Net Gains: Julie Fitzgerald’s record; Swifts’ ‘black cloud’, and Sam Wallace-Joseph’s murky future in the game

EMMA GREENWOOD sheds light on the uncertain playing future of Sam Wallace-Joseph, celebrates the 400-game career of Julie Fitzgerald, and much more in a bumper edition of Net Gains.

Netball events of the past week only underline how incredible Julie Fitzgerald’s career has been.

The veteran mentor coached her 400th match at national league level in the Giants’ 57-42 loss to the Adelaide Thunderbirds on Saturday, something that’s an incredible achievement in any sport.

In a game like netball, in which fewer than 20 games are played each season, that’s a record of more than 25 years.

Throughout that time, Fitzgerald has managed a resilience few in the game have achieved while keeping the faith of players who she has nurtured to five premierships and more grand finals in three teams across two nations, as well as leading the Australian Institute of Sport program.

While she is the foundation Giants coach and has led the Super Netball club to two grand finals, Fitzgerald was also a long-time mentor at the NSW Swifts, who she led to five national league titles before an internal review decided to axe her in 2011.

Julie Fitzgerald, with her grandkids and surrounded by family as she leads the Giants out ahead of her 400th national league match as a coach. Photo: Getty Images

Ironically, it’s what happened to one of her proteges, Bec Bulley, last week at the Queensland Firebirds.

The Swifts, now under Briony Akle, who has led the team to two Super Netball titles, were among those to congratulate Fitzgerald on her career, with Akle singing her praises.

“She may now be coaching our cross-town rivals, but Julie will always hold a special place in Swifts history and the club wouldn’t be where it is today without her,” said Akle, who played under Fitzgerald in the 2001 and 2004 premiership teams.

“She will always be the Swifts’ foundation coach and the mentor who led them to five of the seven championship flags that the club has claimed to this point.

“To reach 400 games is a milestone that takes a huge amount of skill, resilience and success. Everyone who has played a role in her journey to this point should be exceptionally proud in what she’s achieved.

“Julie is a legend of not just netball, but Australian sport as a whole.”

A fan holds up a Julie Fitzgerald head during the round 10 Super Netball match between Giants Netball and Adelaide Thunderbirds. Photo: Getty Images

Akle has been forced to call on some of that resilience herself over the past few weeks given the Sam Wallace-Joseph affair but like Fitzgerald, has managed to keep the faith of her players.

Fitzgerald had the luminaries of the game singing her praises at the weekend - much to her embarrassment.

“I really didn’t want a lot of fuss, I kind of wanted it to pass unnoticed but all the messages that I’ve received from past players and colleagues, it’s lovely and it’s given me a chance to reflect and I’ve really loved it,” she said.

A doting mother and grandmother, she headed on to court at Ken Rosewall Arena with her grandchildren on Saturday, while her players, many of whom consider her a mother figure, have full faith in her even if they were unable to add to their winning tally this season.

Giants head coach Julie Fitzgerald speaks to her players during a time out. Photo: Getty Images

Former England international Jo Harten, who like her Giants co-captain Jamie-Lee Price has played under Fitzgerald for a decade now, following her from New Zealand to Australia to be part of the inaugural Giants set-up, has every faith in her mentor.

And she believes the Giants are not yet done this season.

“We’re under a coach that’s just coached her 400th elite game and she closes her pre-game statement with: ‘I believe we can do this’,” Harten said.

“If we take any learning from Jules and her belief throughout her whole career, it’s that we can still do it.

“We will go into every game hoping that we can win but more importantly, I think we will go into every week of training knowing that it’s all still to play for and we’ve got so much more improvement to give.”

Player exit ‘lifts black cloud’

The Firebirds and Swifts would have been hoping their decisive front office action over the past week could have drawn a line under tensions in their respective outfits to allow them to get on with the job of winning Super Netball matches.

Unfortunately for both, it wasn’t to be.

It was a tough ask for the Swifts, in particular, coming up against the second-placed West Coast Fever, who were determined to avenge their worst loss in five years last start and were playing in front of a record crowd of more than 11,000 in Perth.

Wallace-Joseph’s exit stops what had become a draining and protracted falling out but the constant speculation over exactly what occurred is unlikely to die down any time soon.

The Swifts revealed on Fox Netball the turmoil had been going on behind the scenes for about a month before becoming public just over a week ago.

Briony Akle, head coach of the Swifts, addresses her players during the round 10 Super Netball match between West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts at RAC Arena. Picture: Getty Images

The “behaviour within the team environment” that led to Wallace-Joseph and the club parting ways by mutual agreement last week is wrapped up in nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) - as is her severance package - meaning the full story is unlikely to be fully known any time soon.

But in her post-match press conference, Akle described the resolution of the issue as being able to “lift the black cloud”.

“We just need to move on. I think it’s unprecedented probably to lose a player in netball halfway through a season and it’s by the club choice,” Akle said.

“But for us, it was for the best for the team and now that’s behind and we can lift the black cloud, I think, in terms of what it’s been weighing us down.”

Co-captain Maddy Proud, who played her 100th game for the Swifts on Sunday, said after dealing with the turmoil for almost a month, there had been “a little bit of relief in a way that there was a conclusion”.

She hoped that speculation over what exactly had happened would start to die down.

“There’s not much we really can say, so there’s always going to be a lot going on in that aspect,” Proud said.

“But I think for us to kind of have a line in the sand now and be able to move forward and focus on you know, what the rest of this season looks like for us has been really important.

Maddy Proud of the Swifts passes the ball during the round 10 Super Netball match between West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts. Picture: Getty Images

“We’ve talked about the fact that it has banded us together and we’ve had to really do a lot as a group to make sure that we stay united in that sense.

