Speaker 1: My mental health I think was being you know, being
Speaker 1: fit and not having a contract and not having.
Speaker 2: A job or having to pay for all these things.
Speaker 3: All of a sudden, you're just kind of like, whoa, whoa,
Speaker 3: whoa slow down.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, I can't believe people are saying these things.
Speaker 1: Do you realize that? You know, these athletes are real people.
Speaker 1: They put so much time and effort into their training.
Speaker 1: They are trying their absolute best out on court. Nobody
Speaker 1: goes out there to play badly. The reality is that football,
Speaker 1: the women's league, is going quite well and the girls, yeah.
Speaker 3: See it as appealing, and netwill have to counteract that
Speaker 3: and respond.
Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to Outspoken. You're joined by journalists Amy
Speaker 2: and Sophie Torbert for our very special Under the Influence episode,
Speaker 2: and today we are so excited to be joined by
Speaker 2: Diamonds netballer Aaron Bell for a very open chat about
Speaker 2: life after netball, how to achieve your goals, the rise
Speaker 2: of women's sport, and how to successfully run aside hustle erin.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us and Outspoken, thanks
Speaker 2: for having me. Welcome back to Adelaide. Thank you love
Speaker 2: coming back, love catching up with you.
Speaker 1: Too.
Speaker 3: Well, I thought.
Speaker 2: We'd explained to the listeners. I suppose a little bit
Speaker 2: about how we actually know each other. So you used to, well,
Speaker 2: your sister Kate used to work as a media manager
Speaker 2: at the Adelaide Thunderbirds, and she's not here, so you
Speaker 2: have the opportunity to throw her onto the bus a bit.
Speaker 2: What was it actually like working with Kate?
Speaker 1: A look, it was a little while ago, but no,
Speaker 1: in all honesty, she was a bit of a breath
Speaker 1: of fresh air for the Thunderbirds, I think, and I
Speaker 1: think just netball in general, trying to get that exposure
Speaker 1: and you know in Adelaide everybody loves netball, but still
Speaker 1: having the challenges of battling with the two footy teams.
Speaker 1: And I think Kate did a really good job of
Speaker 1: coming up with some creative ways to get netball out there.
Speaker 1: And I did love being a part of many of
Speaker 1: her very fun, strange ideas.
Speaker 2: She did lack of meme from time to yeah, and
Speaker 2: I was always the victim of the memes and it
Speaker 2: was quite funny.
Speaker 3: But that's all good.
Speaker 2: Sometimes you just have to suck these things up for
Speaker 2: the followers. My favorite was when she had you guys
Speaker 2: all glammed up to the absolute max, and then you
Speaker 2: actually had to end up scrapping that campaign.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and we actually went to like a full
Speaker 1: studio and we had oh I had eyebrows like caterpillars
Speaker 1: on my face and I hated it. Yeah, and then
Speaker 1: I don't even know why I didn't end up happening.
Speaker 1: Mustn't have gotten approved two raunchy for netball.
Speaker 2: Alam people like, who the hell are they?
Speaker 3: Who is black girl? Just chuck them in their uniform
Speaker 3: and get them on court.
Speaker 2: Well, talking about netball, obviously, people in Adelaide and Melbourne
Speaker 2: know Aaron Bell, they know the name. Just reading some
Speaker 2: of your achievements, I was like, oh my god, I
Speaker 2: know you're good, but I didn't realize you were the
Speaker 2: first player to win three A and Z Premierships. Looking
Speaker 2: back on your career, was that something that you, as
Speaker 2: a youngster, thought you'd achieve.
Speaker 1: Oh gosh, I think a lot of my career I
Speaker 1: didn't think I would achieve.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: I was just like any old, you know, young netballer
Speaker 1: who plays because they love it, and then you know
Speaker 1: you're getting a team and you realize, oh, you know,
Speaker 1: I kind of like this. I wonder how far I
Speaker 1: can take this, and I you know, it was competitive,
Speaker 1: as I guess most athletes are, and you just put it.
Speaker 1: I more challenged myself to see how far I could
Speaker 1: get and yeah, you know, one thing led to another
Speaker 1: and obviously lots of hard work and all that stuff
Speaker 1: in between. But yeah, when I came to Adelaide, I
Speaker 1: think is where I really started to blossom in my career,
Speaker 1: really started to take off. And being a part of
Speaker 1: that premiership that was my third premiership. I didn't know
Speaker 1: that stat until somebody told me. And I guess it's
Speaker 1: not about counting the stats, and it never was. And
Speaker 1: all the achievements are, you know, great, and I'm proud
Speaker 1: to look back on all of those things, but it's
Speaker 1: not why you play the sport. And I think everyone
Speaker 1: will say the same thing. And yeah, I think I
Speaker 1: think the record got broken the year after any Someone
Speaker 1: hung around that extra year and I was hoping.
Speaker 3: That they would lose just so that I couldn't keep it.
Speaker 1: But no, it's yeah, it's amazing to look back on
Speaker 1: it now, but it does feel like a long time ago,
Speaker 1: even though it was only I don't know.
Speaker 3: Not that long ago, but time fliers.
Speaker 2: And what was young Aaron like, Were you always into
Speaker 2: sports as a kid growing up?
Speaker 3: I wasn't.
Speaker 1: I wasn't Like my family was not very sporty at all,
Speaker 1: and that always surprises people.
Speaker 3: So my mum was a dancer and my dad was
Speaker 3: a fisherman.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Dad always told me the story he played one game
Speaker 1: of footy as a kid, broke his leg, never played again,
Speaker 1: and mum enrolled me in ballet because that's all she knew.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't until a friend at school asked me
Speaker 1: to play in their netball team and then we discovered netball.
Speaker 2: So yeah, neither of my parents played sport.
Speaker 3: My brothers. I have two brothers.
Speaker 1: They tried to play soccer, didn't want to go to training,
Speaker 1: hated it. They did like BMX motorbike riding. They're out
Speaker 1: on the river fishing. So yeah, I was just kind
Speaker 1: of this random child of the family that was going
Speaker 1: for runs and going to the gym and making everyone
Speaker 1: come watch me play.
Speaker 3: Netball and no one really understood it.
Speaker 1: And I swear my mum probably after about fifteen years,
Speaker 1: probably understood the rules eventually. But I think it was
Speaker 1: good for me, like I had that balance and I
Speaker 1: didn't have those parents who pressured me to make this
Speaker 1: team or get to this level.
Speaker 2: They were just like, yeah, what time's training? Oh?
Speaker 1: How long do I have to sit in the current?
Speaker 1: Take you you know to training?
Speaker 2: Oh? Traffic? Oh do you really want to do it?
Speaker 1: And I was like yeah, so yeah, it was kind
Speaker 1: of good to not have that pressure or that expectation
Speaker 1: of having to live up to your parents or your
Speaker 1: siblings and I could just do my thing, and yeah,
Speaker 1: it worked for me.
