By Amelia Barnes
Players of all ages, genders, and backgrounds are welcome at Sunbury Netball Association, and it all starts at their Woolworths NetSetGo program – named Woolworths NetSetGo Centre of the Year in Netball Victoria’s 2025 Community Awards.
Since the association’s founding in 1974, Sunbury Netball Association has offered Woolworths NetSetGo or a similar starter program, successfully introducing countless young players to netball and laying a positive foundation for their future in the sport.
More recently, the program has experienced rapid growth, thanks to several dedicated committee members and representative players who have helped rebuild numbers post-COVID restrictions. There are currently 32 participants registered for the association’s Net clinics, and 14 Under 9 teams playing modified games as part of the Go stage of the program.
In addition to winning NetSetGo Centre of the Year, Sunbury Netball Association’s Melissa Lofts and May Crotty were named as finalists in the 2025 Netball Victoria’s Community Awards in the Volunteer of the Year and Contribution to Coaching Awards categories respectively.
“Melissa is our secretary and stepped up when we were transitioning to Netball Connect, so she's done a lot of work behind the scenes to actually keep the association afloat. She's really a vital part of our association,” said Sunbury Netball Association vice president Amanda Azzopardi.
Crotty is a longtime player at the club who more recently moved into coaching. “She’s got a good rapport with all the young up-and-coming stars and the other coaches. Everyone loves May – she's a great asset to the association.”
Sunbury Netball Association hosts multiple competitions to support a wide scope of players and abilities including junior girls, junior boys, junior mixed, senior women, and senior mixed competitions throughout the year.
There’s a place for beginner players, as well as those pursuing opportunities further along the Netball Victoria pathway as an athlete, umpire, coach, or administrator, as indicated by the association’s alumni, which includes Adelaide Thunderbirds assistant coach Cathy Fellows, Netball Australia CEO Stacey West, and athlete Casey Adamson who has signed with GIANTS Netball for the 2026 Suncorp Super Netball season.
The association is constantly looking to connect players to the elite level by promoting Melbourne Vixens and Australian Diamonds games on their social media channels, and holding clinics with professional players. They recently hosted a sold-out school holiday clinic run by Melbourne Vixens defender Emily Mannix, alongside Kate Eddy, Riley Richardson, Jessie Grenvold, and Rahni Samason.
Azzopardi said having the association’s volunteers applauded and their Woolworths NetSetGo program awarded as part of the Netball Victoria Community Awards was an exciting acknowledgement of their hard work.
“It's been a bit of a hard slog coming out of COVID for all associations, so it's nice to be recognised… We’ve had consistent growth, so it's been fantastic.”
Their volunteers show up every week for their community, exemplifying the inclusive nature of Sunbury Netball Association.
“There’s a place for everyone to play, and that's the best thing about grassroots netball,” said Azzopardi. “Sunbury Netball Association finds a home for everybody.”
Find out how you could run a Woolworths NetSetGo centre at your association in 2026
