Simpson on Netball's future

By Linda Pearce

Megan Simpson’s newly-created role at Netball Australia covers the launching pad that is Woolworths NetSetGo, travels all the way up to the world champion Origin Australian Diamonds, and takes in much of what occurs in between.

If participation is the broad base of the sport’s pyramid, and high performance the apex housing the elite, then Netball Australia’s Executive General Manager of Netball wants to maximise the number for whom a joyful start becomes a lifelong involvement, whatever the level.

Simpson acknowledges that attracting young athletes is one thing but retaining them a very different challenge, given the premium on facilities and volunteers, rising cost of living and time constraints and a plethora of choices available due to the growth of what have traditionally been male-dominated pursuits.

“It’s about how we continue to be relevant. Other codes have obviously started to expand their offerings, and we need to do the same thing,’’ Simpson says.

“It’s important for us to appeal to a broad market and engage different communities so that we can continue to grow our participation base and keep people in a sport where they feel safe, have positive experiences and develop a sense of belonging.”

The first element involves leading and supporting the wider netball ecosystem, including, Member Organisations and affiliates to provide relevant and meaningful programs. 

The second is monitoring and enhancing participant experience.

“We’ve predominantly been a sport that has appealed to females, which is something that we should be incredibly proud of, but not something that should restrict our future possibilities,’’ Simpson says. 

“We should be really mindful of the diversity of our Australian population and be able to include everybody in netball, as their interest grows in our sport.”

Simpson joined Netball Australia on November 4, the experienced administrator and former player, coach and selector having crossed from an executive role as Netball Victoria’s General Manager of High Performance and Pathways.

Despite an ongoing debate about the limited playing opportunities at Suncorp Super Netball level that Origin Australian Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich has described as a “bottleneck”, she has no personal preference on structural options that ranges from list sizes to team numbers to caps on imports. Or not.

As netball formulates a 10-year strategic plan that includes the blueprint for Suncorp Super Netball 2.0, Simpson would like to see more exposure for younger Australian talent - especially those struggling to earn minutes in positions such as goal shooter that imports dominate.

“Suncorp Super Netball is certainly a product that has created great energy for our sport and great opportunity for our athletes… and being able to attract international athletes certainly does have some benefit for our Diamonds when they’re playing against internationals each week,’’ she says.

“But there’s also a really fine balancing act around opportunity for our emerging talent and that is a really interesting discussion to have within an SSN space when there’s unlimited opportunities for international athletes. So I think internationally the game’s benefitted from SSN, but we have to now really focus on ‘where the opportunities are for our pathway athletes?’.

“We’ve got to be mindful that we don’t put our current or future Origin Australian Diamonds in a position where they’re going to be compromised at international events.’’

The Super Netball Reserves pilot was successful enough as a bridging competition to win a return in 2025, with the Melbourne Mavericks the latest addition, and hopes it will gain a foothold and prove increasingly popular with audiences as well as players.

“With the growth of Suncorp Super Netball and the evolution of the format of the game, it has created been a gap in our system, particularly for emerging talent entering into our pathway competitions such as the National Netball Championships (under-age carnivals) right through to SSN, and that’s the space that we need to support to generate long term success,’’ Simpson says.

With finite resources, she adds, the priority in any discussion around the expansion of Super Netball must be fiscal sustainability. 

“Expansion would be great, but what does expansion look like?’’ she asks.

“We’ve got to do it in a way that’s well considered and is capable of setting the teams and League up for sustainable success - not just from a performance perspective but with consideration to the commercial and financial impact - and this is the work that’s happening at the moment with the SSN 2.0 project.’’

Meanwhile, back among the littlies at the grassroots level from which big athletes grow, the first stage of Woolworths NetSetGo’s revamp will be rolled out in 2025 after a pilot scheme hosted by 27 venues nationally.

Manager Shelley Dunk said the changes to the initial “Net” tier of the entry-level program - the others, yes, are Set and Go for older children - was part of an evolution designed to engage and expand the existing audience while building understanding and brand awareness.

The theme for the youngest cohort, of five-six-year-olds: more touches equals more fun.

The tools include modified goal posts and soft-touch balls, smaller groups, mini games to put skills into match action, plus a new logo and first-time alignment with Suncorp Super Netball through which the children will receive merchandise in the colours of their nominated club.

“We’re creating lifelong fans of the game, so if you’re around the courts you’ll see lots of little Woolworths NetSetGo’ers running around in their NetSetGo t-shirts, but they’ll be themed the colour of their Suncorp Super Netball team and branded so as well,’’ Dunk says.

Registrations for 2025 opened on December 1. “The feedback so far has been really positive, and we’re excited to hit the ground running,’’ adds Dunk, who recommends visiting the NA website to find your local centre.

“Our vision is to create a fun, safe place for everybody and really look to engage all within the community, so everybody’s welcome in the netball nation.

“It’s OK if you’ve never experienced netball or are unsure what it is. We’ll help guide you through the program and make sure you’re having fun along the way.’’

Simpson, too, is enthused by the collaboration with the Member Organisations on Woolworths NetSetGo; strength and unity now a feature following a well-documented period of what she calls “disruption” for the sport.

“Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing first time Woolworths NetSetGo’ers experience the joy of our sport through this fun and engaging program,’’ says Simpson.

“Netball exudes an incredible sense of purpose and creates opportunities outside the boundaries of the court. We develop strong leaders and have incredible role models at all levels of the sport who inspire our youngest participants to achieve in both netball and life.”