age dawns for Australian netball
Netball captains are hoping the relationship between the players and sporting body will begin to heal with the changing of the guard, as they gear up to kick off another season of Super Netball.
At the end of last year, Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan stepped down after a long and bitter pay war between the organisation and the players’ union. This week, Netball Australia chair Wendy Archer followed suit, leaving another vacant position at the executive table.
Amy Parmenter of the Melbourne Mavericks.Credit: Getty
Amy Parmenter, captain of Melbourne Mavericks – the new netball franchise which replaced Collingwood – said, despite the difficulties of recent months, the players were stronger for uniting to fight for, “what we thought was right”.
“There is going to be new leadership within the sport very shortly, and I think that sort of gives us permission to start from a good spot, and hopefully move forward in a way that’s going to grow the sport and repair what has happened,” Parmenter said at captain’s day in Sydney ahead of the Team Girls Cup.
“It feels really important to us to steer the sport in the right direction, and I do believe that a lot of that will be player led because the girls are so passionate about what this sport can do and how much more potential there is within the sport.”
At the height of the pay dispute in November, Super Netball players boycotted the Australian Netball Awards, while the Diamonds players were sent a legal letter reminding them they were required to attend.
The following week, Diamonds defender Jo Weston broke down at an emotional press conference as players went public with explosive claims against Netball Australia, including that the governing body was responsible for the collapse of the multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with Hancock Prospecting.
Parmenter said she hopes “players are given a seat at the table” in future governance of the sport, saying a successful partnership was needed between players and administrators.
Along with the off-court changes, there has been plenty of player movement between seasons, aggravated by the emergence of the Mavericks – owned by Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) – and Collingwood’s exit from the competition, which left players, including Diamond Sophie Garbin looking for a new home.
In other moves, the Sunshine Coast Lightning landed the coveted signatures of Diamonds pair Liz Watson – national captain and former Vixens skipper – and Courtney Bruce, a two-time winner of the Liz Ellis Diamond award, and also a 12-year captain of West Coast.
Netball captains Kim Ravaillion (Queensland Firebirds) Hannah Petty (Adelaide Thunderbirds), Kate Moloney (Melbourne Vixens), Jo Harten (Giants), Paige Hadley (NSW Swifts), Amy Parmenter (Melbourne Mavericks), Jess Anstiss (West Coast Fever) and Steph Fretwell (Sunshine Coast Lightning) launch the Super Netball Team Girls Cup in Sydney.Credit: Getty
New Vixens captain Kate Moloney said the player movement meant there was a feeling of the unknown coming into the new season.
And of the six applicants for a new team, Moloney said she was glad the licence was granted to the Mavericks, ensuring Melbourne retained a second team.
“In netball in Victoria, we have so much talent and so much depth, and I think our state really did need two teams. And I think the rivalry is something that our Melbourne and Victorian fans love,” Moloney said.
“So I’m really looking forward to that, and I’m glad that the other team went to Melbourne”.
amie-Lee Price of the Giants is challenged by Kate Moloney of the Vixens during the round three Super Netball match between Melbourne Vixens and Giants Netball at John Cain Arena, on April 02, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)Credit: Getty Images
Acknowledging the difficulties and unwanted headlines for the sport of recent months, Moloney hopes attention can return to the action on court – where the Diamonds netted another World Cup trophy last year.
Parmenter said the Mavericks would not limit the expectations of what they might achieve in their debut season.
“Your netball career is so short; you can’t just give it a year and hope that things get better,” she said.
“We desperately want to win. We want to make finals; that is absolutely a non-negotiable for us. We want to do that. But I really hope that we can also judge our success by the culture and the resilience and the work ethic – that stuff is equally as important.”
As for netball’s challenges ahead, Parmenter said the first step forward would be getting people to come and watch the sport.
“As soon as people come down and see a game, they get it, and they understand that it’s not like the under-11s they watched their little sisters play; it’s an amazing game and such a showcase of talent and athleticism.”
The pre-season competition, the Team Girls Cup, will be played at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney this weekend, starting Friday March 22. The Super Netball Season will start at the same venue when the Giants play the West Coast Fever on Saturday, April 13. The following day, Moloney’s Vixens and Parmenter’s Mavericks will kick off their campaigns in a Melbourne derby.
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