Push for Liz Ellis to chair Netball Australia after board appointment

Liz Ellis’s appointment to the board of Netball Australia may not end at director, with a push on for the former Diamonds captain to be elected as chair.

Liz Ellis’s appointment to the board of Netball Australia may not end at director, with a push on for the former Diamonds captain to be elected as chair when Wendy Archer vacates the position at the sport’s annual general meeting.

Archer will step down at the AGM later this month, with most expecting either Ellis or another new board appointment, former NSW Attorney-General and Minister for Sport Gabrielle Upton, to be appointed as chair by the new board.

Regardless of whether she takes on the top spot, Ellis will be an invested and active board member, with her appointment warmly received by both her sport’s community and the wider public.

As one key player in the sport put it to Code Sports on Tuesday, who else could come in and generate the amount of interest and publicity that Ellis had in just in 24 hours, for the sport.

Ellis’s own social media post attracted hundreds of comments from supporters including current and former sporting stars, celebrities, general public and a host of current and former netball stars.

Certainly, Ellis has a groundswell of support.

Liz Ellis has been appointed to the Netball Australia board, but there is a push for her to be elected chair. Picture: Getty Images

But will she be in a position to help effect the change the sport drastically needs if it is to overcome its financial challenges and become the power player it should be with a base of a million participants?

Ellis herself wants it known she’s no “messiah”, rather one of nine board members overseeing the sport.

Code Sports reported in March that a lack of confidence in the board and its strategic vision was putting off potential candidates for the position of chief executive.

And it’s understood it was having the same effect on key stakeholders, including potential backers of the sport.

Already though, the appointment of Ellis is giving hope that those who had chosen to withhold support over the past 12 months, will engage, or re-engage with netball.

A trained lawyer, Ellis brings the type of governance and business experience that is expected of modern board members.

Nicole Richardson and Liz Ellis celebrate winning Commonwealth Games gold during their playing days. Picture: Getty Images

But it is the depth of her netball knowledge and understanding of Australian sport that is exciting most Code Sports spoke to - and it’s what will allow her to hit the ground running.

Ellis’s appointment, along with that of Upton and former Netball Victoria president Kirrily Zimmerman, have added new blood to a board that has lost three members - deputy chair John O’Sullivan in March this year, former chair Marina Go (December 2023) and Jane Seawright last October - in just over six months, two of them since the resignation of former CEO Kelly Ryan.

Some, like former Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander, believe more change is necessary.

“Kelly Ryan may have left but we have long memories and the board and chair Wendy Archer must also accept responsibility for the current and past issues,” Alexander wrote in a column for Code Sports in March.

Ellis’s role as an agent for change is clear.

She chaired the State of the Game review panel, which called, among other things for the then-Super Netball Commission to build a business case for private equity investment (as well as investment from team franchisers and/or broadcasters and sponsors) and was involved in entrepreneur and former Metal Health Australia chair Matt Berriman’s bid to take over Super Netball.

It’s a controversial view in the game and one that has the potential to clash with the beliefs of other board members, although Ellis only ever advocated exploration of those ideas - something the former NA executive refused when approached by Berriman and his Tier 1 global backers in 2022.

Whatever the outcome, there’s a need for action - and quickly.

Liz Ellis is a former player, commentator, and now a member of the NA board. Picture: Getty Images

While NA made a return to operating profit last year, with a modest return, it still has debt of more than $4m it has to pay off and some member organisations that are struggling financially, if not for members and support.

Ellis senses a mood for change though.

“I think there is a real sense that now is a moment in time for the sport to really understand the opportunities,” she said.

“Never waste a crisis.

“Let’s figure out what all our needs are. Let’s figure out where we need to go and how are we going to get there and let’s work together to do that.

“I think that’s probably a much more constructive way to look at things rather than: ‘What do you have to give up? What do you need to do? How do you need to change?’

“I think there’s a really good conversation that can take place, but I think crucially, it’s my understanding that there’s a willingness for that to happen, which is really exciting.”