'Gritty’: New kids primed to shake it up

By Matt Fotia 

In your face.  

Annoying. 

Gritty. 

Hungry. 

That’s what we can expect from Suncorp Super Netball’s newest kids on the block this season, according to Melbourne Mavericks inaugural Head Coach Tracey Neville. 

The Mavericks are now readying themselves for their first Suncorp Super Netball season after what has been a whirlwind entrance to the world of professional netball, with their contracted ten now locked in following the lengthy CPA negotiations between Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players' Association. 

But arguably the Mavericks’ biggest signing was the one they made in early August when they secured the services of former England Roses coach Tracey Neville, just weeks after she had played a key role in the Adelaide Thunderbirds landmark premiership as assistant coach. 

The Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) owned franchise was super keen to get Neville involved in their interview process.  

So keen they attempted to contact Neville just hours before she helped steer the Thunderbirds to victory over the NSW Swifts in the enthralling 2023 decider at John Cain Arena. 

“I’d just come out of a team meeting (on Grand Final morning), and I’d got a text from a random number saying that they’d love to talk to me about a new opportunity,” Neville said of the Mavericks initial approach from SEN’s CEO of Teams Richard Simkiss. 

“I thought, I’m going into a Grand Final that evening, so I spoke to my mum, and she told me to park it.” 

Days later, with another medal in her back pocket and en route to the airport for her flight home to the UK, Neville took the hand brake off and replied to Simkiss.  

She found herself interviewing for the role the following Saturday, with the Mavericks eager to lock away a head coach as soon as possible, and the signing window thought to be just around the corner. 

Of course, the CPA was not signed until early December, with clubs only allowed to talk to players and sign non-binding contracts a few weeks earlier.

As difficult as the CPA negotiations were for the league’s cohort of athletes, Neville believes some players may not have made the move to the Mavericks had the signing period taken place when it was originally set to. Instead, the delay allowed players more time to think through their options and let Neville and co build their case. 

“Taking the step to move to a new club and moving states is massive but coming into a new set-up as well,” she said. 

“At the time I was going in thinking we’ve got no venue, we’ve got no players, so it (the CPA negotiations) enabled me to be able to put together a plan of how we were going to attack it (the list build).” 

Neville and her team had set out to sign as many Melbourne based players as possible – eventually signing three with Gabby Sinclair, Molly Jovic and Olivia Lewis, all of whom had lived in Victoria for a significant period of time – before building their list around them, but the lengthy period meant the progression wasn’t always simple. 

“It was a really interesting process, because you have a key player (in mind) but while you’re trying to identify those key players, other players come to the forefront, but also you have the original players deciding to go somewhere else, so you were having seven conversations for one particular list spot,” Neville said 

“I actually loved it because I got to talk to a lot of players, and I think the way we attacked the recruitment was really powerful. As soon as you were allowed to speak to players, we went every single morning for about three months (whilst Neville was in the UK) working every single day to get a playing list together. 

“Through that process it was like, okay if we’re going to bring a new team together what are we looking for, well we’re looking for a playing group that we can connect quite easily and if you look at our playing group, they’re all a similar age and they’re players with some (previous connections). 

“These girls have all played together at some point during their career, whether it was through the pathways, whether it was through clubs or whether they’ve just been exposed to each other at some point.” 

It’s a brilliant point that Neville makes.  

Yes, these ten players have never set foot on the court together as one unit, but there are connections all over the court.  

Eleanor Cardwell and Sasha Glasgow have recently linked up in an England dress. Amy Parmenter and Lauren Moore have come across from the GIANTS together. Moore spent a number of seasons with Tayla Fraser at the NSW Swifts whilst the returning Gabby Sinclair was a teammate of Molly Jovic’s at Collingwood. 

But you can’t just sign players because they know someone else in your squad. There has to be more substance to each signing. 

Maisie Nankivell was a premiership teammate of Cardwell’s last season in Adelaide, and while she didn’t rack up amazing court time, it was her performances off the court that led Neville to wooing her across the border. 

“Maisie Nankivell really impressed me last year because every day she turned up to training knowing she wasn’t going to start, but she turned up and trained like she wanted that starting seven position," Neville said. 

“And by the end of the season she was one of the out and out players in the wing defence role and gave us some match winning opportunities that got us to that Grand Final win.” 

Nankivell isn’t the only player in the squad that has impressed Neville across her coaching journey.  

Defender Kim Jenner is someone that the 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal winning coach has had a keen eye on for a number of years and is eager to offer opportunities to. 

“When I was watching as Roses coach, I remember Kim Jenner in her time at the Firebirds and how exceptional she was,” she said. 

“Her decision to go to the Fever was the right one, she wants to play for the Diamonds, she wanted to play with Australian defenders, but she didn’t get as much opportunity as she wanted.” 

Others, like Lauren Moore and Amy Parmenter, are simply players that others hate playing against.  

“When I think about watching or coaching against Loz (Lauren) Moore, she was annoying, she was brought on to shake someone up and cause problems, when I think about Liv Lewis, she’s unpredictable, Amy Parmenter is someone wing attacks don’t like to play against because she takes ball early,” Neville explained. 

“Molly Jovic played in a team that finished bottom last year and disbanded and she’s like this is the year that I want to make a difference.” 

Eleanor Cardwell’s move to the Mavericks was one many people expected to see, given the relationship between herself and Neville at both international and club level. 

A relationship that Neville will use to her benefit throughout 2024, with Cardwell fully aware of what Neville expects from her players. 

“Eleanor moving to us was a real positive, she’s a gritty player who just works hard and wants to do well for the team, but it was also about character off the court as well,” she said. 

“Last year was the first time that I’ve ever seen Eleanor grow. She grew as a leader, she took responsibility and we’ve always had a great connection from a coach-player perspective and having someone in the group who knows how you are enables the team to succeed, because then players can ask questions and she knows how I like to work.” 

So how does Neville want her players to work? The answer is ‘hard’ and for each other. 

“I always think when you look at a coach, they have a style of play and I feel that over my career I’ve found a way of playing that suits me,” she said. 

“I like that one-on-one, gritty, annoying, work for each other type of play and I wanted to establish a team that might not be the superstars of the competition, but they’ll work for their team, and they’ll do what they can. 

“And I think I’ve got a group of players that are really exciting, who are really willing to put themselves on the line, are there to make a difference and want to take that next step.” 

“I’ve watched them all train now and it’s just unbelievable what I’m seeing. I’ve recruited players that are hungry to play.” 

The Mavericks players' hunger will be matched by their new coach, who is as excited as anyone about the opportunity in front of them, despite the fact she has already achieved so much in the game of netball, both as a player and as a coach. 

She knows it’s a risk, given the monetary value of the role is not as significant as other roles across the sporting landscape, but it’s something that this member of the British Empire has always wanted to do. 

“This job came about very quickly which was hard for my family, but it’s something my other half knows is something I’ve wanted to do,” Neville said. 

“It’s hard to say this in female sport, because if I was sat here as my brother (both of Neville’s brothers have coached football in Europe after lengthy careers in the English Premier League) financially it wouldn’t be a hard decision (for them), but financially (this) is just a normal job, so the financial decision is really difficult, you’ve got to really want and have the heart to do this job to move yourself and your family to other side of the world. 

“People will say it’s a sacrifice, but it isn’t, it’s a dream that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. 

“I did it as a player and I want to do it as a coach.”