Speaker 2: Do you think that is a disadvantage for some kids,
Speaker 2: because you know, you see the pushy mums on the
Speaker 2: sidelines and they've got their oranges cut up and it
Speaker 2: just like just like oh, like you know, playing for
Speaker 2: sheep stations that kind of thing. Do you think that
Speaker 2: is a disadvantage for kids? Oh?
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I see it a lot when I coach.
Speaker 1: Now, you kind of it does reflect in the kids,
Speaker 1: and I think you know that they're just always trying
Speaker 1: their best.
Speaker 3: But I think the ones who have that.
Speaker 1: Pressure on them do get a lot more disappointed if
Speaker 1: things don't go to plan and if they don't make
Speaker 1: a team or if they don't get on court, whereas
Speaker 1: the kids who.
Speaker 2: Their parents just kind of like, yeah, oh good.
Speaker 1: They're a lot less hard on themselves, so they probably
Speaker 1: just yeah, they keep playing, and whereas the other ones
Speaker 1: might just think it's all too hard eventually.
Speaker 3: So I don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean some need that motivation and that push,
Speaker 1: but I think it's you know, and I can't judge.
Speaker 1: I'm not a parent, but I think it is important
Speaker 1: to find that balance and not be too over the top.
Speaker 2: Definitely. So what is the reality of actually being an
Speaker 2: elite athlete, Because you know, we watch the netball and
Speaker 2: it looks quite glamorous from the sidelines, I suppose, but
Speaker 2: what is their reality, like, what are some of the
Speaker 2: sacrifices that you have to give up? I think it's
Speaker 2: changed a lot over the years.
Speaker 1: So I first got picked up in a professional team
Speaker 1: when I was eighteen. That was a very long time ago,
Speaker 1: and I played in that league for fifteen years and
Speaker 1: over that time there's just been huge changes. So, you know,
Speaker 1: back when I first got recruited, I was playing in
Speaker 1: Sydney for the Swifts. I was finishing off high school
Speaker 1: and I was playing with players like Liz Ellis, who
Speaker 1: are still around now in the media. But you know,
Speaker 1: all the older girls would work. We'd train at five
Speaker 1: or six o'clock and in the evening, so everybody could
Speaker 1: work and come to training, and we'd do that three
Speaker 1: times a week. Whereas now it's a full time commitment.
Speaker 1: So obviously the pay in the you know, the pay
Speaker 1: has gone up a lot. It's still not enough to
Speaker 1: cover living expenses for players on minimum wage, but with that,
Speaker 1: the expectation has gone up as well, so girls are
Speaker 1: expected to be available every.
Speaker 3: Day in at the club.
Speaker 1: You can be training at eleven, you could have a
Speaker 1: meeting at one. It's very hard now to hold down
Speaker 1: another job. And I guess that's what we always push towards.
Speaker 1: We pushed towards that level of professionalism and we wanted
Speaker 1: to make our sport elite and to reward players financially.
Speaker 3: To be able to just focus on sport.
Speaker 1: And it's probably milli there, or it is there for
Speaker 1: maybe a handful of players. But yeah, as I said,
Speaker 1: our minimum wage still isn't enough to probably equal that
Speaker 1: level of commitment for every single player just yet.
Speaker 3: But yeah, it's getting there.
Speaker 2: So are there girls that are still working full time jobs?
Speaker 1: Then no one I don't think would be working full
Speaker 1: time but yeah, so the minimum wage is roughly thirty
Speaker 1: thousand dollars and if you're living out a home and
Speaker 1: if you live in Sydney or Melbourne and you're a
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty year old player, like, yes, it's great, but
Speaker 1: then there's also the reality of bills to pay rent
Speaker 1: all that type of thing. So I would say everybody
Speaker 1: at least does you know coaching or some kind of
Speaker 1: casual you know, some girls are trainers at F forty
Speaker 1: five that type of.
Speaker 3: Thing on the side, or you just work really.
Speaker 1: Hard in your off season and just spend up and whatever,
Speaker 1: just rest up in the season.
Speaker 2: So yeah, do you think because it is now a
Speaker 2: full time job, it is more important that the girls
Speaker 2: are thinking of the life after netbule because I mean,
Speaker 2: I suppose you're so consumed in the sport and if
Speaker 2: you don't have time to have a separate career or study.
Speaker 2: What do you think needs to happen at the moment?
Speaker 2: Is that something at a club level that people need
Speaker 2: to be looking at to have programs in place?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 1: And I think you know, like the AFL, they encourage
Speaker 1: their players to try and study or work still a
Speaker 1: day or week. I think I don't know how effective
Speaker 1: that is or if players do it, but I know
Speaker 1: they do try and encourage that.
Speaker 3: I think, yeah, girls need to be even time.
Speaker 1: To be able to study or go to work, experience
Speaker 1: or hold down a job at least for a day
Speaker 1: a week or two days a week, because yeah, with
Speaker 1: the increased professionalism of our sport, it's also really cutthroat now,
Speaker 1: so you know, you're not guaranteed a contract at all.
Speaker 1: You might be abt a club for ten years and
Speaker 1: then see later the year after. So I think, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's definitely important for people to think about that life
Speaker 1: after sport. And that's not as a you know, for
Speaker 1: me thirty one year old old player who's been playing
Speaker 1: for fifteen years. That could be you're a twenty one
Speaker 1: year old player who got a two year contract and
Speaker 1: then that's it and all their friends have gone on
Speaker 1: and finished UNI and they're kind of like, oh, Okay,
Speaker 1: what do I do now I'm behind? So I think
Speaker 1: it really is important to think about that, and it
Speaker 1: is getting harder, so it probably does come down to
Speaker 1: the clubs encouraging it and allowing the girls the time
Speaker 1: to do it, So putting training not in the middle
Speaker 1: of the day, like put training at a time where
Speaker 1: they still can go and work casual job and have
Speaker 1: that work life balance, I guess you'd call it. And
Speaker 1: I always found that when I had that good balance,
Speaker 1: I actually played better netball. As soon as my whole
Speaker 1: life revolved around netball. It you know, the more pressure
Speaker 1: and you know your performance can suffer. So I guess
Speaker 1: it's individual as well.
Speaker 2: And talking about I suppose players having side hustles, you
Speaker 2: of course have your Aaron bel netball clinics. Is that
Speaker 2: something you identified quite early in your career that you
Speaker 2: know you had to have something else happening, although it's
Speaker 2: netball related, but something off the court that you were
Speaker 2: involved in.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think that's because I got put into
Speaker 1: the system so young when everybody did work. So that
Speaker 1: is what I was brought up with, and that is
Speaker 1: just how I thought that, you know, you had to
Speaker 1: be and like netball was never going to be just
Speaker 1: the only thing that defined me. I went to university,
Speaker 1: I got a degree, I was working, and then when
Speaker 1: the commitment got a bit hard for me to hold
Speaker 1: down that job, I couldn't just do netball. Like I
Speaker 1: always felt like I still had to be doing something else,
Speaker 1: and obviously I had a passion for coaching and I
Speaker 1: wanted to help the juniors. And I didn't have a
Speaker 1: lot of that when I was young because like no offense,
Speaker 1: but my mum like she just didn't know it was around,
Speaker 1: Like she wouldn't have know a Netbrow clinic even existed.
