Australian netball has taken a few gut punches in the last 12 months, but Canberran legend Jill McIntosh is confident the sport can be "bigger and better for it".
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McIntosh reflected on the state of the game after being appointed a member of the order (AM) on the King's birthday honours list for her significant service to netball as a coach at national and international level.
Between last year's Diamonds uniform revolt, the $15 million Netball Australia fallout with Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, and Collingwood's sudden withdrawal from the Super Netball competition just last month, the sport has faced a few obstacles of late.
Closer to home, the AIS Arena has been closed since 2020, halting international and Super Netball fixtures in Canberra which McIntosh said is "a real shame" for the small but passionate netball community.
Despite these turbulent times, McIntosh has faith netball will grow from the experience.
"I think netball will always come out the other side of it," the coaching great told The Canberra Times.
"There's these bumps in the road and it's very unfortunate what's happened with Collingwood.
"I feel for the players and staff in that situation and I'm hoping many of them will get picked up by the new franchise.
"With Netball Australia's funding that was another bump in the road, but I think at the end of the day netball can survive and come out bigger and better for it."
McIntosh is a netball hall-of-famer, having played 29 caps for Australia and captained her country before moving into coaching where she led the Diamonds to two Commonwealth Games gold medals (1998, 2002) and two world titles (1995, 1999).
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Still, the WA-born, adopted Canberran was humbled by her King's birthday honour.
"I was very surprised. It's very humbling," McIntosh, who now works in coach education, said.
"You don't do anything in your sport to get rewards like this.
"The highlight of my career was coaching the Australian team and winning our World Cups.
"What netball has given me the ability to travel and seeing the world which has been great."
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Melanie Dinjaski
Melanie Dinjaski is an experienced sports journalist at the Canberra Times with a genuine love of all sports. She's covered every code from NRL to NFL. Melanie aims to bring Canberrans all the sports news they need to know. If you have a story worth sharing, get in touch!
Melanie Dinjaski is an experienced sports journalist at the Canberra Times with a genuine love of all sports. She's covered every code from NRL to NFL. Melanie aims to bring Canberrans all the sports news they need to know. If you have a story worth sharing, get in touch!
