Super Netball exposed by Collingwood’s cheap AFLW cash grab

A cheap cash grab for women’s support, having a netball program allowed Collingwood to apply for, and receive, significant government funding, writes Emma Greenwood.

Super Netball may be the world’s best competition but its frailties have been brutally exposed as Australia’s biggest sporting club exits the competition pointing the finger on its way out the door.

Collingwood’s netball house seems to have been built on sand despite the shine and sparkle of its arrival into Super Netball for its inaugural season in 2017.

A cheap grab for women’s support before the arrival of an AFLW program, there were plenty of signs the Magpies didn’t have the proper foundations to be a netball success story, something that chief executive Craig Kelly recognised when he acknowledged “we could have run a better netball program at Collingwood”.

Having a netball program allowed Collingwood to apply for, and receive, significant government funding for upgrades to facilities now shared with the club’s AFLW and VFLW teams - programs it will continue to support under its core football business.

As a club that made a $7.1m profit last year, Collingwood was never going to win public support for any extraordinary funding for its netball program.

A netball team helped Collingwood score funding to facilities shared by the club’s AFLW team. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Acknowledging the program was “under review” last week seemed more a last-ditch effort to win support from either the Victorian Government or Netball Australia but neither body was in a position to offer a bailout without setting a financially unsustainable precedent.

So Thursday’s statements on Netball Australia’s recent financial position and delays in finalising Team Participation Agreements (TPA) and a Collective Player Agreement (CPA) for 2024 and beyond being partly responsible for their withdrawal seemed like a disingenuous blame game while heading out the door.

It was certainly not something Netball Australia was buying into, with CEO Kelly Ryan describing the commentary “very disappointing”.

That aside, there is genuine frustration in clubland at delays in finalising both the TPAs and CPA and while most may not agree with the Magpies’ articulation of their gripes, they are shared by many clubs, players and member organisations.

Netball Australia has done enormous work to turn around its financial position in the past 12 months and will post improved figures again next year when the Visit Victoria deal and other sponsorships are reflected in the 2023 figures.

Magpies players look on after a loss. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

But continued doubt over the financial strength of a competition in which clubs survive hand to mouth does little for the sport.

The Magpies share plenty of blame for their demise, having got things wrong from day one.

And while they are one of just two clubs not under the umbrella of a state association - and rumblings continue about the fortunes of the other despite Melbourne Storm boss Matt Tripp’s denial last week the club was not looking to sell its Sunshine Coast Lightning licence despite one source revealing the asking price to News Corp - the Magpies’ woes are real and could expose Super Netball as a house of cards.

Super Netball is home to the best players, coaches and officials in the world.

But until a sport that as recently as last year rejected even entering into negotiations on private equity - against a key recommendation of its own State of the Game Review - can resolve its financial issues, speculation over both the league and its member clubs will continue.

In the long run, that can only be damaging for all involved.

Originally published as Super Netball exposed by Collingwood’s cheap AFLW cash grab