Speaker 3: So I didn't do any of that.
Speaker 1: And I thought, you know, it'd be really great to
Speaker 1: be able to pass on a lot of what I've
Speaker 1: learned to the next generation. And I just realized that
Speaker 1: in South Australia there really wasn't a lot of opportunities. Yeah,
Speaker 1: growing up in New South Wales there were a lot
Speaker 1: of clinics, and when I was with the Swifts, there
Speaker 1: was a lot of coaching opportunities. That's how I got
Speaker 1: through UNI doing all these coaching clinics and coming to
Speaker 1: Adelaide there was just nothing. So yeah, I kind of
Speaker 1: put my entrepreneur hut on and really enjoyed probably initially
Speaker 1: not even the coaching part of it, but just that
Speaker 1: business side of it and the setup and just learning,
Speaker 1: you know, what it takes to set up a business.
Speaker 3: And obviously being an athlete.
Speaker 1: You really goal orientated and you set yourself a challenge
Speaker 1: and off you go. And you know, it was my
Speaker 1: little thing to see if I could get a business
Speaker 1: off the ground without having any idea.
Speaker 3: What I was doing and when all right?
Speaker 2: And for those people who might be looking at launching
Speaker 2: a business, that's obviously sof and I we face that
Speaker 2: reality of setting up a business, and I think it
Speaker 2: can be quite daunting at first. But what would be
Speaker 2: your tips, I suppose for anyone that's young out there,
Speaker 2: like you know, how difficult actually is it or how
Speaker 2: difficult was it to set your business up?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Look, I think doing something that you know is important.
Speaker 1: So for me, obviously I knew how to coach and
Speaker 1: I knew netball, so I didn't have to learn a
Speaker 1: new trade or you know, I had that. I knew
Speaker 1: if I'd got the structures of a business down part,
Speaker 1: I could deliver the service. So that was important for me.
Speaker 1: I just had to learn that one thing, the business side.
Speaker 1: And I guess the biggest thing is just doing it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because you can just talk about things and oh, I've
Speaker 1: got this idea, and trust me, I've got a million
Speaker 1: ideas and the ones you actually I do and put
Speaker 1: the time into are the ones that are successful. And
Speaker 1: I guess I just started really small. I you know,
Speaker 1: organized to have a meeting with someone who could make
Speaker 1: me a website, and I got a website up and running,
Speaker 1: and then decided I was going to put on the
Speaker 1: website and you know, told a few friends, and I guess,
Speaker 1: you know, what helped me in Adelaide as well was
Speaker 1: just having those connections and being able to ask people
Speaker 1: to help promote. And then, you know, I remember my
Speaker 1: first clinic that I did. It was out at Salisbury
Speaker 1: and Parafoot Gardens Rec Center was great and got about
Speaker 1: probably twenty thirty kids and I was.
Speaker 3: Just so happy the whole day.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe that
Speaker 1: thirty kids like actually just wanted to come and hang
Speaker 1: out with me and get coached by me for a day,
Speaker 1: Like no one's forcing them to be here, They're actually
Speaker 1: paid to be here, like business almeriding.
Speaker 3: I got home and I remember.
Speaker 1: Lying on the lounge being like, Oh, all right, done,
Speaker 1: that's it. Like it was like box, Like I proved
Speaker 1: to myself that I could, you know, go from scratch,
Speaker 1: and I know, like netble clinics, it seems simple people
Speaker 1: rock up, you play, nepple, you leave.
Speaker 3: But all the back end of it was probably more
Speaker 3: of what I was proud of.
Speaker 1: Like I'd set up a website, I've got a business
Speaker 1: bank account, I'd got a like company like ABN number
Speaker 1: and all this stuff, and I've got an accountant. And yeah,
Speaker 1: people trusted me with their money and with their kids,
Speaker 1: which is the most precious possession. They trusted me to
Speaker 1: look after their kids for a day and teach them something.
Speaker 3: So and it's huge.
Speaker 2: I mean Aeron Beel network clinics are huge. You've got
Speaker 2: all your merch It's like not just a small you know,
Speaker 2: it's not thirty kids going anymore. So when I've been
Speaker 2: to a few clinics to do some filming and it's chaos,
Speaker 2: and it's in.
Speaker 1: Controlled, controlled chaos, but it is it's great.
Speaker 2: And you have all your dietitians and that kind of thing,
Speaker 2: and it's a huge business in Adelaide. So you should
Speaker 2: be really proud of all your efforts because you really
Speaker 2: have grown it into a thing.
Speaker 3: Thanks, you know.
Speaker 1: And it was challenge, I think while I was playing
Speaker 1: and being able to balance the two and you know,
Speaker 1: you'd be at a clinic all day, like, and I'm
Speaker 1: talking like we would run a clinic from nine till four,
Speaker 1: and I had to get there at eight to obviously
Speaker 1: set up because I was the setup lady as well,
Speaker 1: and I was the registration lady, and I was the
Speaker 1: merch lady. Then I was the coach, then I was
Speaker 1: the thunderbird, like trying to do my autographs and my signatures,
Speaker 1: and then I was the clean up lady and the
Speaker 1: pack up lady and getting it all back in the
Speaker 1: car and then having to go to training.
Speaker 2: And it's exhausting enough just hanging.
Speaker 1: Out with kids for a few hours, but when you
Speaker 1: have to engage them for that long, and especially in
Speaker 1: Adelaide in the middle of summer, it might be thirty
Speaker 1: five degrees. You've got six year olds dropping like flies everywhere,
Speaker 1: and it's like it's yeah, it's tough. And then having
Speaker 1: to go yourself and have that energy to train and
Speaker 1: not just at your local netball club, like train for
Speaker 1: the Thunderbirds and be expected at that high intensity that
Speaker 1: that's expected every training.
Speaker 3: So I did get quite drained, I think from it.
Speaker 3: You know, it's hard.
Speaker 1: It's like anyone who's running a business on the side
Speaker 1: and also working a job or whether they're running a
Speaker 1: business and they've got a family and they've got kids,
Speaker 1: Like it's it's tough, and you can't switch off from
Speaker 1: it either, yeah, because it's your responsibility.
Speaker 3: Like if you don't do the books, then doesn't get done.
Speaker 2: And it's so exhaustive. Even when soph and I came
Speaker 2: down that I was so exhausted after those days, like how.
Speaker 3: Did I do it?
Speaker 2: And I wasn't even engaging with kids. I was like,
Speaker 2: oh my god, oh I know, And then yeah, you
Speaker 2: just find something.
