How did the Collingwood Magpies end up? An explanation of the Super Netball club’s downfall

With the Collingwood Magpies out of the competition, the Super Netball season this year will look different when it starts in April.

The Melbourne Mavericks entered the eight-team competition for 2024 as a result of the franchise’s decision not to renew their license in the previous year.

How did the Collingwood Magpies end up? An explanation of the Super Netball club’s downfall

Chief Executive Craig Kelly stated, “The decision to not extend our netball licence has been an exceptionally tough one and has weighed hard on us,” following Collingwood’s departure.

According to Kelly, the club realized it couldn’t compete in the Super Netball competition after doing an internal examination of its health.

“As a club, our job is to keep Collingwood growing. In the end, the study, which examined important facets of both the club’s and the governing body’s netball programs, found that the program is unsustainable,” Kelly clarified.

“We acknowledge we could have run a better netball program at Collingwood.”

Kelly highlighted how financial issues meant the Magpies required assistance from the league and Netball Australia to be able to continue, although these two parties were ultimately unable to help.

“Throughout this process, we met with Netball Australia and SSN on multiple occasions to explore potential solutions,” Kelly said.

The ongoing standoff over the TPA (Team Participation Agreement) and CPA (Collective Player Agreement), together with the financial difficulties Netball Australia has faced and is still facing, were major factors in our decision-making.

With two last-place finishes, three places inside the top four, and three elimination final appearances, the Magpies’ six-year tenure in the league came to an end.

“As a playing group the decision has been overwhelming,” Collingwood’s players noted in a joint statement after the club’s withdrawal had been confirmed with four games remaining of the 2023 campaign.

“The impact on each athlete has been significant and the prospect of playing out the remaining games, right now, seems inconceivable.

“We acknowledge the club has been transparent with the commercial realities that led to this decision.

“We see that the club has acknowledged that there was room for improvement in the program. We value and respect their openness.

The Magpies finished in last place after winning only four games in their last season.

The AFL superpower was unable to help the team realize its full potential, resulting in their downfall in front of diminishing crowds.