The Australian Netball Players Association met players to discuss its response on Wednesday afternoon.
Weston,the president of the netballers’ association,criticised the offer following the meeting.
“Where is the revenue share component that the players have been asking for? Only 11 per cent increase to the minimum wage not the entire salary cap,” she wrote on social media platform X,formerly Twitter.
The offer from Netball Australia came just days after Super Netball players boycotted the Australian Netball Awards over the dispute.
While the relationship between Netball Australia and its players has becomeincreasingly adversarial,tensions reached new heights after Netball Australia sent legal notices to the Australian Diamonds,threatening action if they did not attend the awards.
Netball Australia boss Kelly Ryan said she hoped the proposal would provide players with certainty and stability.
“We have listened to the players and their need for financial certainty right now,” she said.
“This offer we have put forward would allow them to be paid immediately,while we continue negotiations with ANPA on building a financial model for the league.”
Weston spoke before NA’s offer about the burden created by the lengthy pay battle.
“It’s hard to concentrate,it’s hard to focus. You’ve got no security in that,and then,I guess,in the last however many months for me,training is now a second priority for a lot of our group. Work takes priority,” said Weston,who works as a netball coach.
Wood,who announced her retirement from international netball in August,is among the players who has been out of contract and unpaid for eight weeks .
“I am an older athlete,I recently got married – is it time for me to walk away? But underlying[that] is I love the sport,and I know what we’re fighting for is for the benefit of future generations of players,or young girls who come through and play our sport.”
The Sunshine Lightning captain debuted for the national team in 2016,and in that time earned gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and led the side to victory at this year’s World Cup.
“It’s been really tough. Not only the financial impact it does have. I play team sport for a reason,and I love to be around my teammates,I love to be able to work towards a common goal. For us to not be able to do that at the moment is really,really tough and has made me question where I sit in the sport,” Wood said.
The positions on either side have not shifted. The playing group has proposed a hybrid revenue and profit share model,which would mean 20 per cent of any money generated from sponsorship deals above what is forecast would go to the players.
Netball Australia is adamant that any form of revenue share is not viable.
“We’re looking for a genuine partnership. One which incentivised the players in a way we can work collaboratively,together. I feel we can meet an agreement,but at this point,we’re reaching a long way to a hand that is not outstretched,” Weston said before the NA offer.
Earlier this week Ellis took to Instagram to express her anger about NA’s letter warning Diamonds players that they could face legal action if they did not attend the dinner.
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“As a former Diamonds captain,I cannot believe that the governing body of the sport I love would treat its Diamonds ambassadors for netball with such callous regard,”Ellis wrote.
Weston added:“Everyone was looking forward to attending[the awards] if we could reach some sort of draft agreement,that’s what we went into the room hoping for.
“But in terms of what transpired,none of us really felt comfortable attending an event with all the executives and part of the board considering the broader playing group hadn’t been paid for over eight weeks.”
Diamonds players were due to attend the Australian Institute of Sport performance awards in Melbourne on Wednesday night,at which they were nominated as team of the year after winning the World Cup for the 12th time.
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