Speaker 3: I don't know it. It's been good. I feel like
Speaker 3: I'm very prepared to have my own family now, like yeah,
Speaker 3: I feel like I don't know. You just yeah, you
Speaker 3: just don't expect to feel.
Speaker 1: Fresh And that was probably the reality for me in
Speaker 1: the last few years of my network career, just you're
Speaker 1: not going to feel fresh air and just get on
Speaker 1: with it, get on caught, get through it, like you
Speaker 1: just learned to find another tank somewhere.
Speaker 2: And there is currently a big push for young women
Speaker 2: to continue playings. What do you think it is it
Speaker 2: stops women in some circumstances like.
Speaker 3: Women or girls.
Speaker 2: Well, there's like a big push. I think Ashbard is
Speaker 2: the face of it. And they're saying, I think it's
Speaker 2: around fourteen that girls are dropping out of sport, and
Speaker 2: I suppose one of the things is I don't know,
Speaker 2: is it because it's not glamorous or is it because
Speaker 2: girls want to impress boys? And they're like, I don't know,
Speaker 2: what do.
Speaker 1: You think the main I mean, I think everyone's different,
Speaker 1: like the I think, like just the small issue, something
Speaker 1: as small as the girls having to wear skirts to school,
Speaker 1: not having the choice to wear pants or shorts, Like
Speaker 1: they don't want to play sport.
Speaker 3: They can't you know.
Speaker 1: Maybe they did in primary school or they can't now,
Speaker 1: or you know, then they're sweaty, like they don't want
Speaker 1: to run around and play sport at lunch time, and
Speaker 1: then they're sweaty for the rest of the day. They
Speaker 1: start to smell like they care about all that. In
Speaker 1: high school, yeah, you know, they want to hang out
Speaker 1: with their friends on the weekend instead of going to training.
Speaker 1: And I think the pressure of school probably adds to
Speaker 1: it as well. Those ones that want to do really well,
Speaker 1: they see sport as a distraction or you've got to
Speaker 1: focus on your studies, you know, opportunities as well, Like
Speaker 1: girls will be playing it for the fun of it.
Speaker 1: When they're ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, they start to get
Speaker 1: a bit more serious and all of a sudden, they
Speaker 1: have a really bad experience at their club. They get
Speaker 1: put in one of the lower grades, they don't make
Speaker 1: a rep team, and that's it.
Speaker 3: They just go, oh, well, I don't like that feeling
Speaker 3: of rejection. I'm just not going to play anymore.
Speaker 1: So I think, yeah, it's probably just a combination of
Speaker 1: all those things.
Speaker 3: There's different things for them to do now.
Speaker 1: They yeah, we need to somehow keep them engaged and
Speaker 1: keep it fun for them and keep their experiences in
Speaker 1: in sport good so that they still want to participate
Speaker 1: even if it's not at that high level. Then they
Speaker 1: don't feel bad for not being in the rep team.
Speaker 1: Just play local D grade, but play, just enjoy it,
Speaker 1: have fun, don't worry about that judgment of not being
Speaker 1: the best player.
Speaker 2: Looking at other sports, you see tennis, like, I'm a
Speaker 2: huge tennis fan, and I feel like the Tennis or
Speaker 2: the WTA does a really good job almost of glamorizing
Speaker 2: tennis because there's those tennis players like Maria Sharapov and
Speaker 2: back in the day Anna Ivanovitch and I feel like they,
Speaker 2: you know, young girls would look up to them and
Speaker 2: be like, oh, they're cool. I want to be like them,
Speaker 2: And I suppose it's a bit it's the same with netball.
Speaker 2: I feel like netball does have that glamorous side, but
Speaker 2: then you look at how their afl W is being
Speaker 2: promoted and it's almost you know, they're promoted as strong women.
Speaker 2: Do you think that the netball should look at I suppose,
Speaker 2: framing the players in the same way, or do you
Speaker 2: think it's better to glamorize sport?
Speaker 1: Oh gosh, I love that you think that networl's glamorous.
Speaker 1: I never felt glamorous the whole time I was playing.
Speaker 2: Maybe more glamorous than afl W.
Speaker 3: I don't know, I don't know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's oh yeah.
Speaker 1: I think I think neb All Australia and all the
Speaker 1: clubs probably need to look at how they promote the
Speaker 1: sport just to keep up with AFLW. In general, I
Speaker 1: think that there's obviously a lot more probably resources that
Speaker 1: the AFL can access in terms of promoting the game.
Speaker 1: They're in schools everywhere, like all the girls are getting
Speaker 1: to have a kick and see if they like it
Speaker 1: and go on to possibly playing clubs. And I think
Speaker 1: a lot of the junior netball clubs have felt that
Speaker 1: with their registration numbers and girls deciding to go to footy.
Speaker 1: And that's, you know, great as long as they're playing something.
Speaker 3: That's my view.
Speaker 1: And yeah, so look, the players are really strong now,
Speaker 1: like back when I was younger, and you know, even
Speaker 1: my first few years at the Thunderbirds, we used to
Speaker 1: run and run and run like k's k's. Our skin
Speaker 1: folds were down because we were, you know, we were
Speaker 1: just running. And then throughout my eight years at the Thunderbirds,
Speaker 1: our preseason completely flipped.
Speaker 3: Like it's in the.
Speaker 1: Gym, like you're focusing on your strength, you're doing short sprints,
Speaker 1: you're not running k's anymore. So if you look out
Speaker 1: on court now, all the players are so much stronger.
Speaker 3: The game is far because of it, and the hits
Speaker 3: are bigger.
Speaker 1: And I think they have tried to promote that, like
Speaker 1: it's not that girly girly like, oh.
Speaker 3: Contact, don't touch me, stand beside.
Speaker 1: I think they're trying to get away from that. They're
Speaker 1: trying to let a lot go in the game to
Speaker 1: say like we are equally as tough as the footy players,
Speaker 1: Like you know, Netble's not that girly sports still come
Speaker 1: play with us. But yeah, look, I think the reality
Speaker 1: is that football, like the women's league is going quite
Speaker 1: well and the girls yeah see it as appealing and
Speaker 1: networle have to counteract that and respond From.
Speaker 2: A media perspective, something that annoys me is the fact that,
Speaker 2: you know, as progressive as we like to put forward
Speaker 2: we are, I still feel like women's sport isn't getting
Speaker 2: the coverage it deserves, and especially with the afl W
Speaker 2: competition at the moment, I feel like journalists are making
Speaker 2: a choice between netball and AFLW and are feeling the
Speaker 2: pressure to choose the women's football over netball. Is that
Speaker 2: something that frustrated you when you were playing that coverage
Speaker 2: was kind of given to a sport where perhaps the
Speaker 2: players aren't yet at an elite level like the netballers are.
