Incoming Super Netball team Melbourne Mavericks remain confident they will lock-in athletes despite the sport's ongoing stalemate over pay.
Awarded the eighth license for the 2024 season following the demise of the Collingwood Magpies, the Mavericks have less than five months to recruit their inaugural team.
But the league's netballers have officially been off contract since the expiration of the collective player agreement (CPA) on September 30.
The crux of the issue is the players' push for a revenue-sharing model, as opposed to the clubs and governing body Netball Australia (NA) who want a three-year profit-share deal.
With no end in sight for the dispute, players remain unable to sign a deal with any of the eight clubs.
Mavericks netball operations general manager Shae Bolton-Brown says the new club is optimistic about getting players onboard as soon as the dispute is settled.
"We're just in that space of seeing where the CPA lands, but the players we had non-binding conversations with are exactly the type of athlete we think really represent the brand of netball we're trying to create," Bolton-Brown told AAP on Tuesday.
"Whilst there's no inked paper, the players we're speaking to feel as much part of the family as anyone that signed any contract.
"The girls that are verbally committed to being a Maverick going into next year are a wonderful group who are really committed."
The Australian Netball Players' Association (ANPA) in October called for mediation over the pay dispute, claiming its members had "bent over backwards" to secure a deal.
ANPA also said NA had rejected their "real partnership model" and in turn presented an "unfair" deal.
NA, meanwhile, accused the union of rejecting "a groundbreaking CPA proposal", adding they do not consider a revenue-share model as sustainable.
Despite the uncertainty of player recruitment, Bolton-Brown said the Mavericks are on track to deliver for March's season start.
"In the last week-and-a-half, we stopped chasing our tail and started to feel like we're forward planning," she said.
"A lot of the big ticket items are starting to drop.
"Players are essential for a netball team but everything else feels really under control."
