The Netty Life

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 Auss...

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 th...

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 al...

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 lon...

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...

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...

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, sta...

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.

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 th...

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...

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 t...

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.

The final round of the regular Super Netball season for 2023 gave us fairytale finishes for two retiring stalwarts of the game, April Brandley (Giants Netball) and Ash Brazil (Collingwood Magpies). The black and white dress of Collingwood was also retired as the club played their last game in Super Netball after what has been an emotional few weeks for all involved. The Diamonds World Cup squad wa...

The NSW Swifts have won the minor premiership for the first time in 13 years! Every title they’ve won in the Super Netball era has been from an underdog position in second place, so this is now a very happy and comfortable territory for the team who are on a nine-game winning streak heading into the final round of the regular season. Helen Housby has been a huge part of their success this year, as...

As the news breaks that the Diamonds World Cup selection details are being held over the players heads by Netball Australia until they sign their next CPA, we are beginning to get tired of the unnecessary mess. Something needs to change at the top, as the sport has been dragged through the mud in the media more times than we can count in the past few years and enough is enough. Beyond that disturb...

Indigenous artist Krystal Dallinger joins us on this bonus episode to talk about her experience designing the Giants’ Super Netball First Nations Round dress for the last six years and this season – for the first time – the official competition artwork ‘Gather as One’ that was printed on all the netballs used over the last two weeks for game play. As a Gamilaroi woman, Dallinger explains how her p...

After two weeks of turmoil, the Collingwood Magpies pulled off the upset of the season against the ladder leading Adelaide Thunderbirds at their final home Melbourne game. The Swifts have rocketed their way to the top of the Super Netball ladder, winning eight straight matches to peak in form right before finals. Meanwhile, Sasha Glasgow has accepted a 2023/24 national contract with the English Ro...

Round 11 marked the beginning of a two-week celebration honouring the First Nations people who are involved in all levels of netball, and we reflect on whether Netball Australia has done enough since signing the Declaration of Commitment in 2020. With confirmation that Collingwood's netball program has been axed, we discussed the possibility of a fresh start for some of the players and a possible...

After one of the closest Super Netball seasons in history, we saw some huge unexpected blowouts in Round 10. Three of the matches of the round were very lopsided, particuarly the contest between the West Coast Fever and Queensland Firebirds, which saw the home side record the highest-ever total in a game (97 goals) and the largest-ever winning margin (34 goals). Beyond the results, we discuss the...

The sky is the limit for Tonga captain Hulita Veve and her Tala team as they prepare to play in their very first Netball World Cup at Cape Town. The team have recently defeated Africa’s best netball team, world number six the Malawi Queens, to defend their third Pacific Aus Sports Netball Series crown. Here, the Queensland Firebirds training partner joins us for a one-on-one chat. We hear all abou...

These are bleak times for the Collingwood Magpies, with reports circulating that their club might not renew their license for the 2024 Super Netball league. In other news, the England Roses have announced their World Cup squad, a former legend makes her return to the court sending social media into meltdown and we've got just five rounds let to play before the semi-finals as teams look to find the...

With the Thunderbirds sitting on top of the ladder after eight rounds, the 2023 Super Netball season has undoubtedly delivered some beautiful surprises. Kate and Britt have a yarn with Diamond #105, Sharon Finnan-White, who updates us on her Indigenous Diamonds team ahead of their Premier League campaign in Townsville. Also on the agenda are concussion protocols and how they seem to differ from on...

This week we delight in the glory of our Queen Liz Ellis, who stole the win (and everyone's hearts!) on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! We hear from former Australian Diamonds head coach, Lisa Alexander, on the recently announced Diamonds squad and she gives us her thoughts the inclusion of Adelaide Thunderbirds defender, Matilda Garrett. Round seven served up some tight matches where we saw...

A Giant of our game has called time on her international career and we are struggling to come to terms with it! This week we dedicate our podcast to the one and only English Rose Jo Harten, featuring special messages from the coaches and teammates that have felt the impact of her career. We also interview Aussie Diamonds World Cup hopeful Jamie-Lee Price.

The Adelaide Thunderbirds have hit great form in 2023 and are chasing the ladder leaders, West Coast Fever. The Giants and NSW Swifts enjoyed wins against the Collingwood Magpies and Sunshine Coast Lightning, making a spot in the top four very interesting as we find ourselves a third of the way through the season. This week we also chat with U19’s Nationals champion and captain for South Australia...