Netball Had A Record-Breaking Year — & This Is Just The Beginning

Netball is the number one participation sport for Australian girls, and, as a family dominated by women (there's me, three sisters and my mum), our Saturdays were marked by netball growing up. Every Saturday for a decade, I'd put on my uniform, pull up my scungies and meet my team down at the netball courts, where we'd compete to try and reach the grand final at the end of the season. One game, however, would have been my last without me even realising it. My last "Here if you need" in uniform, my last nail-length examination for the umpire. Gap year, university, and life in general had other plans that didn't always see me wanting to play the day after an 18th on a Friday night. While I've absolutely played netball recreationally — indoor and twilight — since, my Saturday routine slowly but surely faded away the same time my youth did.

It's not uncommon for me, now in my 30s, to go several years without passing a ball, even though I've never played a netball game I didn't love. There's something about reconnecting with parts of your childhood and revisiting that familiarity, knowledge and team spirit that just feels like home. And when I was invited to Melbourne to watch the Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final showdown between Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever this year, that's exactly how I felt. But not at first. At first, I felt a bit ashamed.

As I checked into Melbourne's 1Hotel the day before, the concierge asked what brought me interstate from Sydney. "I'm here for the netball grand final," I told him excitedly. But when he asked me if I played, I quickly felt a little embarrassed by my answer. "I used to — for years — but weirdly I've never been to a professional game before. "Going to a netball game had never even crossed my mind over the years. How have I bought tickets to be in the crowd for tennis, baseball, AFL, football and rugby, yet have never done so for the one game that I know inside out, that I’ve played at a competition level myself? One that is a guaranteed good time for me?

With netball being played by over 1.2 million men, women and children all over the country, Vixens captain Kate Moloney told Refinery29 Australia that the missing link is turning past and present players, like myself, into fans who champion the sport at games and beyond. "We have so many young girls and boys who are playing netball, but how can we turn them into big supporters of our elite competition?" Kate asks me. "That's what's going to help take it to the next level, those people turning on the TVs, coming to the games and watching it, because we've got such a great product, and so many people that love netball."

In 2025, Suncorp Super Netball raked in record viewership — both on and off-screen. Taking place at the iconic Rod Laver Arena, the game made history with a sell-out crowd of over 15,000 people. Over on Foxtel and Kayo, it was the most-watched Suncorp Super Netball game ever, and the most-watched Final Series on the platforms. As someone who was in the physical crowd, the atmosphere could not be ignored. I've been to Rod Laver Arena many times for tennis, but I've never seen energy and enthusiasm quite like the Netball Grand Final. The lights, music (including the halftime entertainment by Charley, Siala and Bella Mackenzie) and overall vibe were unmatched. It was more than enough to make me realise I've been missing out.

On a more personal level, all my Saturday netball court memories came flooding back to me. When a Vixen player intercepted, I found myself yelling "Keep it" or "Don't waste it!" like I was cheering on my own teammates. Next to me, my sister did the same. We both knew what they were feeling on court, because we've felt it too, and the bonding was there without any conversation needing to be had. Not just between my sister and I, but between all the women on court. I quickly realised there's a gaping hole in my life where team sport used to live.

Perhaps the best part of being at that game, however, was seeing young girls in the crowd supporting the game early on. That's a sign to me that netball is finding its place on a world stage in a way that it wasn't 20 years ago, because at the same age, watching netball professionally wasn't something I even knew I could do.

Fast forward to now, Netball Australia has a new broadcast partnership with Whoopi Goldberg's All Women's Sport Network that'll bring the game to over 65 countries. There's a petition to have netball in the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. A huge 35,000 people attended a netball game this year. The awareness is increasing, and the fanbase is growing. That much is obvious. As netball great Liz Ellis said when she took the stage following the Grand Final showdown, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are just getting started."