‘Draw more eyeballs’: Real reason Paige Hadley thinks netball should be an Olympic sport

Netball is the biggest team sport in Australia – yet its place in the national consciousness lags behind male-dominated games. Now, Diamonds star Paige Hadley is determined to see that change.

Paige Hadley ought to be a household name. Consider the evidence: the netball player, who is co-captain of her team the Sydney Swifts, also plays for the Australian Diamonds, who are currently the number-one netball side in the world.

Earlier this year, at the Netball Nations Cup (which the Diamonds won), she was named player of the series.

Yet while netball is Australia’s most popular team sport for women, with more than a million players nationwide, the disconnect remains.

“If you go to your local rugby league game on the weekend, anyone in the crowd will be able to name a player in the NRL,” Hadley tells Stellar.

“But if you go to the netball courts, there are a lot of young girls who love netball … but do they know a Swifts, Giants or Australian player?”

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

The fact they may struggle to answer that question is something Hadley wants to change. Which is why, for starters, the opportunity to get glammed up for a photo shoot with Stellar excited her.

As she notes, “Normally [in] all the photos of me I’ve got my hair slicked back and I’m in uniform.”

Like so many girls across Australia, Hadley’s exposure to netball started early. In the Sydney suburb of Penrith, where she grew up, she would accompany her mother – who played, umpired and was on the committee for the local club – and sit courtside in a pram. Later she took to the court herself, and fell in love with the game.

“I truly believe netball is the ultimate team sport,” the midcourt player says. “The rules state you can’t score solely on your own because you can’t run with the ball. I can’t pass the centre pass and score a goal.

“And the shooters can’t score without someone throwing the ball to them. You’re never alone out there. It’s a sport where you have to help each other.”

While the current consensus is there has never been a better time to be a female athlete, the spotlight often shines brighter on the women playing the traditionally male-dominated sports, such as soccer or rugby.

Netball often ends up forgotten, even though it’s dominated by women – from the grassroots to the boardroom.

Hadley, 31, believes that’s because at the elite levels, it’s not as easily accessible.

“The male-dominated sports have the money and resources to promote [their] female game,” she tells Stellar. “But you can’t be what you can’t see. Netball may have progressed in terms of contracts, sponsorships and TV deals. We sell out our matches; there is an appetite there. But you still can’t get our jerseys in every shop.”

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

There has long been an argument that netball should become an Olympic sport, especially given the uncertain future of the Commonwealth Games, where it has been played since 1998. Unsurprisingly, there is a heavy push for it to be included at the 2032 Brisbane Games. But while male participation in the sport is rising, the fact it remains a predominantly female-led game may hold it back.

Asked for her thoughts, Hadley replies, “Being on the world stage and having those big countries playing – like the US and China – would draw more eyeballs. On the other hand, if they would need to change the game I love, I wouldn’t want it.”

So when a global company steps in to sponsor the game, it feels special. Arnott’s Vita-Weat has recently partnered with Netball Australia on a new initiative encouraging players, families and fans to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Explains Hadley, who is a partner for the campaign, “It’s huge for us – for Arnott’s to come on-board, and help us educate and inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle, play a sport you love and chase your dreams.”

Paige Hadley of the Swifts on the netball court at Ken Rosewall Arena. Picture: Getty Images

Picture: Getty Images

She adds that she hopes Arnott’s Vita-Weat’s involvement encourages more support from other brands. Because as she points out, the reality is that while the game is professional, netball players earn a minimum wage of $46,600, and must hold down another job to make ends meet.

“My first contract was $11,500, and I had to work part-time at Video Ezy,” recalls Hadley, who also studied business and commerce at university.

“Yes, now I can live off my contract – but if I didn’t get a contract tomorrow, I’d need a full-time job. I can’t set myself up. We’ve come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.”

Eventually moving on and leaving the sport in a better state than she found it is what inspires Hadley today – along with, of course, her love of the game itself.

“There’s no way when I was younger that I thought I would play for Australia,” she says.

“I didn’t know it was a career path. I still pinch myself that I get to do it.”

Originally published as ‘Draw more eyeballs’: Real reason Paige Hadley thinks netball should be an Olympic sport