Super Netball news: Eighth team to be known as the Melbourne Mavericks
The Melbourne Mavericks will replace Collingwood in Super Netball, and the team says its name captures the spirit of the new team’s ambitions.
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Super Netball’s newest franchise will be known as the Melbourne Mavericks as the incoming club embraces the role of being boundary breakers and innovators on and off the court as they push the sport to new frontiers.
The name was announced by owners Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) in Melbourne on Wednesday, giving the club a clear identity among fans as it continues its accelerated set-up ahead of the 2024 season.
Being finally able to share their name, colours (sky blue, pacific cyan and sapphire) and logo with the netball community marks a significant milestone in their journey.
Mavericks general manager of netball operations Shae Bolton-Brown said being able to finally call the team by its name was “massive”.
Since the collapse of Collingwood, its replacement has been referred to variously as the eighth franchise, SEN and then southeast Melbourne when it’s location was unveiled.
Then there was the wordy SEN SEM SSN referring to the owner, location and Suncorp Super Netball league.
“To have something really tangible for people to start to connect with is going to be massive,” Bolton-Brown said.
Club officials say the Mavericks name was chosen to “reflect the team’s ambition to unapologetically break boundaries, think differently, and embrace the beauty of the sport, all while pushing the netball narrative into a new frontier”.
But Bolton-Brown said “Maverick” was not a synonym for reckless.
“Mavericks isn’t about reckless risk-taking,” she said.
“It’s about calculated, thoughtful venturing into uncharted territory – not because it’s a cool thing to do but because now there’s something better out there.
“The Maverick spirit is not so much about being massive rebels.
“Especially in Victoria, the culture of netball is so strong and all of that good stuff in there we want to be absolutely amplifying and leveraging and bringing to more fans.”
While the players so far reported to be heading to the club don’t have an obvious connectivity - something incoming coach Tracey Neville said she was chasing for a team that will have to gel quickly - the Mavs’ maverick spirit is something that has already been crucial in identifying potential players and connects them all.
“It underpins our recruitment strategy,” Bolton-Brown said.
“We want players that are hungry, that haven’t necessarily had things handed to them on a silver platter.
“They might not fit the cookie-cutter mould. When we are chatting in our list management meetings, one of the filters is: are they a maverick?
“If there’s a player that’s been reached out to by us, that question has been answered with ‘yes’.”
Neville, said the thought process behind the Mavericks brand was outstanding.
“It has impact, sells our story and speaks loudly about the staff and players we want to attract to be part of our family,” Neville said.
“The brand means business and so do we as a new franchise.”
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Originally published as Super Netball news: Eighth team to be known as the Melbourne Mavericks
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