Voices of the game

By Linda Pearce

Reflecting on the past, present, and future, five diverse voices from the netball community share their thoughts on the upcoming Netball World Cup (NWC)

Liz Ellis  - Former Australian Diamonds great and triple world champion, now the Chair of the Netball World Cup Local Organising Committee

Liz Ellis brings a unique perspective to the question of what the Netball World Cup represents. A four time NWC player, and a broadcaster at Sydney’s most recent, Netball Australia Chair Ellis also heads the organising committee for the next.

Yet if the most capped Diamond in history is preparing for some sleepless nights in the coming two years, personal reflections for the three-time winner include an appreciation of the incomparable speed of the international form of the game.

“But the thing that really sticks with you are the memories of what happens off the court; the community that you form with your teammates and players from around the world,’’ says Ellis, the 122-Test and 173-game Swifts defender.

“And then having worked at a World Cup in a commentary capacity, I've got the chance to see what that community is like in the stands. Outside. People who see each other once every four years, women who save up for four years to turn up to a World Cup and they connect with people from other countries… 

“And the thing that I noticed and really thought about a lot when we were in Sydney the last time (in 2015), was the fact that you look into the stands and there's lots of young women and young girls watching, and this could be a moment for them.''

Ellis watched the 1991 world championships in Sydney wondering "could that be me?''. She hopes someone who witnessed the 2015 edition who decided it was going to be them finds themself playing in 2027 -  when another youngster witnesses the world's best and is inspired in the same way.

“So what it represents to me is a terrific past and great memories, but the opportunity as a platform into the future for communities and for players.’’

Unlike the lengthy FIFA Women’s World Cup, for example, netball crams everything into 12 days. Exactly like the Matildas in 2023, however, Ellis hopes to see a national embrace of not just the Diamonds but the event itself in what is being designed as a month-long celebration of netball that leaves a game-changing legacy, financial and otherwise.

Professing to be more of a “guiding” hand than a “controlling’’ one in overseeing plans, Ellis says she feels proud and privileged, excited, but also daunted and nervous, quipping: “Like, if it all goes wrong everyone knows who I am, and most people have my phone number!

“But to be able to see the event from another point of view is so exciting. And it's exciting to think that we're in a position to do it in a really unique way and springboarding from a Super Netball season in 2027 that will be the daily training environment and the home of all of our best athletes going into a World Cup in 2027.’’

With Brace Yourself the key message in the brand identity reveal next to a sparkling Sydney Harbour on Friday, Ellis is preparing to feel a keen sense of responsibility to deliver the best possible event.

For the Diamonds representing Australia, plus the 15 teams travelling here.

For fans engaging on-site or from distance.

For the sport itself, which Ellis has seen from all angles, and now leads towards its next defining moment with authority, energy and aplomb.

Mary Cholhok - Goal shooter for Uganda and the Queensland Firebirds, a young veteran of the 2019 and 2023 World Cups

Mary Cholhok’s first Netball World Cup experience was in her adopted country, England, in 2019. The star Ugandan's second, in Cape Town, was the only pinnacle event ever staged on the African continent.

No.3 will take place in Australia, where Cholhok is half-way through a debut Suncorp Super Netball contract with the Queensland Firebirds. 

“I have so many homes now. I’m trying to embrace this journey as well,’’ smiles Cholhok, a citizen of the netball world whose family fled their native South Sudan as refugees over two decades ago.

“I feel like I continue to grow in my game, and it's just exciting, and me being a mother, having my family being part of that has been such a privilege. Not everybody gets this kind of opportunity.

“My story has not been very straightforward but I feel like there’s always challenges to overcome and I always use my story to inspire people out there not to give up on their dreams.’’

The 201cm Cholhok is living her own in both SSN and representing the world No.7 She-Cranes, who have some of the talent - if not the government funding and desired resources - required to push above a latest and best international finish of fifth.

Indeed, as netball pushes into new markets, Cholhok believes the fact that NWC Sydney 2027 is being held in an established stronghold during the hosts’ centenary year is still a huge opportunity to spread the word and lift the visibility of its role models.

“Just the people there and just the passion and the hype of it.. It’s just two years (away) now and I feel like it’s going to be epic. It’s going to be different nations, different sorts of fans coming in. It’s going to be brilliant.’’

Cholhok supports the new concept of a Cup for the leading nations and a Plate for the lower-ranked, “so that other countries have a chance to leave with something’’, her own life having been transformed by the gift of netball that keeps of giving.

Never having thought she would make it this far, the deeply grateful 28-year-old even suspects she will have embraced her inner Aussie by World Cup time in 2027.

“I’ll be saying ‘hey mate’,’’ says a proud African, who continues to help take netball to the world.


Matilda Fanning - NSW 17/U Captain and Australian Squad Member

Aware that you can’t be what you can’t see, Matilda Fanning believes an important part of Australia hosting the 2027 World Cup is what it will mean for the generations to come.

“Having it locally makes the goal for young netballers to be a Diamond more attainable and real and everyone can visualise it a bit more,’’’ says the current NSW 17/U captain and national squad member.

“So having it on home soil it’s great for the Diamonds to perform and show what they can do in their own country, in front of their own fans and family, and it provides a lot more exposure for our sport and is a great goal-setting thing for all netballers.’’

