A week after parting ways with head coach Bec Bulley, the Queensland Firebirds bounced back with an emotional win against the West Coast Fever as their new co-coaches Katie Walker and Roselee Jencke took the reins for the rest of the 2024 season. The Melbourne Vixens have maintained the No.1 spot on the ladder without looking like they’ve even hit top gear yet and the Adelaide Thunderbirds jumped the Fever into second place. Meanwhile, both NSW teams are struggling, with the Giants at the bottom...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Netball chaos indeed... The past week sent fan speculation into overdrive as the Queensland Firebirds “mutually” parted ways with their head coach Bec Bulley and the NSW Swifts also “mutually” parted ways with their import shooter Sam Wallace-Joseph. We unpack both decisions from the clubs that happened to break news on the same night. Before we analyse the Round 10 games and look ahead to the final month of the regular Super Netball season.
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 4 min
It’s a pivotal time in Super Netball with just five weeks left until finals. After round nine, the Vixens overtook the Fever to sit four points clear on the ladder after the Thunderbirds handed West Coast their biggest loss since 2018 — a whopping 18 goals. We also chat Diamonds selection in the wake of the 2024/25 national squad being named and featuring three new players in their early twenties: Hannah Mundy, Ash Ervin and Georgie Horjus, as the team looks to recruit the next generation of Aus...
Jun 12, 2024•55 min
Round 8 saw many of the league's top players sidelined with injury or illness and the Firebirds and the Mavericks enjoyed unexpected wins; for the Mavs it was their first win in front of their home crowd. The omission of Sam Wallace-Joseph from the Swifts game day 10 remains a hot discussion topic, and we try to unravel why she would have been dropped from their squad. Mavericks shooter and English Rose, Sasha Glasgow joins us to discuss her new role as she teams up with Henley Homes and Eating ...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Part one of First Nations round happened over round seven in the lead up to National Reconciliation Week. We hear from Yarwuru woman Scarlet Jauncey about her selection in the inaugural Australian First Nations team and the West Coast Fever Reserves side. The defender has been mentored by England Roses captain and Fever newbie Fran Williams during her WANL season with the Hamersley Comets. We also, of course, discuss the huge feat by the Melbourne Vixens to break Fever’s six-match winning streak...
May 29, 2024•58 min
Round six threw up the league's first two-minute suspension of 2024 as Giant Jamie-Lee Price was sent to the sideline. Fever have now shot four points clear to sit at the top of the ladder, while the Lightning brought the Vixens winning streak to an end. In the lead up to the first of a two-part First Nations Round this season we talk to Sharon Finnan-White – one of only three Indigenous Diamonds to have represented Australia throughout the team’s 85-year history and a proud Dunghutti and Gumbay...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 7 min
In round five, the West Coast Fever and Melbourne Vixens continued their unbeaten streak to remain ladder leaders. The Fever hit their highest Super Netball score yet this season at 94 goals and the Vixens claimed the first instalment of the Sargeant-McKinnis Cup. But the biggest story was neither of these moments and actually revolved around a scoreboard drama between the Giants and Sunshine Coast Lightning. Where an error by a bench official swung the game into extra time ... some 50 minutes a...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Round three saw two matches where teams could only be separated by extra time. A Jamaican legend hit 8000 Super Netball goals and an English Rose became a centurion. The Giants and Mavericks are still without wins and Fever make it three wins from three rounds. Plus we hear from sports journalist Bridget Tunnicliffe about Netball New Zealand’s desire to enter three of their teams in the Super Netball league.
May 01, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Fever announce themselves as true contenders for 2024 after just two rounds after two massive victories. Diamonds goal keeper and new Lightning recruit Courtney Bruce drops by to discuss the importance of mental health, finding balance after switching clubs and her puppy, Oliver. Before we discuss the possibility of New Zealand joining Super Netball and the new rules around dangerous play.
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 11 min
The 2024 Super Netball season is officially underway and we welcomed brand new club the Mavericks to the family. Round one saw attendance records broken, the West Coast Fever start their season with a 19-goal bang, and the Adelaide Thunderbirds cap a fantastic weekend for South Australian netball with a tight victory. On this podcast we chat with Melbourne Vixens defender Rudi Ellis, who was one of the absolute standouts in the Melbourne derby.
