Kelly Ryan faced a difficult two-year tenure as she managed to keep the number one women’s and girl’s sport afloat in the midst of the pandemic. Twelve months into the role, it was revealed that financially, she’d been handed a poisoned chalice.<\/p>\n
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Kelly Ryan was frustrated by the sport’s “willingness to evolve” at the end of her two-year tenure. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)<\/p>\n
Netball Australia was $4 million in debt and desperately needed to repay its loans and turn around its commercial fortunes in order to survive.<\/p>\n
This is where the controversy of Ryan’s leadership began. The grand final location was sold<\/a> to the highest bidder; a partnership was announced then withdrawn with Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting<\/a>; and sports gambling sponsorships<\/a> were believed to be in the works.<\/p>\n The latter was put to Ryan on ABC News Breakfast, where she admitted these deals were not “out of the realms of possibility”.<\/p>\n “The reality is that gambling sponsorships are very lucrative,” Ryan said. “Netball has to put itself more outside its comfort zone in terms of what it does contemplate and consider.”<\/p>\n Identity crisis dividing netball<\/a><\/p>\n Netball Australia is in serious\u00a0financial trouble. Now the governing body\u00a0faces a delicate balancing act, as it ponders whether to improve\u00a0the ledger with gambling deals that could alienate players and fans.<\/p>\n The idea did not go down well amongst the netball community and as a result, sponsorships reportedly offered by two separate wagering companies did not go ahead.<\/p>\n It was starting to become clear that the commercial tools Ryan had previously learned from working at the AFL and Docklands Stadium weren’t necessarily a good fit for this sport.<\/a><\/p>\n In a letter sent to Netball Australia, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation \u2014 which ceased operating in July 2024 \u2014 reiterated that athletes were role models so it was extraordinary a “clean sport like netball might align itself with a product associated with harm”.<\/p>\n “A partnership with a betting operator would likely offer Netball Australia a quick, easy solution to its financial difficulties, but is the risk to the long-term health and wellbeing of our young people \u2014 as well as to your organisation’s reputation \u2014 worth the gamble?” the letter asked.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese announced gambling ad reforms at the National Press Club on April 2, 2026. (ABC News: Dan Sweetapple)<\/p>\n In December 2023, Ryan resigned after a long and bitter pay dispute<\/a> with the players. Speaking with Forbes Australia, she reflected on her time in the role and suggested netball needed to make some fundamental changes to evolve.<\/p>\n “I’d done everything I could to try and progress the sport \u2026 I started questioning how much it wanted to change and grow,” Ryan said.<\/p>\n Although it may be true that netball needs to be bolder commercially, by not having a prominent male side of the game to rely on \u2014 one that would likely already be embedded in gambling \u2014 it has had to think outside the box and stand on its own two feet.<\/p>\n It has done this by forging partnerships that better reflect healthy values for women and girls.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has outlined a new set of rules that will tighten the access<\/a> wagering companies have in sport from January 2027.<\/p>\n Some of these changes include uniforms and venues no longer being able to feature gambling branding, celebrities and sports personalities not being allowed to appear in their promotions, and betting ads being banned on live sports television broadcasts between 6am and 8:30pm.<\/p>\n Experts suggest the restrictions don’t go far enough. Nonetheless, they will heavily impact the NRL and AFL, which are propped up by this kind of investment. Without it, they claim they will struggle to fund the grassroots.<\/p>\n But netball? It’ll be fine. Of the two forks in the road Netball Australia could’ve taken in 2022, they’ll be glad they didn’t go for the quick fix and avoided getting involved.<\/p>\n Pending ownership of the Giants<\/p>\n The Giants are in a world of pain.<\/p>\n Winless after four rounds, they have equalled their worst ever start to a Super Netball season \u2014 going at the same rate as they did in 2024 when they finished with the wooden spoon.<\/p>\n Jo Harten (left), Julie Fitzgerald (second from left) and Jamie-Lee Price (right) all left the Giants at the end of last season. (Getty: Jason McCawley)<\/p>\n The key difference between that campaign and this one, though, is they had the likes of veteran coach Julie Fitzgerald and former co-captains Jo Harten and Jamie-Lee Price in the mix.<\/p>\n Now all three of those figures have moved on, retiring or switching clubs, they lack experience. The bulk of their roster is aged 24 and under, in the early stages of their career.<\/p>\n The signing of two former Silver Ferns players, Whitney Souness and Jane Watson, has done little to combat this and round five is set to be even tougher, as bottom of the ladder faces the high-flying competition favourites the Thunderbirds.<\/p>\n It will take time for them to find their feet, but how much time do they have?<\/p>\n A frustrated Nerida Stewart, new coach of the Giants, has told her team they aren’t meeting “this level of netball”. (Getty: Kelly Defina)<\/p>\n The uncertain ownership of the club means their future is hanging over their heads, which, coupled with their lack of results, may not help recruitment looking to 2027.<\/p>\n Dwindling support via crowd attendances and membership numbers won’t be helped by poor performances either.<\/p>\n Last year, a representative from Mounties Group confirmed with ABC Sport<\/a> that they’d held discussions with Netball NSW about their interest in trying to acquire a Super Netball licence.<\/p>\n Mounties Care \u2014 a healthcare service for members of the group \u2014 is already a joint owner of the South West Magic franchise participating in Netball NSW’s state league.<\/p>\n It has not been made clear whether Mounties would take over the Super Netball licence and keep the AFL-aligned branding of the Giants or form a unique identity of their own.<\/p>\n The proposal was handed to Netball Australia for consideration, and should it not go ahead, Netball NSW was to continue holding the licence for now.<\/p>\n $140m in dirty money allegedly gambled at Mounties<\/a><\/p>\n The first licensed club group targeted by the nation’s financial crimes intelligence agency is accused of turning over almost $140 million from 10 gamblers considered high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing.<\/p>\n The process came to a halt, though, when AUSTRAC launched federal court proceedings against the Mounties Group<\/a> in July for alleged “serious and systemic” non-compliance with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws.<\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775559069_817_b270a6f2a433aa5e174405b8d4281b7d.jpeg\")
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