To round out what was a bumper year for Men’s Netball in NSW, the first-ever Men’s Metro League drew to a close in the first week of December with the champions of both Divisions 1&2 crowned.
The pilot competition, which ran from September to the start of December, saw two divisions of six teams play over 10 minor rounds before a two-week Finals Series.
Division 1 was graced with international players from Australia, New Zealand and England in 2022 and the competition was lucky enough to have had Australian representation in both Grand Final teams: Eastwood Ryde and Inner West.
The sides finished third and fourth during the regular season and with the likes of Taylor Glassie, Eugene Lee and Dylan Nexhip on the court, the decider turned out to be a quality contest.
Both sides had to battle hard to make it to the big dance. Eastwood put paid to the hopes of Northern Suburbs, who were many people’s pick to take out the inaugural title given their impressive regular-season form, while Inner West got the better of Ku-ring-gai – a team that pushed them all the way throughout the competition.
The Grand Final was all square at the end of Q1, but a fine third quarter performance from Inner West put them in the driving seat with and eight-goal lead and they never relinquished it, running out 50-40 winners.
And Inner West had even more reason to celebrate when their Division 2 side emulated the feat of their Division 1 team, to also be crowned inaugural Premiers.
However, they had to work very hard for the title against a brave Northern Suburbs team who upset the odds to reach the decider.
Again, like in Division 1, it was the teams who finished third (Inner West) and fourth (Northern Suburbs) who contested the showpiece at Netball Central with Randwick (first) and Baulkham Hills (second) dispatched in the Semi Finals.
While the teams may only have been separated by one goal in Round 1, on the Final night Inner West would prove to be a bridge too far for their opponents.
They kept Norths to single figure scores throughout each quarter (5, 8, 8, 5) and ran out 44-26 winners.
Tim Fava, Executive General Manager of Community & Pathways at Netball NSW, explained how the competition grew from being a concept to its inception.
“We were working closely with Men’s Netball to see male competitions being integrated into our competitions environment,” he said.
“In 2022 the inclusion of male divisions in the Junior and Senior State Titles – the sport’s showpiece events at grassroots level – was seen as a vital part of securing our game’s future by ensuring a safe space for all.
“Continuing on from the introduction of Male divisions at State Titles, piloting of the Men’s Metro League is a vital part of continuing the development of the game in the male space.
“I would like to thank Men’s Netball NSW who worked closely with interested Associations in allocating players from their own Divisions 1 and 2 M-League Competition into Association based representative teams.
“I would also like to commend the Associations who have worked with Men’s Netball to get us to this point, which we hope is just the starting point.
“Following the conclusion of the Men’s Metro League, NNSW will review the competition and look to 2023 and how we can expand the Male uptake in the representative space by allowing all Associations an opportunity to be a part of this.”
DIVISION 1
· Winners: Inner West
· Runners-up: Eastwood Ryde
DIVISION 2
· Winners: Inner West
· Runners-up: Northern Suburbs
