Firebirds coach Kiri Wills insists team has ‘moved on’ from culture saga

Kiri Wills has doubled down on a social media post that sparked fierce debate among Firebirds supporters, with the coach vowing to stand behind them after a tumultuous period.

Queensland Firebirds coach Kiri Wills has drawn a line in the sand over talk surrounding the club’s culture to show her players she unconditionally has their backs this season.

The Firebirds lost their first game of the Super Netball season on Saturday night after coming up against an on-song Lightning outfit determined to hand milestone women Cara Koenen and Mahalia Cassidy a win on the Sunshine Coast.

But it was a social media post from Wills after her team’s stunning round 2 victory over the West Coast Fever that sent some fans into a tizz after the incoming mentor wrote of her team holding a special place in her heart.

Firebirds head coach Kiri Wills says she wants her players to know she has their backs. Photo: Getty Images

The Firebirds have been under the microscope since the end of last season after an investigation was held into alleged breaches of the Netball Australia Code of Conduct and Member Protection Policy, by Netball Queensland (owners of the Firebirds) and members of its staff.

Releasing the findings of its independent report just ahead of the season start, NA found no breaches of its policies despite a formal complaint from outgoing defender Remi Kamo.

Kamo, who was not recontracted at the end of last season and is playing in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership – ironically for Wills’s former club the Northern Stars – has been scathing of the finding, saying there was a “silencing culture” in the sport, “while the people benefiting from the silence stay in their positions of power and control the narrative”.

The club and Netball Queensland released a joint statement on Sunday afternoon addressing allegations by Kamo about the Firebird’s culture.

The governing body and the Firebirds rejected suggestions the organisation was an unsafe workplace and a “toxic” organisation. They also refuted further accusations that players who spoke up about the culture in 2023 were not recontracted in 2024.

Before this latest statement, Wills went into bat for her side, making an Instagram post that has both won admiration and courted criticism.

“Every team I coach has my whole heart. This team though has a special place because of the players resilience and ability to just get on with it. Even though people outside of us seem intent on burning the house down without checking who’s inside,” she said in the post following the Firebirds’ win over the Fever.

Wills was surprised at the backlash – partly because “I don’t get followed by that many people” – but is unfazed.

“I just wanted to sort of put a line in the sand, because we’ve moved on,” she said.

“I get that people need to have their say but I just wanted to put a line in the sand that we’re okay.

“And that was all it really was. And it got quite a bit of traction, which I wasn’t really expecting … but also just to show the girls that, you know, we’ve got this and I’ve got your backs, and it’s going to be okay.”

Wills is eminently qualified as a coach. But it wasn’t just her ability as an “Xs and Os” tactical brain that got her the Firebirds’ job.

A key part of her job is being an agent of change after the club parted ways with former mentor Bec Bulley five games before the end of last season.

The three-time national title winners are determined to return to the finals for the first time in seven years.

“Look, the changes were afoot well before I was brought on board and then I’m here to continue that sort of positive shift,” she said.

“I think we are in a really good place. We lost (to the Lightning) but we’re still in a really good place as a team.

“And that’s the test, is when you are under pressure – it’s easy when you’re winning, it’s easy when things look good.

“But I think this group’s only going to grow as a group.”

Originally published as Firebirds coach Kiri Wills insists team has ‘moved on’ from culture saga