Australia

How do we get the balance right in the conversation about mums returning to sport?


April Brandley has been playing some of the best netball of her career since returning to the sport after having her first child in February 2020.

The 31-year-old defender announced her pregnancy in September 2019 and had originally planned to take a break from the sport last year after spending three seasons with the Collingwood Magpies as a foundation player in the Super Netball league.

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But those plans were thrown out the window when Brandley was offered a contract as a training partner with the Giants by coach Julie Fitzgerald – just five months after giving birth – and the NSW junior couldn’t give up the opportunity to join a team back in her home state.

But the challenges surrounding last year’s condensed season with COVID-19, meant Brandley spent a large chunk of the year living in the Queensland hub with her young bub Clay in tow, learning how to navigate life as a new mum and an elite athlete under unique circumstances.

Brandley played limited minutes in her role as an impact player (averaging 23 minutes in 11 games), but enjoyed herself so much that she decided to sign a full-time senior playing contract with the team for 2021.

This year her form has reached new heights and she is spending a lot more time on court (averaging 59 minutes in 7 games), earning a starting spot at goal defence and gelling nicely with goal keeper Sam Poolman at the back.

Her best performance so far was undoubtedly in the team’s 57-41 victory last weekend against the Adelaide Thunderbirds, where she stole the show with four intercepts, ten deflections, two rebounds and three pickups.

It was her first player of the match award since joining the Giants and led to loud calls from fans for her selection back into the Aussie Diamonds team.

April Brandley and Kristiana Manu’a fly high against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.(

Photo: Narelle Spangher

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Speaking to the ABC, Brandley said she wasn’t sure if she would be open to the idea of being picked for the national squad again now that she has a young family to consider, but reiterated how much she is enjoying her time at club level.

“Being a mother has actually helped me quite a lot, because before I was all about netball and a bit selfish as an athlete,” she said.

“Netball has taken me through so many different stages in my life and I’m loving this new challenge … Sometimes I’ll even be driving to training and just thinking about how lucky I am to be ‘living the dream’.”

The conversation around a mother’s return to the court

Brandley is just one part of Super Netball’s recent baby boom, alongside new mums and Queensland Firebirds stars Gretel Bueta and Kim Ravaillion, and Collingwood Magpies midcourter Ash Brazill, whose wife Brooke gave birth to their first child in early 2020.

All four players have impressed this season, attracting plenty of praise for the way they have been able to tackle motherhood and return to the court with such outstanding form.

Gretel Bueta returns to Super Netball after child
Gretel Bueta has been praised for returning to the netball just four months after giving birth.(

AAP: Albert Perez

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And while they haven’t been the first Australian players to do it, they’ve still been cause for plenty of celebration.

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When the Super Netball competition launched in 2017, the sport turned over a new leaf in its approach to motherhood, introducing the parental care policy.

As part of the Players Agreement, netballers were offered maternity leave for the first time, with 100 per cent income protection guaranteed on all earnings for contracted athletes, babysitters available to help during work commitments, and an allowance allocated to pay for a carer and children under the age of 12 months (or still being breastfed) to travel to away games.

Again, it was the Giants and Julie Fitzgerald who first put their faith in the ability of a playing mother, coaxing 2015 World Cup-winning defender Bec Bulley out of retirement with the promise that she wouldn’t have to miss out on the early stages of her daughter Indie’s life.

Bulley’s former Australian teammates Laura Geitz (Firebirds) and Renae Ingles (Vixens) were next in the years that followed, inspiring the current crop of young child-bearing mothers Brandley, Bueta and Ravaillion to start their family whenever they were ready.

For that reason, the spotlight has shone brightly on these players this season, dubbed ‘super mums’ by some corners of the media, with a focus on their ability to return to the elite level without seeming to skip a beat.

Bec Bulley NSW Swifts Assistant Coach
Bec Bulley was the first player to take advantage of Super Netball’s parental policy when she signed with the Giants for the 2017 season. Now retired, she works as the NSW Swifts assistant coach.(

Photo: Narelle Spangher

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Bulley told the ABC it had been awesome to see mothers embraced in the game.

“There were so many that put off having babies because they knew once they had one that they were done … There wasn’t the support that is available now and coaches were reluctant to select mothers because of the perceived associated baggage.

“So, it is important we celebrate the fact that netballers can continue doing what they do and it’s only going to encourage more Mums to pursue their career.”

Bec Bulley's daughter Indie hands NSW Swifts player Paige Hadley the match ball
Bec Bulley’s daughter Indie has spent much of her early childhood around Netball NSW’s Giants and Swifts teams.(

Photo: Narelle Spangher

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Meanwhile, extra praise and attention has been given to the efforts of Bueta in particular, who at 27, was able to return to playing quickest – giving birth in January and ready for round one, just four months later.