Fanning can not recall the last time the Netball World Cup was held here, given that, back in 2015, she had barely started playing the game she loves. But the Year 11 student has since watched some clips, and followed more recent editions more closely, while keen to see in person what she aspires to be in the future.

“I think it will be a great experience to get a lot more exposure to high performance netball and see the best of the best compete from every country,’’ she says. 

“Obviously seeing it in real life is a lot different to watching it on TV; you get all those different nuances you can pick up on a lot more and of course the atmosphere of such a high-profile event would be great to experience in real life.''

That includes a keen interest in second-ranked New Zealand, particularly given the expanded cohort set to join Suncorp Super Netball, the world’s premier domestic league, in 2026.

Long-term, the Sutherland junior product - whose mother Raelene Mullaney played at state level and at the AIS alongside a young Liz Ellis - most wants to become a Diamond and experience a World Cup herself. 

More immediately, she aims to continue moving along the state and national pathway towards SSN, where Ash Brazill, Jamie-Lee Price and Amy Parmenter have been heroes in the sometimes-thankless role of wing defence.

“My netball dream would obviously be to become the best player I possibly can, reach my potential and hopefully do that at a Suncorp level,’’ says the aspiring occupational therapist.

“Then as a main, main future goal, to wear that gold dress would be amazing.’’

Mia Evans - Proud Kamilaroi woman and Grand Final MVP at the 2025 First Nations Tournament

When teams from the eight states and territories gathered for the second annual First Nations Tournament in August, they learnt the unfortunate truth that only three of history’s 191 Australian Diamonds have been Indigenous.

“All us girls were very shocked; we thought there were a (few) more,’’ says Mia Evans, the proud Kamilaroi woman from NSW who was named grand final MVP in the upset win over Queensland.

“I think there’s still so much work that needs to happen in First Nations pathways, but hopefully in the future and looking forward we can get more people (into the national team).’’

Evans has ambitions to be both a Black Swan and a Diamond, if not by the 2027 Netball World Cup in her home state - played on the traditional lands of the Wangal people  -  then at some time beyond.

The third year physical education student from Wollongong believes the visibility and exposure generated by hosting duties for the sport’s pinnacle event will help to encourage and inspire the emerging next generation.

“I reckon it will have a huge impact on First Nation athletes, seeing ‘they can do it, so I can do it’ type of thing,’’ Evans says.

“They can then step into their grassroots netball and then progress into their reps or progress into further Netball NSW pathways and just put their best foot forward.’’

Evans was awarded the Sharon Finnan-White Medal for her starring role in the August 26 gold medal game against defending champion Queensland, whose rising star Brianna Martyn won the Marcia Ella-Duncan Medal for tournament MVP.  History’s third Indigenous Diamond is Western Australian shooter Donnell Wallam.

A former NSW and ACT under-age representative, Evans was contracted to Premier League club South East Blaze from the age of 15 and has enjoyed positive experiences so far, including appearances at both First Nations Tournaments held so far.

“Obviously you’re around mob and you’re around community and people of the same background and heritage as you, so having these girls come together is just a super-exciting experience and only something that’s just building,’’ Evans says.

“This is just the start for First Nations athletes and the opportunity to participate in a World Cup would be such an honour.’’

Karon Dawson - Award-winning community contributor and netball volunteer (including at the 2015 NWC)

Asked for her sales pitch to those considering volunteering for a role at the Netball World Cup Sydney 2027, almost-40-year veteran of community service Karon Dawson delivers an irresistible rationale.

The grandmother-of-two loved  -  really loved - her role as a team liaison assistant at the 2015 edition for which she commuted from her home in Kiama on NSW’s south coast.

And, at 67, she is hoping to be part of the next chapter.

Dawson’s advice: apply for any role going. 

You won’t regret it.

“Like any volunteering, you get more out of it than you put in,’’ says the retired school teacher and education consultant, who took long service leave to be involved a decade ago.

“It’s fun, enjoyable, rewarding and just a wonderful international experience. Particularly in Australia, where we’re so far away from the rest of the world. 

“It’s open to everyone, there are roles for everyone. Experienced, inexperienced. Older, younger. Women, men. City-based, regional.
And I know it sounds bit cliched, but you don’t know what it’s like ’til you’ve done it.’’

Always a keen netballer, the catalyst for Dawson’s off-court contribution was an ad in her local newspaper seeking help to start a netball competition.

“Thirty-nine years later I’m still here,’’ says the co-founder of the Kiama Netball Association, former secretary and coach and still-active umpire and mentor.

Asked what netball means to her, Dawson replies with a laugh: “Oh, pretty much everything, really.’’ Husband John is also involved, and was a driver -  including of the champion Australian Diamonds - back in 2015.

“I just put in for everything, and I was really shocked but really honoured to be offered (the team liaison assistant’s) role,’’ she says of what took her to courtside and into the locker-room, and was “undoubtedly” the highlight of her long volunteering life.

With, hopefully, a sequel that will be more thrilling still.

“Look at the way netball’s taking off around the world; there’s a much higher profile now than there was even in 2015,’’ Dawson says.

“So for people who haven't been so involved, hopefully it will open people’s eyes to what a great sport it is. I think it might convert a few.’’