As international sporting rivalries go, they don’t get much fiercer than Australia and New Zealand in netball, but this week the Kiwis moved to one-up Australia, revealing the Silver Ferns will play a televised match against a men’s team.
The two netball powerhouses regularly play top male sides behind closed doors in practice matches, often losing, but the Ferns’ clash against an invitational men’s team in late June, in front of a crowd and on TV as part of a pre-Netball World Cup series, is a world first.
It is significant because international netball is strictly sanctioned for women only by the game’s world body, the International Netball Federation. The match will be the first real exposure of the men’s game, which has been fighting for official recognition for years.
Yet while the Kiwis are breaking netball’s last taboo, a televised match between men and women won’t be happening in Australia any time soon, according to national team coach Lisa Alexander, who has regularly used men as opposition for her sides behind closed doors.
The Diamonds boss says Australian netball’s 2019 broadcast schedule is already full with the Super Netball season, July’s World Cup in Liverpool and Constellation Cup fixtures. The focus remains 100% on the women when it comes to TV.
“Netball Australia’s view is we’re very happy with the content and product for Channel Nine this year and while we would never say never in the future … for this year, we’re definitely very happy with what we’ve got,” Alexander says. “We’re obviously promoting the female side of the sport at this stage.”
Nevertheless Alexander is “thrilled” about the match, driven by Ferns coach Noeline Taurua, who also helms back-to-back Super Netball champions the Sunshine Coast Lightning. Alexander says it is a “great step forward for our sport”, as she knows better than anyone the benefit of pitting whole teams and individuals against stronger, often taller male opponents. It’s a tactic she has employed for years, and is also used by most Super Netball franchises.
“The idea of playing men is no big deal,” she says. “You get an intensity, a quickness and strength you may not get from a female team of an inferior level. The men’s game has evolved greatly in recent years. They’re skilful, smart and often play differently too, which I think we can learn from. It’s a useful tool.”
Until someone gets hurt. Across the ditch, concerns have already emerged about the potential for injuries to star Ferns so close to a major tournament. The last time the Australian open men’s team, the Sonix, played the Diamonds in a practice match in 2012, injury emerged as an issue.
“I’m pretty sure we got a couple of corkies out of it, which impacted quite dramatically on our squad at the time, as we already had some other injuries,” says Alexander. “I think people understand men in general are stronger because of their musculature and strength; that’s just logical, so there’s always a risk of injury. It’s part of what you have to weigh up; it’s a risk versus reward consideration.”
It’s a subject currently on the mind of Alexander, who is still considering whether the Diamonds practise against the NSW men’s team at their June camp. She is not worried about potentially losing to men though, saying the physiology of men is undeniable. The training also needs to be relevant.
“If they’re putting up a high ball to a really huge player in the circle, who just pops in a dunk, I don’t see this to be relevant to the opposition we’re up against, but the skill factor is absolutely there too. It’s something I’m thinking about.”
Andrew Simons, a 35-year-old anaesthetist from Melbourne who also captains the Sonix, is thrilled at the development. “It’s amazing that this game is happening in New Zealand,” he says. “It’s a bit disappointing that the Kiwis have managed to cross that bridge before us here in Australia, but it will be great for the men’s game.”
Simons says the Sonix – who cover all their own expenses and aren’t allowed to wear the Australian coat of arms on their uniforms because their sport isn’t sanctioned – would love to play the Diamonds ahead of the World Cup. “The women are so powerful and strong now; they can take those hits from physically strong players, we see it in Super Netball. They would get a lot out of playing us.”
It remains to be seen what the Silver Ferns will get out of playing men, but one thing is for sure, the Kiwis have beaten Australia to the task of breaking netball’s own glass ceiling. And if there’s anything Australian netball fans hate, it’s being beaten by New Zealand.