Speaker 1: Look, I always when the AFOW first started up, that
Speaker 1: was all that was that conversational that's not fair, like
Speaker 1: you girls have been doing it for so much longer,
Speaker 1: and then they just come in and start a league
Speaker 1: and they're getting paid.
Speaker 3: More and all this, and I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think we still struggle to get the
Speaker 1: numbers that we need.
Speaker 3: We get great numbers for netball.
Speaker 1: I think the Diamonds got fourteen fifteen thousand people at
Speaker 1: a game and a lot of the time that's all
Speaker 1: the stadium can hold.
Speaker 2: And that's paid as well, not fair, that's paid.
Speaker 3: So it is great.
Speaker 1: But then you look at AFL weekly game for the
Speaker 1: boys and they get fifty thousand plus and that's why
Speaker 1: they have the money to match it.
Speaker 3: So I don't know.
Speaker 1: I was always kind of like, we just need to
Speaker 1: somehow get our sport in front of more people's eyes,
Speaker 1: and we need to have that the viewers, whether it's
Speaker 1: better ratings on TV or whether it is just selling
Speaker 1: out every single game. I think, you know, yes, we
Speaker 1: have been in it a lot longer than the girls,
Speaker 1: the footy girls. But yeah, our increments in our crowds,
Speaker 1: they've been slowly, slowly building, slowly building, slowly building, and
Speaker 1: I guess the pay has gone up for players, slowly building.
Speaker 1: In terms of media, you know, it has improved. I
Speaker 1: think we can't forget that we used to be on ABC.
Speaker 1: You know, one game televised a week and now on
Speaker 1: Channel nine and every game is televised in the SSN.
Speaker 3: Plus there's the Netball Live.
Speaker 1: App, so you can watch every game. It's definitely so
Speaker 1: much better than it used to be. But yeah, the
Speaker 1: reality is if there's a small news story about a
Speaker 1: footballer who's rolled.
Speaker 3: An ankle, like there goes to netball story.
Speaker 1: So it's it's still that reality, and I think it's
Speaker 1: just going to take more time than getting in front
Speaker 1: of more people's eyes.
Speaker 2: Would you ever have been persuaded to join the AFLW.
Speaker 1: Well, when I retired from Collingwood last year, there was
Speaker 1: obviously like they have the AFO W team right in there.
Speaker 1: And one of the other girls that retired went on
Speaker 1: to play, and so that was Shiny Lay and she's
Speaker 1: obviously playing ash brows in there already played and Shay
Speaker 1: Brown and myself retired as well, and I found out
Speaker 1: later that Shay actually got asked if she wanted.
Speaker 2: To play, and I was like, where's my invitation?
Speaker 1: I was like the only one that didn't actually get
Speaker 1: asked if I wanted to play? And I was like
Speaker 1: thank god, because literally I'm one of those one sport.
Speaker 3: People like, no.
Speaker 2: Way, I'm gonna barely kick a football. Now, I might
Speaker 2: have to film that for now Instagram, because there's a
Speaker 2: football round. We'll have to get you to have kid.
Speaker 3: Don't forget I'm a goaler as well.
Speaker 1: So I'm like, I don't like the idea of people
Speaker 1: like contacting and touching me, like just no tackle. I'd
Speaker 1: play touch footy, but yeah, look, I don't know. I'd
Speaker 1: think it's safe if I stay away from the footy field.
Speaker 2: And obviously you just touched on your retirement. How difficult
Speaker 2: was it for you to make the decision to leave
Speaker 2: the game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was hard, And I think like in terms
Speaker 1: of my playing and the whole commitment of the sport,
Speaker 1: I knew that I probably had enough, and I wasn't
Speaker 1: playing as well as I used to be, and it
Speaker 1: was just requiring a whole another level of effort to
Speaker 1: get to where I wanted to be. And like that
Speaker 1: might be because I was getting older, or because the
Speaker 1: competition was just getting harder, and maybe I was past
Speaker 1: my peak. I don't know all these things. And I
Speaker 1: think you know a lot of mental baggage, you know,
Speaker 1: making teams, not making teams. My last few years at
Speaker 1: the Thunderbirds, I was captain and we were quite unsuccessful.
Speaker 3: We went through three coaches.
Speaker 1: Like, it was a tough couple of years, and I
Speaker 1: think I really felt that and probably carried that a
Speaker 1: lot more than I realized. So to let go of
Speaker 1: all that was probably an easy decision in terms of retiring.
Speaker 1: But yeah, the game itself and the girls and my friends,
Speaker 1: and I guess that sense of identity of who you
Speaker 1: think you are and what you've done for the last
Speaker 1: fifteen years.
Speaker 3: For that to be gone was a huge like whoa
Speaker 3: am I ready for this?
Speaker 1: Uh? Yeah, And like probably struggled a little bit for
Speaker 1: the first six months without Like I was always like,
Speaker 1: I'll be fine, Like I've always had a job, I've
Speaker 1: always got my business, I've got other things going on
Speaker 1: outside of sport. I've never been defined by netball. I'll
Speaker 1: be fine in retirement. But those first six months I
Speaker 1: was just like, oh, oh, but where's my annual training
Speaker 1: calendar and where's my next meeting? And what do you
Speaker 1: mean I can't see the physio for free anymore, Like
Speaker 1: I've got to saw back.
Speaker 3: Like I was just so many little.
Speaker 1: Things like I remember, like what do you mean, I
Speaker 1: have to pay for a gym membership. It's just always
Speaker 1: been part of my mental health, I think, was being
Speaker 1: you know, being fit, and then not having a contract,
Speaker 1: not having a job, having to find a job, having
Speaker 1: to pay for all these things.
Speaker 3: All of a sudden, you're just kind of like whoa, whoa,
Speaker 3: whoa slow down? Like so it was hard.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you hear that a lot though, because I remember
Speaker 2: there was a four Corners this amazing story about how
Speaker 2: the mental health of athletes does change because you're so
Speaker 2: used to people organizing your life where somewhat as well,
Speaker 2: and obviously the admiration from the crowd and all of
Speaker 2: that kind of thing, and then suddenly for to end
Speaker 2: it is a big thing. Have you found that with
Speaker 2: the other netballers that you're friends with who retire.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1: And whether or not people admit it like is another
Speaker 1: Some are very public about it, some aren't.
Speaker 3: And you know, I was.
Speaker 1: Even listening to a podcast about Libytricket the other day
Speaker 1: and how she struggled with retirement, and it's kind of
Speaker 1: nice to hear that everyone goes through it, but it's
Speaker 1: sad that there's not enough support around that space at
Speaker 1: the same time, because we do know that it's that
Speaker 1: people struggle, and netball are probably trying, but they're just
Speaker 1: not equipped yet to deal with that. They're trying to
Speaker 1: grow the sport, they're trying to they're focusing on that.
