Pine Rivers male netball players encourage others to give the sport a shot

A teenage boy is paving the way for other males to play netball without shame as generations join forces to share their love for the sport on the court. SEE THE VIDEO

Jackson Boyd is just 13 years old but already he knows netball is his chosen sport.

The teen walked away from rugby league, throwing away the idea of stereotypes to forge his own pathway in the popular game.

And, he’s not the only one.

Last year’s Netball Australia State of the Game review found that almost 80,000 men play the sport across Australia.

That figure has increased by 28 per cent from 2016 to 2019.

Despite the sports’ focus on women and girls participation, a group from Brisbane’s northside is firmly focused on inclusion for all.

Pine Rivers Netball Association, formed in 1981, hosts 11 clubs from across the region including the Dayboro Dodgers, ACE Netball, Brothers North, Pine Panthers, Sandgate Hawks and United Starz.

Jackson is a proud member of the Sandgate Hawks, and while he’s the only male member of his team – he hopes it isn’t for long.

The wing defence decided to give the sport a go after watching his sister play.

“Netball is actually really fun,” he said.

“I love the fact that it’s not just about playing netball, you also get to socialise and meet new people and it’s just an amazing sport.”

The teenager is “110 per cent” committed to continuing despite any naysayers.

“Don’t step on people’s head just because they’re men – women and men can do whatever they like – netball is just another sport,” he said.

“One day I hope to become an umpire as well as a player.

“Hopefully I can get some of their (his friends) attention to come over and actually play netball with us.”

Mixed netball enthusiast and proud “netball dad” Ben Allen is thrilled to see youngsters like Jackson coming through the ranks.

Mr Allen started off playing indoor netball for many years but has now fully immersed himself in the team atmosphere, even joining the United Starz committee to lend a hand.

Four out of five members of his family currently play, with the smallest a bit too young for centre pass.

“It’s a game that everyone can play of all ages, it doesn’t really matter,” he said.

“Whether you’re playing younger, mixed, men’s team – whatever you like

“It’s active, it’s social which is hard to find in a lot of sports and it’s inclusive too.

“We’ve got people from all ages, demographics – the whole works and as a registrar you see those lists of names and you realise you have people that are playing shortly after moving into the country.”

He said he’s thrilled with just how far the sport has come.

“We’re getting more inquiries for boys and men to play and I know the schools are doing their part as well trying to get more interested with mixed,” Mr Allen said.

“It’s not just a female sport, hopefully more kids see that and become involved

“There’s been chatter that they would’ve like to have seen more men and more men’s teams to try and include it in the 2032 Olympics – but it requires the rest of the world.

“I don’t know if we’ll get there but that’s where we want to go with this.”

Pine Rivers Panthers president Davin Hunt has been playing netball since he finished school.

“A bunch of schoolmates wanted to keep in contact with each other and that’s when my love started,” he said.

“And that love turned into an obsession, turned into playing for Queensland very early in the 90s and then I married a netballer and now the kids play.”

The 49-year-old said when he first started playing, it was “purely a bunch of guys that enjoy the game”.

“Now the youngsters coming through this is their chosen sport and it's not something that they should be shunned upon for playing this sport,” he said.

“They should be encouraged to play their sport, there is some fine tuning to happen

“I love to see these kids coming out, they’re not basketballers, not AFL players, they are netballers and that’s their chosen sport and that’s the ones that we look forward to.

“We had a rising star program for the Suns, there was about 40 kids between 12 and 15 that were there – so it’s lovely to see, it’s great to see.”

The trio are encouraging all genders and all ages to give netball a go.

“It’s a fantastic sport that you can pass down to your kids,” Mr Hunt said.

“It’s something that you can play for a lot of years and there are pathways that will allow our kids to play for Australia.”