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr
A brand new Super Netball season is upon us and we’ve got you sorted with all you need to know in our season preview! On top of discussing each of the eight team’s headline story to watch, we also cover some of the biggest talking points from the past week. Such as Sam Wallace-Joseph’s brush with controversy relating to Easter and International Transgender Day of Visibility, Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua’s re-appointment, the new elusive No.11 player rule that some teams are using and others...
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr
Katie McCarthy has a passion for women in sport and … scrunchies! Her business aims to make comfortable and colourful hair ties for girls to wear without it falling out as they play sport. At the Team Girls Cup, McCarthy ventured into netball for the first real time, partnering with Amy Parmenter’s Tie-Dye Project to donate money to the Confident Girls Foundation. We hear more about the partnership, about Scrunchiko as a business and as a great example of the commercial opportunities that often ...
Mar 29, 2024•26 min
Another exciting instalment of the Team Girls Cup wrapped up last weekend at Sydney’s Ken Rosewell Arena. In front of their home crowd, the NSW Swifts were crowned champions after defeating the Melbourne Vixens by one goal in a thrilling grand final. The three-day tournament was a chance to see all eight teams and their extended bench before the Super Netball season officially starts on April 13th; with 12 of the 16 games decided by four goals or less, it was one of the best pre-season tournamen...
Mar 27, 2024•58 min
The Diamonds added to their trophy cabinet with another international win at the Netball Nations Cup, defeating the Roses in an emphatic win in the final by 20 goals. We discuss: - How good can the Sophie Dywer and Sophie Garbin combination be for the Diamonds? - Is Jess Thirlby the coach to take the Roses to the next level? - Should the Silver Ferns relax their import player rule, and should New Zealand Netball allow their athletes to play in the SSN competition without jeopardising their Silve...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 17 min
The Aussie Diamonds are undefeated midway through the Nations Cup, as the teams now get a week off and the tournament heads from London to Leeds. The team have got one more game to come against Uganda before they reach the final, where they’ll to meet their old foes New Zealand or England. We caught up with Diamonds assistant coach Nicole Richardson to get her thoughts on how the Australian team has performed so far. And also to see how she felt about the viral Collingwood video that has been cr...
Jan 23, 2024•20 min
The Aussie Diamonds are in the UK, ready to battle New Zealand, England and Uganda for the Netball Nations Cup. It's a trophy they've never contested and coach Stacey Marincovich has assembled a World Cup winning squad to claim it. In what will be an historic moment in international netball, Australia and Uganda will meet for the first time in the sport’s history. We also share interviews with Diamond defender Sunday Aryang and Ugandan star Mary Cholhok.
Jan 20, 2024•1 hr 10 min
After several months of an unbelievable shit show, Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players’ Association finally agreed on a landmark Super Netball CPA deal that will see the players and administration enter a partnership in the sport’s very first revenue-share model. Was former CEO Kelly Ryan used as a scapegoat for the rest of the board? And should more heads roll as the governing body pick up the pieces of this ugly dispute? We take a look at the timeline of the negotiations and h...
Dec 29, 2023•58 min
After 11 years competing at the elite level of netball, Verity Simmons, West Coast Fever's talented mid-courter, has decided to retire from the sport. Her decision was partly influenced by the ongoing disputes between Netball Australia and the unresolved CPA, which has left netballers without pay for nine weeks. Throughout her career, Verity has faced injuries, grand final losses, two premiership wins, and has even had the honour of wearing the Diamonds dress. It was truly inspiring to speak wit...
Nov 30, 2023•29 min
The Diamonds have held onto the Constellation Cup by aggregate goals despite losing the final two matches of the series to the New Zealand Silver Ferns. Should the series be changed to a three or five match contest? Why did the Diamonds drop off in intensity on the New Zealand leg? And what sparked the resurgence in the Silver Ferns - was it all down to Grace Nweke? We also pay tribute to our Aussie men, the Kelpies, who won the Trans Tasman Cup 3-0, before previewing the Diamonds vs South Afric...
Oct 24, 2023•50 min
On a special bonus episode of The Netty Life, we catch up with Jillian Joyce, business owner of Pride Human Performance in Townsville and Head coach of the North Queensland Netball Academy. Jillian is one of the best netball brains in NQ. In this candid interview, we chat about the role she plays in uncovering netball talent up north, the growth of the men’s game, how her team are breaking down the stigma that is still associated with women’s health in the high-performance arena, her support of ...
