It was the year the dress became a dirty word and a Diamonds rookie became a lightning rod for sport’s culture wars.
Word of the year
Tumult. Netball put itself through the wringer in 2022, as first-year chief executive Kelly Ryan put her overhaul agenda into overdrive. From the highs of Commonwealth Games gold to the lows of the Hancock Prospecting saga and Super Netball grand final sell-off, Australia’s most popular sport for girls endured some epic ups and downs. The game finished in a strong position but with its internal politics exposed for all to see. The Victorian government’s game-saving sponsorship papered over divisions between the professional players’ association and head office but it remains to be seen whether they will resurface.
The winners
The Diamonds. Australia’s national side won everything on offer in a golden year. They prevailed in a physical battle with Jamaica to claim the country’s 1000th gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August, beat New Zealand in the Constellation Cup then England in a three-game series to round out the year. Gold in Birmingham was the high point, the Diamonds vanquishing the ghosts of 2018, when England toppled the home-town favourites in heartbreaking fashion. But the Constellation Cup brought the best out of the team, playing out as the players came under heavy fire for their stance on Netball Australia’s $15 million partnership with Hancock Prospecting.
Stacey Marinkovich. Marinkovich didn’t put a foot wrong this year as Diamonds coach, well and truly silencing any lingering questions about her credentials. The former West Coast Fever coach helped her players bring home Commonwealth Games gold, the Constellation Cup, Quad Series honours and a clean sweep against England. Most impressive was her handling of the Hancock Prospecting saga, which kicked off at the start of the Constellation Cup. Another team would have crumbled under the pressure of that scrutiny, but the Diamonds came out stronger. Marinkovich shielded her players from the storm, protected Donnell Wallam and gave Liz Watson the space to grow as captain.
Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan, left, and Indigenous goal shooter Donnell Wallam, right.Credit:Nine
Gretel Bueta. Bueta returned from maternity leave and showed everyone she meant business, scoring 317 goals at 90 per cent accuracy for the Queensland Firebirds, playing her 100th elite domestic game and striking up an exciting combination with a rising star of the game, Donnell Wallam. She parlayed that form into the Test arena, dominating in the quad series and starring for the Diamonds in their gold medal-winning campaign in Birmingham.
The losers
Kelly Ryan. History may well look favourably on Ryan for her bold actions to protect netball’s financial viability this year but without the perspective time affords, it is hard to let the Netball Australia boss’ unilateral methods go by without question. At least twice they brought a fight to her door. First, when she brokered a last-minute deal to sell the Super Netball grand final to the highest-paying government, drawing the ire of fans and players alike. Second, when she signed the Hancock Prospecting deal. Both were decisions made with the game’s future in mind. Specifically, debts worth $4 million and a going concern notice issued by creditors to kick off the year. But the former AFLW administrator failed to bring her most important stakeholder – the players – along with her.
Gina Rinehart. They issued three separate media releases to prove otherwise, but Hancock Prospecting and the company’s executive chairman Rinehart were the losers in their showdown with the Diamonds. Netball Australia trumpeted a replacement deal with the Victorian government within days of Rinehart’s petulant announcement and the Diamonds players proved through their actions they intended to make good on the team’s “sisters in arms” motto. Rinehart held on to her $15 million – a drop in the ocean of the magnate’s many billions – but the episode underlined her unwillingness to address the racist remarks of her late father, Laing Hancock.
The dress. The old netty dress had quite the year, first as the object of ire in the Hancock Prospecting controversy and then as the focus of the game’s efforts to modernise and expand its player base. At the year’s close, Netball Australia had updated its uniform guidelines – once wedded to the fit-and-flare dress – to allow players to wear a uniform of their choice, from leggings and shorts to bike pants and bodysuits, with head coverings allowed and a variety of shirt and top options.
Controversy corner, and woman of the year
Donnell Wallam. The personification of dignity under pressure, Wallam had not even played for Australia when she found herself at the centre of a storm over Netball Australia’s new sponsor, Hancock Prospecting. She endured a torrent of online abuse when it emerged she did not want to wear the company’s logo on her dress and that her Diamonds teammates wanted to stand with her on the issue. Wallam has not gone into detail about the toll that period took on her but her understated, emotional interview was telling. On the court she was unruffled, scoring the winning goal on debut against England and earning the Australian Institute of Sport Emerging Athlete of the Year award to add to her Super Netball Rookie of the Year award.
Man of the Year
Brodie Roberts. The Australian goal attack was imperious this year, in which the men’s game ramped up to new levels. Geelong-raised Roberts played with the side in the first televised men’s Tests between Australia, New Zealand and England, and stamped his authority over the series.
Quote of the year
“I was relieved to finally get my chance on court – it’s been some of the toughest few weeks of my life. To finally get out there and just play in this dress was really special.“
Donnell Wallam let her netball do the talking after spending two weeks as a lightning rod for sport’s culture wars. She scored with her first touch of the ball in her Diamonds debut against England, then shot the winning goal to seal a 55-54 thriller.
Crystal ball
Australia pivot their commanding 2022 form into the new year and win the Netball World Cup at Cape Town in August next year.
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