New eight-team national netball competition will include Melbourne Storm-backed side on Sunshine Coast

NETBALL Australia will on Thursday confirm a new eight-team national competition including a Melbourne Storm-backed side on the Sunshine Coast.

Netball Australia CEO Kate Palmer.

THE worst-kept secret in women’s sport will be officially unveiled on Thursday when Netball Australia confirms a new eight-team national competition including a Melbourne Storm-backed side on the Sunshine Coast.

The new National Netball League (NNL) will start next year and includes a landmark five-year broadcast deal with Channel Nine and Telstra.

Two games a week will be live on prime time free-to-air TV on Saturday nights with the other two games delayed but shown live on Telstra TV and the Netball Live app.

The other two new teams to join the five current Australian sides and the Sunshine Coast team will be backed by AFL clubs Collingwood and GWS and be based in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

The three new teams were selected after an extensive expression of interest process.

The GWS side will be run in conjunction with Netball NSW.

The Sunshine Coast bid was not in conjunction with Netball Qld who submitted a “Northern Australia’’ proposal.

The Sunshine Coast team will be backed by the Storm, Sunshine Coast Council and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The broadcast deal also covers international netball and offers the sport and its sponsors unprecedented exposure.

The new NNL replaces the existing ANZ Championship. The league will start in February and run over 17 weeks.

Originally published as New eight-team national netball competition will include Melbourne Storm-backed side on Sunshine Coast