Super Netball: Firebirds’ Bec Bulley axing leads to call for formal netball coaches body

Calls have been renewed for a formal organisation for coaches as fallout continues from the Queensland Firebirds’ axing of Bec Bulley last week, five games out from the end of the season.

Calls have been renewed for a formal organisation for coaches as fallout continues from the Queensland Firebirds’ axing of Bec Bulley last week, five games out from the end of the season.

Bulley - who was followed out the door by her former assistant, and last week’s replacement as head coach, Lauren Brown, after one match in charge - was left in the wilderness after her sacking last week.

While the players have a formal body - the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) - to represent them, the same cannot be said for the game’s coaches, although given there are only eight teams and head coaches, the creation of a formal body could be difficult.

But the events of the past few seasons have showed such a body could have a positive impact on the mentors who help shape the game.

Firebirds axed coach Bec Bulley just five games from the end of the season. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

There’s generally little movement in the Super Netball head coaching ranks given how highly prized the positions are, with Bulley, her predecessor Megan Anderson and the Sunshine Coast’s Kylee Byrne (end of 2022) the only mentors to lose their positions in the past few years outside of Nicole Richardson, who was forced out when Collingwood folded last year and Stacey Marinkovich, who stepped away from coaching at club level to focus on the Diamonds program full-time.

All were left to lick their wounds in private, many with public tales of unhappy players or poor club reviews following them out the door.

Bulley was the second successive head coach axed by the Firebirds, who marched Megan Anderson after two challenging seasons in charge, including one severely impacted by Covid.

Netball Queensland (NQ) needs to get the decision right this time.

It’s not just important for the performance of a once-great club - which has made the finals just once in the Super Netball era - but for the competition, with the Firebirds quickly becoming a club no coach or player wants to head to unless it’s their only option.

While both NQ and player managers have denied a mutiny by the players, there’s no doubt athletes at the Firebirds were unhappy with the coaching situation.

The blame for that can’t fall solely on the shoulders of Bulley though.

Neither Bulley nor Anderson had completed their high performance coaching certification, the top level in Netball Australia’s six-level accreditation process.

While both had committed to undertake it and were working towards achieving that while heading the Firebirds program, there was little other experience to support them.

Many suggest their appointments should have come with the scaffolding of an experienced assistant who could also have acted as a mentor while allowing the head coach the freedom to run their own program.

Bulley told this masthead in the pre-season she had enjoyed several conversations with rugby league legend Wayne Bennett.

But where was the netball support for the rookie coach?

Yes, she touched base with her former coach Julie Fitzgerald - who celebrated an unprecedented 400th game in charge at the Giants last week - from time to time but while the woman often described as the Wayne Bennett of netball was supportive, she remains an active Super Netball head coach and when all is said and done, is a rival.

The Firebirds’ axing of Bec Bulley has led to calls for a coaching organisation. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images for Netball Australia

NQ has prioritised high performance qualifications and experience for its next Firebirds coach.

Both Bulley and Anderson had sparkling resumes as former Diamonds players and assistant coaches - Anderson at the international level - but no previous experience as a head coach leading a program at such a high level.

Brown, who replaced Bulley last week, did not have her high performance accreditation, while Katie Walker, the Firebirds Futures assistant coach, who will take the reins this week, is another without the top level of certification.

It’s led to NQ’s job advertisement for the Firebirds coaching role, which closes on July 1, calling for candidates needing to be able to demonstrate an “ability to develop and lead a program that sees the Queensland Firebirds perform at a consistently high level to challenge for SSN finals”.

The role calls for candidates to possess the following qualifications and experience: “NCAS high performance accreditation (or elite coaching accreditation with proof of current progression to high performance level); and a minimum of five years coaching in an elite or semi-professional environment, ideally in a head coach role.”

There are about 60 coaches who have completed their high performance training, with roughly 30 of them still actively involved in the game.

With Super Netball roles like hen’s teeth, experienced candidates should not be hard to find.

Originally published as Super Netball: Firebirds’ Bec Bulley axing leads to call for formal netball coaches body