A call to arms for everyone involved in Australian netball: It’s time to “blow your trumpet a little bit more”

Netball can’t let the AFLW, cricket and rugby codes take all the credit for advancing women in sport. It’s time for the sport to blow its trumpet more.

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I was among the 53,034 football fans who descended on Adelaide Oval a fortnight ago to watch in awe as the Crows won their second AFLW premiership in spectacular fashion.

It was a remarkable day that will go down in the history books as a momentous one for women’s sport in this country.

Not only was it a highly-skilled game of football, but it was played in good spirit in front of an enthralled audience.

I left the oval on March 31 feeling really inspired, not only by the game itself, but by the fact that if either of my daughters wants to follow in their father’s footsteps and play footy, a real pathway now exists for them to do so.

But while the AFLW — and along with them, cricket, soccer and rugby — can claim to be advancing women’s sport, the role that netball has played in all this should never be forgotten.

Swifts head coach Briony Akle talks to players during the round five Super Netball match between the Swifts and the Magpies at Quay Centre on May 27, 2018 in Sydney. PHOTO: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

This week, NSW Swifts coach Briony Akle — whom I played against while she was with the Swifts and I was playing for the Thunderbirds — wrote a piece that appeared on the Players Voice website, that encapsulated this sentiment exactly.

It was a call to arms for netball to fight back against Australia’s football codes: “I think it’s time we blew our trumpet a little more,” she wrote.

“We have a fantastic sport, with a great history of amazing players who have inspired generations of young girls. I’d like to see us be a bit more confident in the way we convey that message.

“Not only do I think it’s well-earned, I think the indicators show it will become a necessity.”

Akle also wrote: “The women’s competitions which have grown rapidly in recent years have a long way to go to match the system netball has created over a very long period of time.

“The AFLW, the Women’s Big Bash League, Rugby Sevens, NRL Women’s and others are on the rise. But their pathway structures are miles behind that of netball.

“That’s not to denigrate the other sports or dissuade them in any way from their efforts to give equal opportunities to women and young girls. Rather, it’s about recognising that netball’s development framework has been established over countless hours of hard work and planning by thousands of players and administrators.”

Thunderbirds netballer Peta Squire, left, takes on Sydney Swifts’ Briony Akle in a semi-final match in 2001. PHOTO: Supplied, Netball/Australia

I wholeheartedly agree.

While other sports are being championed as catalysts for the advancement of women athletes, it might seem that netball is falling behind.

But it’s not and what netball has achieved for female athletes should not be drowned out by the recent successes of other sports.

All our top-level Suncorp Super Netball athletes are professional. They are offered maternity leave clauses in their contracts. The grassroots participation outstrips any other sport. Our national teams have achieved huge success on international stages over decades. We have

The Super Netball season gets underway again in a fortnight and audiences will again be able to watch as more female athletes put their bodies and souls on the line for sporting glory, playing one of the best sports in the world.