The Rise of Australian Netball
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The Rise of Australian Netball — And the Women Powering It
There is something quietly extraordinary happening in Australian sport. Week after week, in stadiums and on suburban courts from Townsville to Fremantle, a game is being played with an energy that can no longer be ignored. Netball in this country is booming — and the numbers behind that boom are nothing short of breathtaking.
A Sport That Has Found Its Moment
Netball has always been the most popular female team sport in Australia, but 2024 marked a watershed year. According to AusPlay data published by the Australian Sports Commission, more than one million people now participate in netball nationally — a figure that crossed the million mark for the first time in the 2022 to 2023 reporting period, representing a 5.5 per cent increase on the year prior. [1]
On the professional stage, the growth has been just as dramatic. The 2024 Suncorp Super Netball season attracted 366,222 spectators across 14 rounds and four sold-out finals — a 25 per cent increase on 2023 and the highest ever attendance figure for a female sporting league in Australian history. The average crowd of 6,097 fans per match was also the highest of any women's sport in the country. [2]
Television audiences have followed suit. The 2024 season was the best performing on Kayo Sports and Foxtel in three years of partnership, with viewership up 18 per cent year on year to an average of 57,000 per round. [2] And with Sydney confirmed as the host of the 2027 Netball World Cup, the momentum shows no sign of slowing.
"The sport is thriving… and the fact that there is still more to do is what is exciting and keeps us engaged." — Stacey West, CEO, Netball Australia [2]
Australia's national team, the Origin Australian Diamonds, is central to this story. The Diamonds have claimed the Netball World Cup title 12 times since the inaugural championship in 1963, and are consistently ranked number one in the world. [3] Their dominance inspires every girl who laces up for a Saturday morning game.
The Next Generation Is Here
Every era of great Australian sport produces a fresh wave of athletes who capture the imagination of a new generation of fans. In netball right now, two young women are doing exactly that — earning their places in elite national squads while building genuine, authentic connections with fans on social media.
Rising Star
At just 23, Lucy Austin is already a two-time Suncorp Super Netball premiership winner. She burst onto the scene in 2023 with Adelaide Thunderbirds, delivering 133 goals in her debut SSN season and claiming the SSN Rookie of the Year Award. In 2025, after limited game time with the Thunderbirds, she refused to stop backing herself — and was rewarded with her maiden Australian Diamonds debut, becoming Diamond #196. She has since moved to GIANTS Netball for the 2026 season. [4]
Off the court, Lucy is studying a Master of Teaching and runs private coaching sessions for young players. She brings that same warmth to her social media, where she shares honest glimpses of life as a professional athlete.
Rising Star
Georgie Horjus is the kind of player coaches dream about. A versatile wing attack and goal attack from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, the 23-year-old earned her maiden Australian Diamonds selection in 2024, becoming Diamond #193, after a stunning start to the SSN season with Adelaide Thunderbirds. In 2025, her form continued to soar — she was named Player of the Finals and retained her Diamonds spot for the 2025 to 2026 campaign. [5, 6]
Georgie is also studying to become a physical education teacher, and gives back to the game through individual coaching. Her social media presence is refreshingly genuine, all court action, behind the scenes honesty, and unmistakable love of the game.
What both Austin and Horjus share — beyond elite ability — is authenticity. They are young women who did not inherit their success; they worked for it through the pathways, through setbacks, and through a genuine belief in themselves. That story resonates with every girl watching from the sideline, dreaming of one day wearing a Diamonds uniform.
Why Netball Matters Beyond the Final Score
The statistics that define Australian netball's rise are compelling. But they do not tell the whole story. Research from Plan International has found that 83 per cent of Australian girls feel they do not have the same chance in life as boys. [7] That figure is a reminder of how much work remains — and it is precisely why organisations like the Confident Girls Foundation are so vital.
The Confident Girls Foundation
Founded in 2017 after separating from Netball Australia to become an independent entity, the Confident Girls Foundation is Netball Australia's official charity partner. It is a national, ACNC-approved not-for-profit with a simple but powerful mission: empowering marginalised girls through netball. [8]
The Foundation works with grassroots service providers across Australia to deliver programmes that break down financial barriers, challenge gender bias, remove isolation, and create genuine leadership opportunities for girls and young women aged 5 to 30. While netball is at the heart of what they do, the Foundation is clear that sport is the vehicle, not the destination — the real goal is building physical, emotional and social wellbeing. [8]
Their reach is remarkable. The Foundation has supported more than 85,000 girls and young women across 474 locations through more than 900 programmes. [9] They are also the principal partner of the First Nations Black Swans — a First Nations designed national netball programme created to inspire and connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls. [10] And as a major partner of the Marie Little Shield, they support girls and women with intellectual disabilities to compete on a national stage.
In 2025, in partnership with Suncorp, the Foundation launched a Natural Disaster Relief Fund offering grants of up to $5,000 to netball clubs, associations and community groups rebuilding in the wake of floods and bushfires — because they know that for many communities, the local netball club is a lifeline. [11]
If you would like to support the Foundation's work, you can donate or learn more at confidentgirlsfoundation.com.au.
A Sport That Belongs to Every Girl
Australian netball is many things at once. It is elite athletes like Georgie Horjus and Lucy Austin chasing their Diamonds dreams. It is packed arenas and record TV audiences. It is Liz Watson crossing 100 test caps and a team that has dominated the world for over six decades. But it is also a nine-year-old in Tennant Creek discovering that she is fast and fierce and belongs. It is a refugee teenager in western Sydney finding community on a court. It is a grandmother in country Victoria cheering for her granddaughter on a cold winter morning.
That full picture is what makes netball in Australia so worth celebrating. And with the 2027 World Cup coming home to Sydney, the next chapter is shaping up to be the most exciting yet.
All roads lead to 2027 — and the world will be watching.
References
- [1] Australian Sports Commission, AusPlay National Participation Report 2022/23. Available at: nsw.netball.com.au
- [2] Netball Australia, Record Crowds Power Netball Australia's Financial Results, 2024. Available at: netball.com.au
- [3] Wikipedia, Australia national netball team. Available at: en.wikipedia.org
- [4] GIANTS Netball, Lucy Austin player profile, 2025. Available at: giantsnetball.com.au
- [5] Adelaide Thunderbirds, Thunderbirds Stars Named in Australian Diamonds Squad, 2024. Available at: adelaidethunderbirds.com.au
- [6] Adelaide Thunderbirds, Georgie Horjus player profile, 2025. Available at: adelaidethunderbirds.com.au
- [7] Plan International, The Dream Gap: Australian Girls' Views on Gender Equality, 2017. As cited in: confidentgirlsfoundation.com.au
- [8] Confident Girls Foundation, Our Story. Available at: confidentgirlsfoundation.com.au
- [9] Australian Communities Foundation, Confident Girls Foundation profile. Available at: communityfoundation.org.au
- [10] Netball Australia, Principal Partner Announced for First Nations Black Swans. Available at: netball.com.au
- [11] Netball Australia, Confident Girls Foundation Natural Disaster Relief Fund Open, 2025. Available at: netball.com.au