Speaker 1: They're not focusing on the end game and when players
Speaker 1: are exiting, and I think they do need to improve
Speaker 1: that because, as I said cutthroat, they need to think
Speaker 1: about these players, whether it's injury, retirement, that mental health
Speaker 1: is so important and yeah, I don't know, it's everyone's different,
Speaker 1: as I said, but I think having that balance and
Speaker 1: being able to have a job or have something else
Speaker 1: that you're doing helps. But I had that, and I
Speaker 1: still felt a massive void, and I ended up going
Speaker 1: back and playing in the stately competition because I was like,
Speaker 1: I just got to play. I want to do something
Speaker 1: I don't know, and it was the best thing I
Speaker 1: did to be able to play netball and still enjoy
Speaker 1: playing the game, but without the pressure of SSN, like
Speaker 1: it kind of just released this oh you know what,
Speaker 1: like I'm actually okay at netball, Like it's just all
Speaker 1: the other stuff I was done with and I'm okay
Speaker 1: to not have to like I'll make that sacrifice of
Speaker 1: being able to play and not have to do all
Speaker 1: the other stuff for my well being.
Speaker 2: I was gonna ask you about that, because did you
Speaker 2: feel like you almost fell out of love a bit
Speaker 2: with netball when you're at Collingwood with all the pressure,
Speaker 2: and you know, the previous seasons of the Thunderbirds were disappointing.
Speaker 2: Do you feel like that helped you fall back in
Speaker 2: love with netball playing in the lower divisions.
Speaker 3: Oh definitely.
Speaker 1: And I'd never expected it, and I think it wasn't
Speaker 1: like my last year at Collingwood. It was building, Like
Speaker 1: you know, when I first moved to Adelaide. My very
Speaker 1: first year we won the premiership. My second year i
Speaker 1: was in the Diamonds. My third year we won a premiership. Again,
Speaker 1: Like I had a lot of highs early on, and
Speaker 1: then the last few years were just tough and we
Speaker 1: were down the bottom of the ladder. And I think
Speaker 1: it was just kind of that build and me trying
Speaker 1: to push push through it. So I was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I did. I thought I was just done with netball.
Speaker 1: And when the coach because I moved to the like
Speaker 1: up the suburbs in Melbourne and the coach was like, oh, do.
Speaker 3: You want to play? And I was like, no, why
Speaker 3: are talking to me? Please leave me alone.
Speaker 1: I can't even have a conversation with you, like I
Speaker 1: hate netball that much, and she was awesome then just
Speaker 1: said no.
Speaker 2: Worries see oh, like you know, don't worry about it,
Speaker 2: and then kind.
Speaker 3: Of used a bit of reverse psychology on me.
Speaker 1: And I guess as an athlete, you're so used to
Speaker 1: being told that you got to be here preseason starts
Speaker 1: November one, you're like, mate, I just finished.
Speaker 2: Like.
Speaker 3: So she was like, don'torry, I'll see you next year.
Speaker 3: I'll see you in March. And I was like, oh, oh,
Speaker 3: what do you mean I'll see you in March?
Speaker 1: Like I'll come then. And so she kind of like
Speaker 1: rang me two weeks before the season started and said
Speaker 1: you're feeling any better, like do you want to come
Speaker 1: and have a run, Like, don't worry, just play a quarter,
Speaker 1: just not even a quarter, just don't worry. We'll take
Speaker 1: you off if you don't want to play. And I
Speaker 1: ended up playing a full game and being.
Speaker 3: Like, oh, that was really fun. I was one thing.
Speaker 1: I said to us, I'm not playing in goals and
Speaker 1: I think that was a You know, obviously as a
Speaker 1: goalie you get the glory, but there's a lot of
Speaker 1: extra pressure and you know you miss and the whole
Speaker 1: game is your fault blah blah blah. And I just
Speaker 1: did not want that pressure at all. So I said
Speaker 1: to her, old, play if I can play wing attack
Speaker 1: and just being able to not have that pressure and
Speaker 1: not have people think that I was an Australian Diamond
Speaker 1: and I should be shooting one hundred percent and being
Speaker 1: the best, just to kind of go, you know what,
Speaker 1: I'm playing wing attack. This is not what I'm meant
Speaker 1: to be good at. It really helped, and yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: going to try and play again this season, but we'll see.
Speaker 1: The knees are getting a bit sore. But maybe I'll
Speaker 1: try center or something like this year. But I think, yeah,
Speaker 1: just to take that pressure off, it was the best
Speaker 1: thing that I could have done. And for me to
Speaker 1: now still be passionate about the game and still want
Speaker 1: to be involved as opposed to just shutting it all off.
Speaker 2: So that's the key to get you to play in
Speaker 2: our social netble team? Is it just to like as
Speaker 2: long as I'm not engolved, yeah, but like, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: don't worry I won't play. We're playing December first. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: just reverse psychology.
Speaker 1: It works a lot like tell me, don't worry, you
Speaker 1: don't have to come to training.
Speaker 3: Don't worry. You know, we don't even want you there.
Speaker 2: And I'll be there and we don't have training.
Speaker 3: If you tell me.
Speaker 1: I have to do something, I'll be like, no, I'm
Speaker 1: not doing it. Then I'm just like a bit stubborn.
Speaker 2: And how tough is the scrutiny though, because I know
Speaker 2: generally everyone thinks that the crowd that comes along is
Speaker 2: probably young girls and young women, But you get on
Speaker 2: some of the message boards or on Facebook and some
Speaker 2: of the comments can be quite awful from fans or
Speaker 2: I found it.
Speaker 1: I find it again harder than I thought. And I
Speaker 1: don't think that I was prepared for it at all.
Speaker 1: And I obviously my generation, feeling old, didn't grow up
Speaker 1: with social media, so it kind of came out of
Speaker 1: no halfway through my career. And probably the first time, yeah,
Speaker 1: that scrutiny hit was in twenty fifteen when I made
Speaker 1: the World Cup team, and the previous year I didn't
Speaker 1: make the Commonwealth Games team, and I was probably playing
Speaker 1: my best and you know, me, along with a lot
Speaker 1: of other people, thought I should have made that team,
Speaker 1: and I was getting so much support on social media,
Speaker 1: and it just made me feel so great, and you know, oh, yes,
Speaker 1: all these people think I should be. In the following year,
Speaker 1: I didn't, you know, I didn't play as well, but
Speaker 1: for some reason.
Speaker 3: I made the team.
Speaker 1: And I remember getting a lot of negative criticism about
Speaker 1: oh why she and Rah Rah and just not being
Speaker 1: ready for it, just being blindsided because twelve months earlier
Speaker 1: I had been getting so much positive feedback on social
Speaker 1: and then yeah, for it to flip and be negative,
Speaker 1: I was like, whoa, shut that phone down and probably yeah,
Speaker 1: that bad experience just made me really wary of it
Speaker 1: from then on. Then leading into obviously the Thunderbirds having
Speaker 1: some very tough years and the Thunderbirds in Adelaide being
Speaker 1: actually in the paper and on the news but getting
Speaker 1: slammed and as the captain being.
