By Amelia Barnes
21 Victorians have been selected to represent Australia in the upcoming 2024 men’s international netball season, including five athletes in the Kelpies.
The Kelpies are currently preparing for the annual Trans-Tasman Cup against the New Zealand Net Blacks, starting Sunday 20 October in Wellington.
The 2024 Trans-Tasman Cup will be contested over a four-game series — up from three games in 2023 and 2022 — three of which will be televised curtain raisers to the Constellation Cup (Diamonds vs. Silver Ferns) games in Wellington, Auckland, and Melbourne.
Returning Victorians in the Kelpies are defender Josh Byron, defender Alastair Punshon, midcourter Riley Richardson, and shooter Brodie Roberts. Shooter Liam Killey has been selected for the first time.
A further 16 Victorian athletes will represent Australia in the men’s program: Riley Bevis, Campbell Brown, Aidan Conheady, Declan Gallard, Oliver Ryan, and Kane Wilson in the 17 & Under team; Reikken Brodie, Joel Brown, Blake Cachia, Daniel King, Terron King, Ryan Lovell, Zac Mabilia and Will Whiteacre in the 20 & Under team; and Callum Baird and Ronan Pring in the 23 & Under team.
The 23 & Under team will compete in its own series against the 23 & Under New Zealand side in a three-day men’s and mixed netball event in Canberra, concluding with the third Kelpies vs. Net Blacks game of the Trans-Tasman Cup.
Players in the 2024 Australian men’s netball teams were selected following invitational camps held at the Australian Institute of Sport (Kelpies); Sydney (17 & Under and 20 & Under), and Gold Coast (23 & Under and Mixed) earlier this year.
“To have the opportunity to go down there [to the AIS] and make the most of those facilities, and for those four days to have that complete immersion into the sporting lifestyle among a cohort of other players that are all there for the exact same reason, is absolutely incredible,” said Josh Byron, Kelpie #99.
Prior to 2023, players in national men’s netball squads were chosen based only on their performance at the Australian Men's & Mixed Netball Championships (AMMNA Nationals).
“After that first year of touring with the Diamonds [in 2022], we’ve looked to align the high-performance environments as much as we possibly can at this stage by moving to that selection camp process,” explained Byron.
The Australian men’s FAST5 team was also announced following the training camps including Victorians Liam Killey, Zac Mabilia, Ronan Pring, Alastair Punshon, and Will Whiteacre. They will compete in the 2024 FAST5 Netball World Series on November 9-10 in Christchurch.
Killey is predicted to have a breakout international season playing in both the Kelpies and Fast5 team. An experienced basketballer in the NBL1, he can shoot from long range, offers dynamic movement, and is a strong rebounder.
Bryon described Killey as a rare “mobile tall” standing at 6”10.
“He’s got the shooting range of the best goal attacks, and the presence and size of the biggest talls. He’s got the mobility, game sense, and creativity of some of our best mobile shooters as well.”
The selection of 21 Victorians in the Australian men's teams reflects the state’s strong pathway and the game’s rising popularity.
Byron has had a front row seat to the growth of the men’s netball game not only in Victoria, but Australia wide, in recent years. He says if someone told him in 2018 — when he debuted for the Kelpies — that he’d one day be playing in stadiums and broadcast tests, he wouldn’t have believed them.
“All of a sudden there's televised test matches and we're touring with the Diamonds... It’s completely chalk and cheese,” said Byron.
“Every year there's just been another evolution and another step up.”
There are now netball competitions for boys and men of all ages across Melbourne (and more opportunities statewide), in addition to a clear high-performance pathway.
“Especially in Victoria, there is genuinely a pathway from the moment you start playing,” Byron said.
The Kelpies will soon launch a campaign to commercialise their program, which is currently self-funded by players.
With increased eyes on the sport, Byron hopes elite male netballers will soon be compensated to represent their country, and for their behind-the-scenes efforts training against the elite women’s teams.
“We understand where the sport's at and we understand that we have a role to play in progressing the sport to a place in which those funding opportunities are there,” Byron said.
“[For now], it's just about doing our bit for the development of that process so that in the future that isn't the case.”
Watch the Kelpies take on the Net Blacks in the Trans-Tasman Cup, broadcast live and exclusively in Australia on Fox Sports, available through Foxtel and Kayo Freebies. Admission to matches of 1, 2, and 4 of the Trans-Tasman Cup is included in all Constellation Cup tickets.
Kelpies Trans-Tasman Cup times and locations
Sunday 20 October, TSB Arena (Wellington), 5.30pm NZDT. Tickets on sale now.
Wednesday 23 October, Spark Arena (Auckland), 5.30pm NZDT. Tickets on sale now.
Saturday 26 October, Australian Institute of Sport Netball Centre (Canberra), 7.30pm AEDT (match not televised). Tickets on sale now.
Wednesday 30 October, John Cain Arena (Melbourne), 4:30pm AEDT. Tickets on sale now.
Men’s 23 & Under Trans-Tasman Cup times and locations
Wednesday 23 October, Australian Institute of Sport Netball Centre (Canberra), 7.30pm AEDT (match not televised). Tickets on sale now.
Friday 25 October, Australian Institute of Sport Netball Centre (Canberra), 5.30pm AEDT (match not televised). Tickets on sale now.
Saturday 26 October, Australian Institute of Sport Netball Centre (Canberra), 5pm AEDT (match not televised). Tickets on sale now.
FAST5 Netball World Series times and locations
9 November - 10 November, Wolfbrook Arena, (Christchurch). Tickets on sale now.
