NSW Swifts: Verity Simmons, Sharni Lambden, Helen Housby discuss the future of netball
The NSW Swifts know how to produce stars. It's the former club of netball greats Liz Ellis and Catherine Cox.
Now, 30-year-old shooter Helen Housby, who originally hails from the UK before calling Sydney home and helping them win two premierships, is their latest star. She's gone viral for both her goals and also TikTok dances during matches.
'I get recognised a lot more than I used to,' she says.
'But I think it's good for the game. If you look at the best sports in the world, they have people that fans want to engage with and want to look up to, and I think netball, because it's such a great team sport, has sometimes shied away from promoting individuals.
'But I feel a responsibility to promote the game because I love it.'
Wing defence Sharni Lambden joined the Swifts this season and pinches herself daily that she's part of a team that has played in more grand finals, and won more titles, than any other in the game.
Verity Simmons, Sharni Lambden, Helen Housby of the NSW Swifts Netball. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar
Especially considering it took her 10 years in the pathways program to even get her start. 'What motivates me is that little girl that absolutely fell in love with netball when she first started playing at eight,' she says.
'It's been a big journey and she never would have thought she'll be here. She was such a shy, young little girl and now I'm here. I'm trying to really soak it all in.'
While Netball is currently the only team sport to compete at the reduced Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year.
And there is a huge push for it to be included in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane because if breakdancing can make it to Paris, why can't a sport which is played in 120 countries around the world be included. For Housby, it's something she wants to be part of.
'I will be 37 then so I'm not sure if I will have the legs in me. I might have to retire for a good couple of years and then get to CrossFit or something to try and stay fit,' she laughs. 'But if it did come to Brisbane in 2032, that would definitely be something that I would look towards.'
'I would love to see netball get in there and I think that would be what blows the sport up.' Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar
Housby's new teammate Verity Simmons adds that for the sport to be taken seriously as an Olympic sport, America needs to get involved; 'You look at how they work in the States and how they blow up their athletes'.
'I would love to see netball get in there and I think that would be what blows the sport up.
'You know everything's bigger in America, right?'
The game isn't far off that. In June, the Women's Sport Network founded by Whoopi Goldberg, signed a three-year deal with Suncorp Super Netball which will see the competition beamed into 65 countries around the world with a reach of 900 million.
Testament to growing support for the game, this year the Grand Final will be played at Rod Laver Arena for the first time ever.
She's red-y! Helen Housby, of the Swifts, in action on the court. Picture: Getty Images
Simmons, a 34-year-old centre and wing attack has a unique view on the game. The Diamonds player hung up her bib in 2023 and picked up a pair of footy boots, joining the AFLW and the West Coast Eagles for a season, before returning to the Swifts this year.
When it comes to 'professionalism and how clean and tidy we keep the sport,' Simmons believes netballers are the best.
'I love being back around the netball environment. I love the community. I love the fans that we have.
'We have incredibly loyal fans that literally love this sport and are so happy to give so much time and love and energy to it and volunteer. I feel very fortunate to be back involved in a club like this.'
There is no doubt the sport has come a long way in the past five years when it comes to sponsorship opportunities, pay increases for players (in 2023, after a civil war between administration and players, both parties agreed to an 11 per cent pay increase) and engagement for fans (Swifts games now regularly sell out.)
However for Simmons, it was her time away from the sport that highlighted just how far they'd come.
Verity Simmons during the round one Super Netball match between West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts in April. Picture: Getty Images
Courting attention! Sharni Lambden of the NSW Swifts: 'I've never done anything like it!' Picture: Getty Images
'I used to think why has it taken so long? We're the most highly participated sport in Australia for women.
'It's been frustrating at times, but, I think stepping away from it and being in the football environment and still watching the sport grow and develop I was like, Wow, this really is something special,' she says.
Ultimately, all three enjoyed their exclusive shoot for Stellar. 'I've never done anything like it. It was a really cool experience and I didn't know what I was in for but I'm always up for anything,' says Lambden.
Adds Housby, 'when I first joined the Swifts or even when I debuted for England it was much, much harder to be seen on TV or to be in magazines.
'The coverage was just completely different. The payment was completely different but because I've benefited from the rise in netball, I do feel a responsibility to continue that and to champion it.
'I'll probably still be talking about netball into my 90s.'
The Suncorp Super Netball Finals series is live on Kayo Sports, Foxtel and Binge.
See the full shoot with the NSW Swifts in tomorrow's Stellar, inside The Sunday Telepgrah (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (SA).
For more from Stellar, click here.
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