Victorian netball fan-girling typically involves Sharelle McMahon - that famous daughter of the central Victorian town of Bamawm, between Echuca and Bendigo.
For Echuca-raised, Bendigo-based Maddie O’Nial, it has been a different story. Selected as a Victorian umpiring representative for the first time at the 2019 junior nationals in Brisbane, O’Nial was starstruck in the presence of Michelle Phippard, Netball Australia’s two-time Lorna McConchie Umpire-of-the-Year.
“That was amazing, and to have her watch some of my games I sort of had a pinch-me moment, I couldn’t believe it,’’ says O’Nial, 28, one of four members of the VNL pool chosen for next month’s National Netball Championships return in Hobart.
“I stood there and I was like ‘this is actually happening, like, she’s there, I’ve seen her on tele and all of that, but I’ve never actually seen her in person’. And there she was, standing me with a clipboard watching me, and I was like ‘wow. OK’.’’
Was Phippard, who has umpired at the past three Netball World Cups, aware? “I don’t think so, no!’’ O’Nial laughs. “I was like ‘just play it cool, don’t grovel over her or anything like that. You’re a normal person. Like, it’s fine!'’’
O’Nial’s first love was playing, starting as a six or seven-year-old in the Echuca and District Netball Association, before taking up umpiring at the age of 14 as a way to make some pocket-money.
“After the first couple of games I thought ‘yeah, this is all right’,’’ she recalls. “Then when I started getting invited to all these tournaments and association champs and the State League in Shepparton and Bendigo, I thought ‘oh, I’m not too bad at this’.
“Since then I’ve taken every opportunity that’s been thrown at me. And, coming from the country, a lot of time and effort has had to go into getting me to places and to Melbourne, so it’s definitely been a long road to get to this point.’’
That, specifically, is as an A-badged umpire since 2018. A nuclear medicine graduate who spent her university and several subsequent years in Melbourne, O’Nial now works full-time at Bendigo Hospital and, despite the demanding nature of her day job, remains committed to officiating, and to setting an example for regional umpiring aspirants.
The message: it may be harder, logistically, and involve many long hours on the road, but it’s not beyond reach.
“I’m a country girl. Always have been and always will be. And when I go back to footy netball leagues and see other umpires coming through, they ask me ‘how do you do it? Is it possible?’.
“I say ‘absolutely it is, but you’ve got to put in that commitment, you’ve got to really want it because it is a big commitment to do on top of studying and working, so it’s something you really have to strive for.’’
Particularly given the statewide umpiring shortage as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Cathy Gallop, Netball Victoria’s Technical Officials Senior Coordinator, is also keen to stress that, while each individual's pathway is different, there are both metro and regional options accessible to all.
(Note: evidence of the success of Victoria’s is that the state is responsible for seven of Super Netball’s 12 current All-Australian badge-holders.)
“I think the strength of our competition definitely helps the development, so there’s not as much of a gap between what Vic and NSW State League is, to the next level, so it’s easier for us to transition those umpires,’’ says Gallop.
“In high performance, ‘pathway’ is a very big buzzword, but from a grassroots perspective it’s the journey, and it might not mean that they get the next badge or they want to be an All Australian umpire. They might just want to be the best they can be, so how can they be the best they can be?’’
For O’Nial, the move to Bendigo in mid-2019 - where she has resumed her playing career with Kangaroo Flat, mostly for social reasons - has led to some gruelling Wednesdays.
She works an early shift at the hospital from 7am and, after driving home from VNL duties at the State Netball Centre, does not get to bed until between midnight and 2am, before returning to her hospital role the next morning.
Weary? Yes. Worth it? Ditto.
“A lot of people at work wonder how I do it, and why I do it, but I love umpiring, I love getting out there and being in the higher echelons of the state with all the up and coming netballers,'' says O'Nial.
“I love being able to keep in touch with the game, and I love keeping fit, I love to run half-marathons. It’s also that adrenalin rush you get from umpiring at such a high level and the commitment and everything behind it as well. I have a hunger to get better and push myself and see how far I can go.’’
O’Nial hopes to perform well enough in Tasmania alongside her VNL colleagues Nicole Bullen, Eloise Fox and Joel Owen to be considered for the new-look ANL. Her sights are also on attaining her AA badge and working eventually towards SSN.
“If was able to get my AA badge, that would be bloody brilliant for everyone from the country, everyone that’s been there with me from the start,’’ she says. “Being from the country you've got to put in a bit more work than other people - it’s time spent on the road, and there’s a decreased recovery time - but I think I'm setting a really good example.
"And it’s really important that we keep encouraging young umpires to come on through, and at the same time create a good environment for them; I think we’ve got a duty of care to keep evolving that environment and really make it a safe space to learn, and for umpires to be OK with making mistakes.
"Everyone makes mistakes, players make mistakes, but it’s how you deal with that.’’
Written by Linda Pearce