Speaker 3: Asked, why aren't you performing? Like what's wrong with you?
Speaker 1: I'm just yeah, getting so much scrutiny, like your own
Speaker 1: fans questioning the selection or the team or.
Speaker 3: Your own performance, and You're just like, well, where does
Speaker 3: this come from? Who are you people? I don't even
Speaker 3: know you, Like I'm listening to my coach now I've got.
Speaker 1: To like please all these fans and all these media
Speaker 1: people as well. It just yeah, it's it's tough. Like
Speaker 1: I don't know if the next generation or the younger
Speaker 1: athletes now are better off for it because they've kind
Speaker 1: of used to it, be exposed to it and water
Speaker 1: off a ducts back, or is it actually worse, like
Speaker 1: is it getting worse? And all the bloody keyboard warriors
Speaker 1: and people that sit there on their couches judging everything
Speaker 1: that happens on court.
Speaker 2: I don't know. It's they say it to your face
Speaker 2: with that.
Speaker 1: Oh god, I'd love to like approach some of the
Speaker 1: people if I ever had that opportunity and being like
Speaker 1: Joanna one on one, like do you want to go
Speaker 1: have a shoot off or do you want to I
Speaker 1: don't know, like do you want.
Speaker 3: To put your money where your mouth is? Because you're very,
Speaker 3: very rude behind a keyboard.
Speaker 2: It's amazing how much they know you having probably never
Speaker 2: played a game of netwik before.
Speaker 1: Oh and since I retired, like now I read all
Speaker 1: the comments because it doesn't affect me at all, and
Speaker 1: I'm just like, oh, my god, I can't believe people
Speaker 1: are saying these things, like do you realize that you know,
Speaker 1: these athletes are real people. They put so much time
Speaker 1: and effort into their training. They are trying their absolute
Speaker 1: best out on court. Nobody goes out there to play
Speaker 1: badly or to miss a goal or to throw a
Speaker 1: pass badly, So stop bagging them, like they're just doing
Speaker 1: the absolute best they can.
Speaker 2: So people are so mean though, Like everyone criticizes anything
Speaker 2: you do. Anyone criticis they're probably having a bigger effect
Speaker 2: on their team they're supposed to be supporting, because that's
Speaker 2: rebably getting in people's head and making them perform worse.
Speaker 2: Like I can imagine if you're getting slammed, you're then
Speaker 2: reflecting on your own performance too much.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think a lot of clubs do talk
Speaker 1: about it, like what's our social media strategy? Like some
Speaker 1: teams say, like, so no social media on game day.
Speaker 1: So but then that I've seen that going out the
Speaker 1: window a little bit because everyone expects social media to
Speaker 1: be so instant, and you know, you have to post
Speaker 1: every day to get engagement, and everyone cares so much
Speaker 1: about their obviously social media following these days that girls
Speaker 1: are posting on game day and as I said.
Speaker 3: Some are phase by, some aren't.
Speaker 1: But yeah, we just kind of said, oh, I just
Speaker 1: advise people just don't read them.
Speaker 3: But you know, I don't know.
Speaker 1: People are drawn to their phones and they just want
Speaker 1: to read them, and it's like, well, I don't know,
Speaker 1: you kind of open yourself up if you choose to
Speaker 1: read them. All you can control is literally put your
Speaker 1: phone down because people are going to say what they're
Speaker 1: going to say.
Speaker 3: It's up to you whether you read it or not.
Speaker 2: Well, back to life after netful. Can you tell us
Speaker 2: a little bit about what you are doing because you've
Speaker 2: started studying a new degree? Is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I started my teaching degree my last year. I was
Speaker 1: playing because I knew I was probably coming to an end,
Speaker 1: and I have a sports science degree, but I yeah,
Speaker 1: I wasn't really passionate to get into that field.
Speaker 3: I think I just wanted to get out of the
Speaker 3: sport realm.
Speaker 1: I've been in there enough, and so yeah, I started
Speaker 1: my teaching degree. I think after doing all my clinics
Speaker 1: and a lot of coaching in schools, I thought that
Speaker 1: teaching would.
Speaker 3: Be fun and then moved to Melbourne and got a job. Now.
Speaker 1: I'm working at a school in their sports academy, so
Speaker 1: it's a nice little matchup.
Speaker 2: And when I graduate, I can hopefully, yeah, get a
Speaker 2: job teaching.
Speaker 3: That's so cool.
Speaker 2: I was gonna saying, you and you've got other exciting things.
Speaker 2: You're engaged, congratulations.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a full time job. Organized your wedding as well,
Speaker 1: oh gosh. And we were like, nah, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: a small wedding, like just not even a big deal,
Speaker 1: like you know, barely spending any money. And I'm just like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, what's happened.
Speaker 3: Our plan has blown out. This is just going to
Speaker 3: be ridiculous.
Speaker 2: But hopefully it'll be fun and hopefully it won't be
Speaker 2: raining and all those because you're beautiful dog Harry going
Speaker 2: to be in the wedding at all. Oh well, I've
Speaker 2: been talking to Trap about it.
Speaker 3: He's a bit worried. He's just kind of like, oh,
Speaker 3: I don't know what are we going to do with
Speaker 3: him after?
Speaker 2: And I'm like, don't worry, like we'll sort it out.
Speaker 3: So, I mean, I would love to. I just want
Speaker 3: to photo. I just want us all dressed up in
Speaker 3: him to have.
Speaker 1: His little bow tie on and yeah he might run
Speaker 1: a mark though we're getting married at a farm, so
Speaker 1: he might. I don't know, go and I don't know,
Speaker 1: eat something. He's not killed two. Yeah he eats anything,
Speaker 1: so but I.
Speaker 3: Would love him to if we can. I hope so do.
Speaker 2: I spuy a sausage dog on your Instagram account? Whose
Speaker 2: sausage dog is that?
Speaker 3: That's tribes, families, tribes, mums. But oh, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I love it by stealing all the time, and him
Speaker 1: and Harry are just so cute together, and I don't know,
Speaker 1: dogs have always been a bit of my release, my outlet.
Speaker 1: I just love, you know, I don't know, taking the
Speaker 1: dogs for a walk and hanging with them, it was
Speaker 1: always something just took me away from netball and all
Speaker 1: the stress.
Speaker 3: So if I can have two, that's always better than one.
Speaker 2: Now, just to finish up, Errand because a lot of
Speaker 2: the time our podcast does talk about pop culture, reality
Speaker 2: TV influences, all that stuff. You've already told us that
Speaker 2: you're not really into the influencer last no, gosh.
Speaker 1: I mean I do watch a bit of reality TV,
Speaker 1: but yeah, if it's about if this.