“I think it’s really just unfortunate at the moment that it’s probably not translating out on to the court but away from the court we are stronger than ever and we’re making sure that the more that we do, the better the results can come in the following weeks.”

But both Proud and Akle conceded it had affected both the team and results.

“I think we would be silly to say that it hasn’t affected people,” Proud said.

“We are a very tight knit group and we’ve played with Sammy for eight years, we’ve won two premierships with her, we’ve been through a lot.

“So despite what happened … in any team to lose a player is always going to be tough but to have someone that’s been with you for a long time is always going to be extra hard.

“It’s been very tough and I know that it’s taking a mental toll on everyone - not just players but the whole club as well.”

Akle said losing a player in the manner the Swifts had “obviously would affect a team”.

“To be able to come away as a group, we’ve come away (to Perth) a couple of days earlier than we normally would just to regroup, refresh, focus on the netball and we’ve had a really good few days away,” she said.

What now for Wallace-Joseph?

Wallace-Joseph too would be keen for things to die down, with her task of gaining another professional contract looking tough after her Swifts exit.

With NDAs in place, her representatives have knocked back any interview requests and she’s not about to be giving her side of the story any time soon.

While she remains in the country on a bridging visa at the moment, her next move is likely to be overseas, although gaining another contract could be a difficult prospect.

The English competition and it’s Super League 2.0, which launches next year with the goal of pushing the sport towards a fully professional model in the coming years, may be her best bet.

It’s understood there was interest for this season before Wallace secured a deal with the Swifts after almost two years on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Has Sam Wallace-Joseph played her last game of professional netball? Photo: Getty Images

Whether any of the clubs in the slimmed down eight-team league - which consists of six existing clubs and two new entities, Birmingham Panthers and Nottingham Forrest Netball - will offer her a deal following the drama of the past month is the big question.

Athletes will be paid more in the new league, which also has the scope for each club to sign two marquee players, but rosters will be reduced to 10 players, in line with current Super Netball list sizes.

Thirty-one next January and with a significant injury behind her, some might regard Wallace-Joseph as too great a risk.

It would be a shame if she’s played her last professional game.

Firebirds a ‘rudderless ship’

Things are going from bad to worse at the Firebirds, with former premiership captain Kiera Trompf calling the club a “rudderless ship” after the axing of coach Bec Bulley five games out from the end of the season.

Another former Firebird and Bulley’s assistant coach Lauren Brown took the reins at the weekend but little changed for the Queenslanders, who went down to the Mavericks in Melbourne 73-62 on Sunday, with Brown resigning after the match.

Brown, who was drafted in at the last minute in 2023 after the Firebirds parted ways with Bulley’s initial assistant coach Sara Francis-Bayman last year, seemed conflicted taking the reins at the weekend in the absence of the former coach.

“It certainly wasn’t the week we were expecting. I don’t think we can hide from that, it’s certainly been really tough,” Brown said on Fox Netball’s pre-match show on Sunday.

“It’s been tough for everybody involved in the club.

“I really feel for Bec. I feel for the players, it’s not an ideal situation but we’ve passed that, we’ve banked it, we’ve (gone) day by day but just really excited to get out and play.”

Brown confirmed she had spoken to Bulley following the decision.

Now former Firebirds coach Bec Bulley (C), with her replacement Lauren Brown (right) and player Macy Gardner (left) ahead of what would be her final match in charge. Picture:: Getty Images

“She is someone that I have a lot of respect for, so it’s pretty gut wrenching, I really feel for her and her family but we have to move on,” she said.

The Firebirds confirmed Brown’s exit on Monday morning, with Firebirds Futures assistant Katie Walker ow pitched into the fire for the remainder of the season.

Captain Kim Ravaillion, who had off-season back surgery and did not play on Sunday after she was ruled out by medical staff, again rejected talk the players had led a mutiny against Bulley.

“Ill shut that down right now, that’s not true at all,” Ravaillion said.

Whatever the case, all is not well in the Purple Birdies camp.

Ravaillion was heard imploring players to “look like you want to be here” during the three-quarter time break on Sunday, while the switching of players, especially in the midcourt, continued, with Maddi Ridley making her debut.

The once-proud club is lurching towards the wooden spoon this season and has made the finals just once in the Super Netball era, back in 2018.

Lightning rue close losses

The Lightning are clinging on to fourth place on the competition ladder despite their loss to the Vixens on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday night but they only hold their place on percentage over the Mavericks.

Given their respective runs home, the Lightning should hold on to make the finals but if they don’t, they will be left to rue the close misses this season.

Belinda Reynolds’ Lightning have made a habit of losing close games. Picture: Getty Images

The team regarded by all but one opposing captain as a likely grand finalist after their off-season recruitment of Diamonds Liz Watson and Courtney Bruce, the Lightning have lost four games by four points or less this season.

Throw in their six-point loss to the Giants in the extra time debacle in round 5 and that’s half the games so far this season that have come down to the wire without the Lightning getting the job done.

There was some controversy again at the weekend, with the Lightning turning the ball over in the dying seconds on a play that could have levelled the scores when what seemed a particularly quick held ball was called.

But Belinda Reynolds’ side has to do a better job earlier in the match to ensure it does not put itself in match-altering situations late in the game.

Sunshine Coast remain genuine title hopes and have the talent to match it with any team in the competition - they’re still the only side to have beaten the Vixens this year and again took them to the wire - but they need to take care of the one per centers to get the job done.

Originally published as Net Gains: Julie Fitzgerald’s record; Swifts’ ‘black cloud’, and Sam Wallace-Joseph’s murky future in the game