Why Netball Tasmania boss joined the Jackies

After accepting a new role with the JackJumpers, outgoing Netball Tasmania boss Mitch Coulson has opened up on his admiration for the NBL club, and his confidence a Tassie netball team will join them on the national stage.

Netball Tasmania CEO Mitch Coulson has resigned to join the JackJumpers. Picture: Linda Higginson

Outgoing Netball Tasmania boss Mitch Coulson “has a high degree of confidence” the sport will realise its Super Netball dream after announcing his resignation to join the JackJumpers.

Coulson said he’s been a long-time admirer of what the NBL club has built in a short period, admitting they’d been a source of inspiration for netball to follow them onto the national stage.

Coulson became Netball Tasmania CEO in early 2022 and has undertaken a number of initiatives including an official partnership with Super Netball champions Adelaide Thunderbirds, luring Melbourne Mavericks games to the state, the establishment of the Tasmania Wild representative pathway and the return of the national netball team for games.

Participation has also grown from to record levels of around 10,000.

“Moving down from Melbourne as an outsider and a fan, it was really eye opening to see how powerful the JackJumpers brand was, and how much it meant to people in Tasmania,” Coulson said, who joins the club as General Manager - Commercial, Fan Growth and Data.

“I’ve had a bit over three years looking and admiring what they’ve done from that perspective.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in netball but the JackJumpers just provides a few pretty unique and special opportunities.

“Even though in some form you’re competitors, we always looked at that and thought looks what’s possible.

“Prior to the JackJumpers, there would have been other sports who would have doubted their ability to draw the support they have.”

Outgoing Netball Tasmania CEO Mitch Coulson, with members of the state’s netball community. Picture: Linda Higginson

While the Devils’ path to the AFL has become rocky this week, Coulson remains very confident the plans he’s helped put in place to deliver a Super Netball franchise to Tasmania will be rewarded.

He personally believes the best process is to eventually join the new Super Netball Reserves competition on a permanent basis, with Tasmania to play some games in that tournament in a lesser capacity this month.

“With Super Netball introducing the reserves, the logical step wold be why can’t Tassie go into the reserves and prove the case, then step up into SSN?,” he said.

“At the moment there’s certainly been a number of conversations around that. While I won’t be here to lock in or confirm that, I think there’s enough in motion that I take a high degree of confidence that it’s certainly possible, and possible soon.

“From our board’s point of view I think that’s how they see the next step and they have a very strong case.

“I’ll be an onlooker in seeing how that unfolds, but I certainly feel the Tassie netball community is very deserving of that.

“It’s not something I think that’s given to us in a tokenistic way, it’s something we’d have earned with a lot of hard work, and a lot of improvement in our pathways.

“I think netball really needs it. I think they need more teams, and need more spots for players professionally.”

In a club statement on Friday, Jackies CEO Christine Finnegan said Coulson would be “invaluable” in their quest to secure a WNBL license.

That looks all but certain to happen from the 2026-27 season. The irony isn’t lost on Coulson he’ll now be helping convince young females to play basketball over netball, but is excited about the challenge.

“There’s a lot of confidence about being able to secure that license, but from my perspective there’s all sorts of opportunities a WNBL license could unlock in terms of a female team that can rally the support of the island, and to take games hopefully into all corners of Tassie,” he said.

“There’s new facilities being built in Devonport, the Silverdome (Launceston) is getting an upgrade. There’s room to connect it with the great success the men’s team has had, but also some space to do things uniquely designed around a female team and connecting with young females in our community.

“It’s really exciting to think how we can get creative with that, and give the team it’s own look and feel that connects back to the JackJumpers overall.

“If the WNBL piece does come to fruition, there’s another team to talk to businesses about in terms of their backing and their support.”

Coulson said he’s enjoyed a collaborative relationship with Basketball Tasmania as netball also strives for more indoor courts.

“It’s a real common issue with basketball and netball, they both need more indoor courts, Coulson said.

“I chat pretty regularly with Basketball Tasmania because essentially we need the same things. The court challenge is one where there’s a few projects in place, but it’s hard to keep up with the same demand.”

Membership and ticketing will come under Coulston’s portfolio at the JackJumpers. Given home games are routinely sold out, he said keeping fans engaged is an attractive challenge.

“In previous roles there’s been a scenario where you’re obviously looking at how close to capacity can we get the crowd. But for the JackJumpers, it’s such an overwhelming demand and limited supply to seating,” he said.

“It’s about finding way to keep all fans around the island engaged and connected, although we acknowledge the challenge of getting them through the door for a game.”

Asked what he’s most proud of in his time at netball’s helm, Coulson said he’s content he’ll leave the sport in a better position at the end of this month.

“I probably like to come back to things which we can quantify in a factual way, and say we’ve been able to grow the game consistently year on year to basically 10,000 participants, which is a great number for Tassie,” he said.

“It’s a difficult thing to do when other sports are doing amazing things like the JackJumpers or Devils, that draws a lot of attention.

“I feel proud and comfortable netball is set up well to not just be sustainable, but thrive into the future with some funding arrangements in place to drive growth.”

Netball Tasmania operations co-ordinator Tracy Jones will be interim CEO, with the search for Coulson’s successor already underway.