Oct 22, 2023•45 min
The Aussie Diamonds have asserted their dominance early in the greatest trans-Tasman rivalry in sport. After taking a 2-0 lead on home soil, the Constellation Cup tour now heads to New Zealand for the final two matches. Meanwhile, in the men’s, the Aussie Kelpies have done the same in their Trans-Tasman Cup. Securing the trophy for another year with one game left to play in Auckland. We analyse all the games so far and also provide an update on the Super Netball CPA dispute, as Netball Australia...
Oct 16, 2023•59 min
As the Diamonds gear up to face their fiercest rivals, the Silver Ferns, so do their Aussie and New Zealand male counterparts. For a second year running, the Trans-Tasman Cup will be played as a double header alongside the women’s Constellation Cup, with all matches to be televised. The Australian team will debut its new name – the Kelpies – when they hit the court Thursday for Game 1, after a long time between games and a lot of training. Here to help us preview the men’s series and share some ...
Oct 11, 2023•18 min
It has been a while since our last podcast, and some tension is brewing in the Australian Netball scene. We discuss the growing unease between Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) as Super Netball players are currently left without income due to the CPA that is yet to be finalised. We also discuss the upcoming Constellation Cup that starts in Melbourne on October 12th, which is set to be a thrilling event as it marks the 500th international game for the Diamond...
Oct 11, 2023•46 min
After the old Super Netball collective player agreement lapsed on September 30 without the Australian Netball Players’ Association and Netball Australia reaching an agreement on a new one, all 80 athletes in the league have been off contract without pay now for 10 days. Despite negotiations starting way back in February, the two parties have not been able to see eye-to-eye and have now gone public with their versions of each side of the story. Without a CPA in place none of the eight Super Netba...
Oct 10, 2023•28 min
Collingwood Super Netball head coach Nicole Richardson has been to hell and back this year. Her side were made defunct six weeks before the end of the Super Netball season, where they finished with their second-ever wooden spoon and won their last two home games in an emotional and bittersweet farewell. Then she won the Netball World Cup in South Africa with the Diamonds as an assistant coach, standing on the podium alongside five Pies players. Beyond this, Richardson witnessed Collingwood’s dev...
Sep 04, 2023•29 min
In an exclusive interview, the Netty Life catch up with Diamond #105 Sharon Finnan-White who is about to launch her new initiative, The Sharon Finnan-White First Nations Academy of Excellence (FNAE). We also hear from two athletes playing in the 2023 Indigenous Diamonds squad (coached by Finnan-White), Tenisha Solomon and Sonny Anne Ragget.
Aug 29, 2023•50 min
The Australian Diamonds win the Netball World Cup in Cape Town for the 12th time to take back the last elusive trophy missing from their cabinet. The England Roses had a historic tournament finishing with their first silver medal, the Jamaican Sunshine Girls left with bronze and the New Zealand Silver Ferns failed to medal for the first time in the 60-year history of the tournament, solidifying their worst performance at a World Cup. Should alarm bells be ringing across the ditch?...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 9 min
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are the Super Netball champions for 2023 after defeating the Swifts in the grand final by just one goal in extra time in a match that will live on in Super Netball folklore. We discuss the impact Roses import and buy of the year, Eleanor Cardwell, has had in her first season with the Thunderbirds and the high penalty count for the usually disciplined Swifts that may have been the difference in such a tight contest. We discuss the new match rules that are being proposed ...
Jul 11, 2023•1 hr 11 min
The grand final dreams of West Coast Fever were stolen from their grasp in the dying moments of the preliminary final by the NSW Swifts, who will now battle the Adelaide Thunderbirds for the 2023 Super Netball trophy. We analyse how agonisingly close Fever came to having a shot at back-to-back titles and how teenager Sophie Fawns proved to be the game changer for the Swifts with hot hands during the super shot period. For the second time this season we welcome back Dr Alan Pearce, neuroscientist...
Jul 04, 2023•1 hr 34 min
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are through to their first grand final in exactly a decade after an extra-time thriller against the NSW Swifts in the semis. Meanwhile, the West Coast Fever keep their back-to-back title dreams alive after knocking the Melbourne Vixens out of the race. We’ve got some thoughts about how extra time is played and the umpiring, before we analyse all the action.
Jun 27, 2023•1 hr 5 min
