For those that love netball and have played the game, it's pretty apparent that its description as a non-contact sport isn't the full truth. Especially in Australia, where physicality is embraced and considered to be one of the defining traits of our trademark style of play.
But with the Commonwealth Games coming up in Birmingham this July and the Diamonds desperate to win back their gold-medal status, umpires have reportedly been asked to take a harsher stance on this physicality in the Super Netball competition this season.
Speaking with Netball Scoop last week after naming her 18-player Diamonds squad for the Games, head coach Stacey Marinkovich referenced "an athlete's ability to be able to stay in play", as one of the key factors taken into consideration during the selection process.
As we head towards the halfway point of the domestic league, the average amount of penalties per game has risen to 121.5, up from 115.5 this time last year.
Struggling teams towards the bottom of the ladder like the Adelaide Thunderbirds (396 total penalties) and Collingwood Magpies (391 total penalties) have been the main culprits, although the ladder-leading Melbourne Vixens (389 total penalties) and third-placed Queensland Firebirds (379 total penalties) have also racked up high tallies.
Whether the approach is having its desired effect is up for debate, considering the Vixens and Thunderbirds conceded a whopping 157 penalties over the weekend, six rounds into its apparent implementation.
And if the aim is to pull players into line and get them to adjust, one must ask why the umpires didn't use their whistles to diffuse the tension between veteran defender Kate Walsh and rookie shooter Sophie Fawns before it got out of hand in Saturday's Sunshine Coast Lightning and NSW Swifts match.
'Bully' tactics trending on TikTok
During the opening 15 minutes of the round six clash, Lightning goal defence Kate Walsh won plenty of praise for blocking two super shot attempts and forcing NSW Swifts coach Briony Akle to bench starting goal shooter Kelly Singleton.
In her place, 18-year-old sensation Sophie Fawns was injected for the second quarter, where she'd been given obvious orders to try and keep Walsh at bay. Jostling for space, Fawns set up several screens for her shooting partner, Helen Housby, using her body to hold Walsh away from the shot.
Some of these should have been penalised as offensive contacts, as they were late and pushed Walsh from her position. Instead, they went unnoticed and poured fuel on the fire, encouraging Walsh to see how far she too could go.
With tension mounting, the contest became hostile, and the Lightning goal defence let her frustration get the better of her, swinging her arm behind on two separate occasions to hit Fawns in the face and chop her in the throat.
At the time, Fox Netball expert Sharon Finnan-White said, "I'm not sure you can do that," while lead commentator Cath Cox said, "There's got to be a call shortly from the umpire".
Despite this, there was zero umpire intervention, leading to a third incident between the players, which saw Walsh's hands hit Fawns in the face, as the defender tried to set her three-feet stance, and Fawns boldly walked into the space before turning her body to set up another screen.
Former Giants defender Sam Poolman, who was regarded as one of the most physical defenders during her time in Super Netball before retiring at the end of last year, was working on the sideline of the broadcast and suggested "Walsh is trying to get into a young player's head", but said she was "probably taking it a bit far".
In the days since, this footage has started trending on TikTok, after an English follower uploaded it to the social media platform with the caption: "Say you're a bully, without saying you're a bully".
That video has been viewed more than 4 million times, and features a number of critical comments, along the lines of: "netball is feral", "what message is this sending to young people?" and "it's not rugby, why aren't the umpires stepping in?".
So, where is the line?
Fans of Super Netball love the physicality of the league and the strong, powerful roles it encourages women to play in sport. Where it perhaps went too far in this instance, is when the contact started to become more deliberate and unnecessary, going against the spirit of the game.
Some fans were quick to side with Walsh, suggesting the challenge had almost been like a baptism of fire for the teenage shooter, a welcome to the big league if you will, and a lesson in the level of defensive pressure she'll need to embrace as the standard in Super Netball.
It was also the second time in consecutive weeks that Fawns has found herself in a physical match-up with an experienced defender, after getting tangled with West Coast Fever and Diamonds goalkeeper Courtney Bruce while contesting a rebound in round five.
Former international umpire Michelle Phippard reiterated that physical contests are to be expected in any professional sporting league, and that good game management and ongoing interaction with the players can help umpires to prevent them from escalating.
"This kind of argy-bargy is not new, but I think people have taken issue with it because it's happening to a new, relatively inexperienced player," Phippard told the ABC.
"It's our job to allow them to walk that line, but also to hold them accountable if it becomes unfair or unsafe, and when you have that building frustration and niggle that starts to evolve between two players, that's where you need to recognise the need to pre-empt and intervene.
"It doesn't have to be an official warning or caution; there are other tools you can use. … Sometimes all it takes is a little look, or a quiet word to recalibrate the players and get them to settle down."
In saying that, Phippard said this level of aggression was unlikely to be tolerated at the international level, and players like Bruce who are in line for the Commonwealth Games needed to be careful.
Especially with umpires present from New Zealand and England, where their respective domestic leagues have far less penalties per match, and more cautions are given to keep players from crossing that line.
