Written by Amelia Barnes
Zanna Woods and Alastair Punshon are a couple, although you wouldn’t know it on the netball court.
There’s no love lost when the shooter and defender respectively face each other in MLeague (Victoria's premier men's and mixed netball competition), most recently seen in the 2023 Premier Mixed grand final where Woods’ team the Parkville Panthers beat Punshon’s Valley Wolves by one goal.
It’s only after those close matches that Woods and Punshon admit to ever fighting (“I still have recordings on my phone where we debate who was pushing who,” said Woods), otherwise, they’re a happy couple who own a house together in Melbourne’s north and a dog, Beanie.
Woods and Punshon first met about five years ago at a Geelong Cougars training session.
Members of Victoria’s men’s state team are encouraged by Gerard Murphy – head coach of both Geelong Cougars and Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association (VMMNA) – to attend Cougars training sessions to the benefit of both the male and female athletes.
The latter are currently preparing for the Australian Men's & Mixed Netball (AMMNA) National Championships starting 31 March, and the women are competing in the newly commenced Victorian Netball League (VNL) season.
“I think for them to have extra access to a big team environment and Gerard, and then for us to have access to Australian level players, is just so beneficial,” said Woods.
“The men's athleticism is just incredible, so you have to be a lot more precise in what you're going to do because they've got a naturally high jump.
“Plus, it’s just a really fun environment. Just being around men's netball creates such a happy atmosphere.”
When meeting, Woods initially mistook Punshon’s quiet and reserved demeanour as disinterest, until the pair were forced to spend more time together on the sidelines after Woods suffered a knee injury in 2019. “I then figured out he wasn't mean, he was just shy,” she said.
Their relationship grew stronger when Woods moved to Melbourne (from her hometown Ocean Grove) as a graduate nurse in 2020. Woods was still rehabbing her knee at the time, and there was no netball due to lockdown, so they got to know each other away from netball.
“He was the only person I knew in Melbourne at the time, so he was forced in my company,” Woods said. The rest is history.
Outside of MLeague where they play for opposing teams, Woods and Punshon are each other’s biggest supporters. Woods describes Punshon as “the best defender in the world” with unrivalled athleticism to cover space, and Punshon marvels at Woods’ ability to anticipate her teammates’ and oppositions’ every move. “She seems to have this ability to see six moves ahead of time and set up her play accordingly,” he said.
That mutual respect for each other’s game is what inspires such a fierce rivalry on the court. “We're too competitive that we still want to beat the other person,” Woods said. “He won't go easy on me, and I won't go easy on him, but we know each other's little tricks and things, so we just try and make the most of it.”
Woods has been part of the Victorian netball pathway for many years, but being with Punshon has offered her a front seat to the burgeoning world of men’s netball for the first time.
The last two years have been an exciting time for the national men’s team, the Kelpies, who have been exposed to new opportunities such as playing televised curtain raiser matches before the Constellation Cup.
“I have found those experiences to be nothing short of amazing. It is such a professional environment and to be a part of that for the last roughly two years, it's felt right for us,” said Punshon.
At the same time, both Punshon and Woods are conscious of the gap that remains between the men’s and women’s netball pathways in terms of funding and exposure.
Punshon will make his 11th appearance at AMMNA Nationals next week – the biggest event on the men’s netball calendar. Unlike women’s events of the same level – such as the annual Australian National Championships, and the National Netball Championships happening next month – attending AMMNA Nationals is entirely self-funded by the athletes, who are often out of pocket thousands of dollars for flights and accommodation.
Players like Punshon who also represent Australia in the Kelpies then bear additional costs to attend camps and tours.
Punshon hopes that won’t always be the case, but for now, he wouldn't miss playing at Nationals for the world.
“I think I'd just be absolutely gutted if I wasn't there and watching everyone's videos and photos of the matches that they play in. It's kind of our whole life,” he said.
“It shows how much we care about the sport and how much we want to see the sport grow… Because it's not for financial gain, that's for sure.”
For both Punshon and Woods, nothing beats the thrill of representing their state – an achievement both athletes have now experienced after Woods was part of the Collingwood Magpies team that won the Australian National Championships title in 2023.
“It was probably one of the best netball experiences I've ever had,” said Woods.
“Our team – we kind of called ourselves a bunch of misfits. We didn't have any SSN players. We had a couple of the Magpies training partners who were all brilliant and then a lot of us had never played together before at all, but we came together so well, and we all loved each other and got along so well.
“I'll tell anybody who will listen – I still feel like the reason we won is because we had a team of 12. We didn't have a seven. So, if we were on the bench, we had a role. If we went on court for five minutes, we had a role. If we're on court for the full game, we had a role, and we all knew and respected that.”
Woods doesn’t underestimate the significance of these opportunities and can’t wait for the day she can support Punshon in a similar high performance environment.
“I think it's hopefully headed that way. I know people are really hopeful and talking about it, but I think seeing more male training partners being involved with VNL clubs, in the future it'll turn into a male VNL competition as well,” Woods said.
“I think it's headed in the right way. It's just like with anything, it's just going to take a bit of time, but I think there's only been positive things that have come from it so far.”
Watch Zanna Woods play for Geelong Cougars’ Championship team throughout the 2024 VNL season.
See Alastair Punshon play in the Victorian Open Men’s team at the Australian Men's & Mixed Netball National Championships from Sunday 31 March – Saturday 6 April. From Tuesday 2 April onwards, games will be livestreamed via the QLD Suns Men's & Mixed Netball Facebook page.
