Michael Thomson was blown-away with the excitement of elite netball as he watched the Diamonds claim gold at the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
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That first taste of international netball has driven the former Brumbies CEO to use his new appointment on the Super Netball commission to help widen the sport's appeal across Australia.
Thomson has been elected to the inaugural Super Netball commission, completing the self-governing body's structure to seven commissioners.
Thomson, who was chief executive of the Brumbies for almost two years, stepped down from the position a year earlier than expected last September, after helping the club report back-to-back profits for the first time in its history.
The current head-of-aviation at Canberra Airport hopes to use his expertise to help Super Netball become more accessible and appealing to a wider demographic.
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"Netball is one of those sports which has a really exciting future in it and it's a clean sheet of paper with what the commission are trying to do with the Super Netball competition," Thomson said.
"It's the number one [domestic] netball competition in the world and the high-quality athletes playing in it are superstars. Netball is also the number one participation sport in Australia now which means there's a core base but also an opportunity to widen its appeal.
"It's still very much a developing league but certainly we have to get better at telling the story of the athletes and competition. Super Netball provides a vehicle of telling that story and getting more people involved and engaged with the game.
"The athletes themselves are not only elite but are also tremendous role models who have great stories to tell."
As well as heading the Brumbies, he has previously worked with FIFA, Football Federation Australia, Nike and Sports Australia.
He joins chair Marino Go and Netball Australia CEO Marne Fechner on the commission, which was established in April this year.
The self-governed commission is directly accountable for all operating aspects and strategic growth of the league while still being wholly owned by Netball Australia.
The commission will meet later this month to discuss the short and long-term strategic direction of the league, where the door could be opened for more elite netball fixtures in Canberra.
Giants Netball drew a sell-out crowd when they beat Queensland Fires at the AIS Arena earlier this month.
"The Giants are an exciting draw card for the game here," Thomson said.
"It's something I'm sure [the board] will be discussing - how do we take the game wider than [state] capital cities? The success we have in Canberra is maybe a blueprint of going forward to reach wider with the competition."