Change is in the air at Netball Australia, as the fallout surrounding the bitter pay dispute of 2023 continues. Last week, chair Wendy Archer announced her departure after six years on the board, on the heels of deputy chair John O’Sullivan and director Marina Go who have also recently left the organisation. Chief executive Kelly Ryan stepped down soon after the dispute was resolved and the search for her replacement is ongoing. At face value, it seems like a direct response to the saga surrounding the signing of the new collective playing agreement (CPA). However, in reality the cleanout and reshaping of the sport has been a long time coming.
In 2015, netball in Australia was riding high. After successfully hosting the World Cup in Sydney, where the home team held the trophy aloft in front of a world record crowd of almost 17,000 fans, the sport was well on its way to becoming one of the country’s favourites. Dreams of broadcast rights deals to rival the football codes and cricket seemed to be just over the horizon. Instead, the years since have seen a slow unravelling of progress, with dreams of financial success appearing further into the distance as each year passes.
It began almost imperceptibly. Breaking away from the ANZ Championship competition with New Zealand was necessary for the growth of the sport. The greater depth of the player pool in Australia made the competition lopsided and New Zealand understandably did not want to sacrifice teams – which would make the broadcast rights less lucrative on their side of the Tasman. But looking back, it appears the rushed nature of the split at the start of the 2017 season may have been a catalysing event for the downward spiral that followed.
The Super Netball competition was successful on court from its inception, but the broadcast rights deal was not in the league of other major sports, with Nine and Telstra covering the costs of broadcasting the matches and splitting revenue generated from ads and sponsorships with Netball Australia – a deal far from the millions of dollars broadcasters poured into the NRL and AFL.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, the season was delayed, then played in a hub environment in Queensland and netball administrators again made a rushed decision – to make a major rule change and bring in the super shot without consultation of players, coaches or clubs. Trust was broken and while most teams have now adapted to the change, it did not usher in a new era of the game or bring in scores of new fans, as was promised on its unveiling.
From there, trust between administrators and the playing group continued to diminish. From the tumult that surrounded the Hancock Prospecting sponsorship, to the sale of the grand final hosting rights to Western Australia in 2022, a number of controversial decisions were made – again announced without any consultation of the game’s major stakeholders, its players and clubs. The distrust came to a head during the negotiation of the CPA in 2023, with terms unable to be agreed to and players left without the ability to sign new contracts – and thus without any source of income – for months.
The sport has continued to thrive on the court, but simply agreeing to terms on a new CPA would never have been enough to reverse the enmity that exists between players and administrators and start afresh. For that to occur, there needed to be change at the top. With the departures of Ryan and Archer – the administration’s two dominant figures – there is the opportunity for new leaders to build trust and communication with the players and right the ship that has been veering off course for years. It will take bold and brave leadership – the kind that leads alongside the playing group rather than above it, that is empowering rather than controlling. It will take leaders who see the players as their greatest assets – as powerful women who can work with them to take the sport forward – rather than as obstacles to be manoeuvred around.
With another Netball World Cup in Sydney on the horizon in 2027, there is an opportunity to achieve the financial success that has been out of reach for so long. There is also time to capitalise on previous progress and again showcase netball on the biggest and brightest stage, and breathe life into the sport through a rebuilding of trust and an engagement of the playing group to help deliver on growing audiences and driving revenue streams. There is still a long way to go, but netball has the opportunity for a fresh start and like a defender contesting for a rebound, it is time to grasp it with both hands.
