Forgiven, but not forgotten, as The Corrs once sang.
It’s hard to measure just how much damage last year’s Super Netball CPA negotiations did to the sport so soon after the fact, but the athletes themselves hope the ordeal hasn’t turned fans away from the sport.
Gathering in Sydney for the 2024 Super Netball launch a day after it was announced Netball Australia chair Wendy Archer would be stepping down, each of the eight team captains acknowledged last year had been extremely tough – as domestic players went unpaid for 11 weeks in the lead-up to Christmas and the tense battle over a revenue-share model played out publicly in the media.
There have been a range of controversies in netball over the past three years, but this issue seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. People were fed up.
Former Australian World Cup winning captain and coach Joyce Brown labelled the CPA stoush as the sport’s “lowest point”, blaming its executive for fracturing “the fabric” of the game and “irreparably damaging” its relationships.
Meanwhile, Australian netball legend Liz Ellis also called out the administration for its “callous disregard” in its treatment of players and questioned if Netball Australia was “capable of providing the leadership the sport so desperately needs”.
Once a deal had finally been struck in December – rewarding players with the very first revenue-share model in history, as Netball Australia waved the white flag – chief executive Kelly Ryan was the first major casualty after a two-and-a-half-year stint at the helm; citing the “time was right” for her to move on and spend more time with her family.
Three days later, it was a quiet departure for director Marina Go, who had been on the board since 2017 and previously held the role as both chair of the Super Netball commission (now defunct) and Netball Australia, before stepping back in late 2022 in the wake of the Hancock Prospecting saga.
Now, the news of Wendy Archer’s departure shows the aftermath of last year is still being felt.
Many pundits had been calling for a full clean-out, which felt unlikely, as it was only three months ago that Archer held a press conference where she told the media that the board had been prepared to continue supporting Ryan as CEO; it was Ryan herself that had made the decision to leave on her own terms – unbeknownst to the board; and that no further changes to the executive had been discussed or were expected despite mounting pressure.
Instead, Archer said the immediate priority was to work with all stakeholders, not just the players or the players’ association, but all of them in order to “heal the sport and move forward”.
This press conference was held before Go’s departure, which was only made public mid-January, and before two new figures joined the board in 2024, signalling the acknowledgement at least that they understood some change was needed. Yet, the news this week of Archer’s departure still comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Archer has played many pivotal roles in netball, particularly in the state of NSW, where she is a life member and was a key figure in the Giants’ bid to join the Super Netball league.
Although there were questions about whether she was a strong enough figure to lead netball through such a messy period, she is well-respected and well-connected, which makes it even more interesting that she has now made the decision to move on.
Her departure will not be swift, as the relevant press release explained that Archer will no longer be the chair from May’s annual general meeting onwards, but will stay on for another year as a director until her three-year term ends to ensure a smooth transition for the next chair.
Other parts of the release to note, include the phrases: “now is the right time to step down” and “the Netball Australia board embraces renewal and a fresh injection of ideas”.
The first sounds rather familiar to Ryan’s announcement, while the second feels like a complete 360-degree turn to the goals and priorities discussed with the media by Archer in December, when the board was resisting change and unwilling to take responsibility for its poor management.
Either way, netball now finds itself on the hunt for a new chief executive and chair. These appointments will be crucial to the future of netball in a very important World Cup cycle, with Sydney set to host the next event in 2027.
At least all parties will be moving forward in a proper partnership and working together from now on, with that revenue-sharing model in place.
“Unfortunately, netball has been in the headlines for negative reasons more so than positives in recent times,” Sunshine Coast Lightning shooter Steph Fretwell (née Wood) told ABC Sport.
“At a Diamonds level, that negative side of what was happening overrode our success winning gold at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup.
“But change has happened, it’s now in the past, we need to learn from it and move forward by making sure we get the right people in those positions and invest in the right areas.”
Meanwhile, West Coast Fever midcourter Jess Anstiss had a different take, suggesting the negative attention may actually have enticed people to take an interest in netball.
“In a way I think it has helped us,” she said.
“There’s that saying, ‘no media is bad media’ and some of my family members who have no idea about netball are now talking about the sport after everything that happened.
“It involved more people in the conversation and helped people understand what was going on behind the scenes, so although those last couple of months were especially damaging, people are now asking how they can help – including sponsors.”
Queensland Firebirds and NSW Swifts veterans Kim Ravaillion and Paige Hadley weren’t so sure the controversy had had that type of effect, hoping loyal fans had kept the faith but worrying new ones may have been scared off.
“Fans that really love the game and want us as women to succeed and get what we deserve – they are probably going to stick by us and hopefully they can see why we stood strong,” Ravaillion said.
“The people that are embedded in netball, it probably wouldn’t turn them away, but we’re trying to attract new people and sponsors, so when the sport looks messy then that is tough,” Hadley said.
“We’re now just trying to look forward to the future and focus on what we can do as players to make sure the game is in a good state.”
This weekend the pre-season Team Girls Cup will take place in Sydney, where fans will get their first proper look at brand-new incoming team the Melbourne Mavericks.
Captain Amy Parmenter said although the drawn-out negotiations had led to a shorter pre-season, rushing preparations, players were now looking forward to playing a season focused on their on-court performances, without the same kind of pressure hanging over their heads.
“It does feel like a new era, because we’re going to have new leadership, and the relationships are definitely repairing, so it feels like a fresh start,” Parmenter said.
Tune in to the Team Girls Cup from Friday at 4pm AEDT on Fox Netball.
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