This has sparked some interesting discussion within the community, about whether there should be so much focus on the amount of time it takes a player to return, with some worrying the excitement on the time frame could create unhealthy expectations or forms of negative comparison for other mothers.

But Bulley said people need to remember that elite athletes will generally have established a high level of fitness from a young age, that helps to make the turnaround quicker.

While reiterating that doctors and medical professionals play a huge role in determining when a netballer is ready to return, with similar processes in place to the way they handle an injury, where each box must be ticked before they are allowed to play.

“Her example shows what is possible, but it shouldn’t be putting pressure on other people’s timeframe, as every pregnancy and birth is different.”

Are we forgetting to celebrate the international mothers?

Meanwhile, the hype surrounding Super Netball’s Australian mums has highlighted the lack of coverage given to the competition’s import mothers.

Like West Coast Fever shooter Jhaniele Fowler and Sunshine Coast Lightning defender Phumza Maweni, who have both left their children behind to play in the league.

Phumza Maweni Sunshine Coast Lightning
International defender Phumza Maweni has a son who lives at home with his grandparents in South Africa.(

Photo: Barry Alsop

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Fowler’s 11-year-old daughter lives at home with relatives in Jamaica, while Maweni’s 12-year-old son lives with her mother and father in South Africa.

Speaking with the ABC, Maweni said it would be good to see more media coverage of their stories, especially around the sacrifice they have made to pursue their careers.

Suggesting it would provide fans with some context about the challenges they face to perform each week.

“It can be draining being apart from the ones you love, so there’s a lot of things happening behind the scenes and telling that side of things might help people to understand what we are going through.”

What about older mothers?

Across the ditch, there has been a longer history of mothers returning to court on a more consistent basis, meaning the recent efforts of many of our Australian netballers are considered to be the norm.

But one player that has attracted a lot of media attention is Anna Harrison, a former Silver Fern and mother of three, who turned 38 in April.

Caitlin Bassett contests the ball with Anna Harrison
Anna Harrison up against Australia’s Caitlin Bassett.(

AAP: Ross Setford

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Harrison returned to the New Zealand domestic league this year, coming out of a two-year retirement, during which she gave birth to her third child.

She has also been one of the competition’s star performers, meaning there has been a lot of praise and focus on her ability to consistently deliver despite being one of the oldest players in the league.

As a result, there has been a similar discussion happening among fans about whether this celebration – while meant in good faith – could be deemed as condescending.

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But Bulley said the hype was warranted.

“Let’s give her some credit to be in her late 30s, with three kids under her wing and to be able to have that sort of dedication,” she said.

“Good on her, we should be celebrating diversity and if we’ve got someone that is 38 and still running around the netball court at the top of her game, let’s not shy away from that.”

Meanwhile, Maweni said she found Harrison an inspiration and was glad to see her receive her dues.

“I didn’t start to play for the national team until I was 28 and I was late because the rest of the team started when they were 19 or 20.

“Harrison is inspiring women like me – I’m 36 – to keep playing, but also the young women who are already in their 20s and think time is running out to make a representative or national team.”

So how do the media and broadcasters get the balance right?

Former president of the Australian Netball Players’ Association Nat Medhurst believes the questions being asked about how we talk about motherhood in netball provides the sport and media with a great opportunity.

A much-loved Aussie Diamond during her 17-year playing career, Medhurst retired last year, not long after having her son Edison.

A netballer holds her phone out to take a selfie of her and a beaming young fan at courtside.
Former Australian Diamond and Collingwood Magpies shooter Nat Medhurst has also worked in roles with the Australian Netball Player’s Association and the Channel 9 broadcast team.(

AAP: James Ross

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Now she works with Commonwealth Games Australia as a community engagement manager and also contributes to the game-day broadcast on Channel Nine’s Super Netball coverage.

Speaking with the ABC, she said that media and broadcasters could give more context to push the story further.

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“But the one thing that probably isn’t being talked about is that out of all the mums currently playing Super Netball, it is my understanding that Gretel is the only one being supported financially when it comes to being able to travel with her son and a carer, because he is under the age of 12 months as according to the current pay agreement.

“Not many people are aware of that and so that’s one example where it would be good to use this hype around mothers to start a new conversation where we talk about how we can keep these mothers going as their children grow.

“Things have changed since the pregnancy policy was first put in place and there are going to be more mothers that have children earlier in their careers, so we need to be able to provide that type of financial support to mums with children over the age of one.”

Medhurst had similar thoughts when it came to the story of Anna Harrison, suggesting media and broadcasters could dig deeper to provide more substance beyond the face value of the achievement.

“The reality is, it obviously does become a lot harder as you get older, with or without children, your body doesn’t pull up as well as it used to,” she said.

“There is so much more to tell about what is going on behind the scenes.”



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