Speaker 2: Is the topic, I'm going to be absolutely shocking. No,
Speaker 2: that's right, it's just some random questions. We're just gonna
Speaker 2: quiz you, and we're going to throw in some questions
Speaker 2: that maybe people well, we might find out stuff that
Speaker 2: we never knew about your There's not too many questions.
Speaker 3: I haven't been on reality TV show. No, don't worry
Speaker 3: about that. I know what was there?
Speaker 2: Was? Like that? Wasn't there that thunderbake yet, wasn't it?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: That?
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, that was actually hilarious.
Speaker 2: That was actually I was pretty good on that. You
Speaker 2: did star in a rap video for video too, let's
Speaker 2: not publicly talk about that. Look, I was in it
Speaker 2: in some form as well. I was tory, So oh.
Speaker 1: I shouldn't We all should have won a Bloody Award
Speaker 1: for that performance.
Speaker 2: Okay, So what reality show would you go on if
Speaker 2: you had to pick one? Oh?
Speaker 3: Well I might go on Survivor.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I mean I didn't watch Survivor this year,
Speaker 1: but I don't know. I don't think I could do
Speaker 1: like the other ones, like they're all love related.
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, what if if you weren't engaged and they said, Aaron,
Speaker 2: we want you to be our new bachelorette, would you
Speaker 2: go on it.
Speaker 1: Oh, I could just couldn't do it, no life, Nah, nah,
Speaker 1: nap couldn't do it.
Speaker 2: What else?
Speaker 3: What other reality TV shows are there?
Speaker 2: I reckon you'd be good on The Amazing Race.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, actually I was saying that the other day. Yes,
Speaker 1: I would love to do that. Yeah that's a good one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well one of those adventure type ones, not one of
Speaker 1: the lovey dovey ones like nah, I just no way.
Speaker 3: I couldn't do that.
Speaker 2: Are you watching The Bachelor this year or sorry, the
Speaker 2: Bachelorette with Angie?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Do you like it?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Yeah, I think she's good, she's real. The boys
Speaker 3: are funny. I don't know. I just think it's Oh.
Speaker 3: The other one i'd go on is the Block.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I could see you on that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it depends who though I'd need to.
Speaker 1: I couldn't go on with Trav he would just heat
Speaker 1: the sleep deprivation would get him. But i'd have to if
Speaker 1: I could go on with someone. Yeah, but yeah again
Speaker 1: by practical reality to you and.
Speaker 2: That Romberto, how do you think you and Nat would go? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Yea, I would kill it. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Actually they had netballers on the Block.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they did really well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, if total nine are listening. Okay, So Christmas decorations.
Speaker 2: When is it too early to decorate?
Speaker 1: Oh? Look, I'm happy December one? Okay, yeah, look, probably
Speaker 1: November is a tight early. But in saying that, like,
Speaker 1: I'm not against it. I love a Christmas movie, so
Speaker 1: I'd happily watch Christmas movies in November.
Speaker 2: What's your favorite Christmas movie? Oh?
Speaker 3: Probably Love Actually, Oh yeah, I know.
Speaker 1: Or actually Miracle on forty second straight thirty forty first straight.
Speaker 3: It's like a real old one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's got like the cutest Santa and yeah,
Speaker 1: I will used to watch that as a kid.
Speaker 2: Okay, So if you weren't a netballer and you had
Speaker 2: to choose another sport to be professional at, what would
Speaker 2: you choose?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 1: I always liked the idea of beach volleyball, but I
Speaker 1: don't didn't like but old have to wear to be
Speaker 1: a beach vollibol person. But yeah, ah yeah, beach volleyball
Speaker 1: always they look cool, like relaxed beach lifestyle.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, what's and sorry, what is one thing that
Speaker 2: would surprise people to find out about you? Oh? No,
Speaker 2: that's a hard one. But is there something that you
Speaker 2: that you like that people wouldn't think you like or
Speaker 2: something that you do off the netball court. That's interesting.
Speaker 1: Well, I kind of spoke about dancing, but I used
Speaker 1: to tell people like that was surprised that I was
Speaker 1: a tap.
Speaker 3: Dancer is surprising. Yeah, I did tap dancing for ten years.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I really liked that.
Speaker 2: Does that help with your footwork on the court. I
Speaker 2: don't think so.
Speaker 1: And it helps me remember things like I had to
Speaker 1: remember the dance routines and all that. I think the
Speaker 1: other interesting thing, it's not that interesting, but just being
Speaker 1: a goal shoot my whole life, and that because I
Speaker 1: wear contact lenses.
Speaker 3: If I didn't have my contacts in, there's no way
Speaker 3: I would even be able to play netball.
Speaker 1: So that kind of surprises people. Bit as a goaler,
Speaker 1: I can't even see the netble ring. But that's all
Speaker 1: fixed up now. I had laser eye surgery.
Speaker 2: Oh wow. Oh yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Lastly, this is a very pressing question, especially to Sophie
Speaker 2: Thoughts on Taylor Swift's album Lover, Because you you weren't
Speaker 2: a fan of nineteen eighty nine. I was shocked to discover.
Speaker 1: I'm an old school tailor fan. I haven't even heard
Speaker 1: the new album, like, I've kind of rebelled against her.
Speaker 1: I know, I'm sorry, I don't like her new stuff.
Speaker 1: I'm just back in love Storyland. I saw yeah first
Speaker 1: album and she had her curly hair, and she was
Speaker 1: all innocent because of your beautiful curly hair.
Speaker 2: Is it? I was channeling my tailor in a Taylor swift.
Speaker 3: But no, she's kind of lost me over the last
Speaker 3: few years, unfortunately. I know.
Speaker 2: Sorry, We'll just give it a listen for and just
Speaker 2: to finish on you, you have an exciting project all
Speaker 2: your works. Did you want to touch on that orts?
Speaker 1: Well, look, this podcast is inspiring me to do my own.
Speaker 1: But again, as I said earlier, I'm an ideas person.
Speaker 1: The actual application we'll have to soon see. But no, yes,
Speaker 1: I would love to do a little project, something that
Speaker 1: can inspire the next generation of netballers. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: just think that netballers especially have such great.
Speaker 3: Stories to tell.
Speaker 1: And you know, like all athletes, everyone goes through their
Speaker 1: own individual journey and there definitely are a lot of
Speaker 1: ups and downs, and I think sometimes our next generation
Speaker 1: may be struggle a little bit with that resilience and
Speaker 1: realizing that, you know, it's the first setback, they think
Speaker 1: it's all over.
Speaker 3: So I'd really love to do something.
Speaker 1: That can showcase that, you know, a setback is just
Speaker 1: part of your journey, and that's what makes your journey unique,
Speaker 1: the way you get to the top and yeah, hopefully
Speaker 1: get a nice, strong, resilient bunch of netballers coming off
Speaker 1: in the future.
Speaker 2: Well, we can't wait to hear your podcast when it
Speaker 2: eventually comes out. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2: I've had such a good time chatting with you, so
Speaker 2: thank you. Thanks for having me