Former AFLW player Maggie Caris named as one of five Melbourne Vixens training partners for 2025

The Melbourne Vixens have named their training partners for next season and one young defender explains why she turned her back on AFLW to go all-in on her netball goals.

A Victorian netball young gun is backing in her Super Netball goals after turning her back on a fledgling AFLW career to chase her elite netball dreams.

Melbourne Vixens training partner Maggie Caris made the decision to walk away from football to focus all her energy on fulfilling her aspirations in netball.

The 21-year-old joined Melbourne in the 2020 AFLW draft and spent three seasons at the Demons, playing six games for the club.

But Caris found balancing commitments for both sports increasingly challenging before she decided to go all-in on her netball goals early last year.

Maggie Caris is all in on her netball dream. Picture: Supplied.

Caris continues to edge closer to her dream of playing Super Netball after being named as a training partner for the Vixens for a fourth year in 2025.

The 190cm circle defender played a key role for Victorian Fury in this year’s Super Netball reserves competition and was also selected in the Australian 21 and under squad last year.

Caris has played netball since the age of six, but only took up football when she was 15, juggling both until last year.

Ultimately, netball won given the sport’s “small gap” at the top in Super Netball compared to the openings in AFLW.

“I was really fortunate to be involved with the Melbourne footy club for three seasons and I absolutely loved my time there and do miss it … but managing two high-performance sports became quite challenging,” Caris said.

“Especially in 2021 when I joined the Melbourne Vixens as a training partner, the demands of both sports just became ever-increasing.

Maggie Caris spent three years on the Melbourne list. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“It was a great learning experience to do both at the same time, but unfortunately it did come to that pointy end where I did have to make a decision and ended up going with netball.

“Given netball and the limited spots that are available, I knew that there was a really short time frame – and there still is a really short time frame – for me if I did want to pursue netball.

“With AFLW there are so many spots available, but there are only 80 professional spots for (Super) Netball at the moment, so it is a really small gap in netball to try and make it.

“So given the opportunity and the position that I am in, I just wanted to really try my best and really see if there is something that I can do here.”

Caris has been named as one of five Vixens training partners for 2025 alongside new faces and fellow Victorian pathway products Ruby Shannon (midcourter), Charlotte Sexton (defender), Tara Watson (midcourter) and Mia Lavis (goaler).

The Vixens were in the market for a new batch of training partners after they farewelled Emily Andrew (London Mavericks) Sharni Lambden (New South Wales Swifts), Gabby Coffey (Birmingham Panthers) and Ruby Barkmeyer, while goaler Lily Graham was elevated to the main squad.

Maggie Caris, Ruby Shannon, Charlotte Sexton, Tara Watson and Mia Lavis have been named as our 2025 training partners👏

Read more 👉 https://t.co/RbPNk9uD4upic.twitter.com/ZF3qvPoDpz

— Melbourne Vixens (@MelbourneVixens) October 30, 2024

Horsham-raised Caris said she had relished learning off the Vixens’ star-studded defensive line-up and coaching staff including head coach Simone McKinnis and specialist defensive coach Sharni Norder (nee Layton).

Caris said she would be ready to grab an opportunity at Super Netball if a door opened.

“Obviously Vixens would be the ideal spot, but I just want to develop and grow as much as I can to be a prospect and an option for any team that is after a defender,” Caris said.

“It’s just about continually putting your hand up and proving yourself every chance you can get whether that be VNL or the Super Netball reserves competition that we had this year.

“It’s great to be back for another season, I’m so lucky to have been surrounded by some great high-performance coaches … but the players as well, the likes of Jo Weston and Kate Moloney, you are learning a lot from some of the best in the competition.

“So it’s been really great to pick their brains and to be able to learn from them has been a great experience so far.”

The training partners will work alongside the Vixens’ 10-member squad during the pre-season and throughout the regular season.

Originally published as Former AFLW player Maggie Caris named as one of five Melbourne Vixens training partners for 2025