Football clubs have officially cut ties with Super Netball with the licence for the Giants-branded Super Netball team in Sydney set to be taken over by the Sports Entertainment Group.
Headed by Craig Hutchison, the company is expected to announce it has added the Giants to its Super Netball stable alongside the Melbourne Mavericks.
SEG, which also owns multiple basketball franchises under the SEN Teams banner, has acquired the national competition’s eighth licence from Netball NSW.
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AAP understands players and staff were briefed on Monday about the impending ownership change, with the sign-off on the final details flagged as a formality.
A buyer has been sought for some time, and the Mounties Group had previously been linked with a deal.
The GWS Giants are believed to be supportive of the sale, recognising the need to inject more resources into the struggling netball program.
SEG/SEN, NNSW, Netball Australia and GWS Giants have all been contacted for comment.
It will be the first time two Super Netball teams have been owned by the same private operator, as distinct from a state association, while signalling the end of the football codes’ last remaining association with the benchmark league.
NNSW will continue to own and operate the NSW Swifts, while ceding control of the team that has played under the Giants name and worn the AFL club’s orange and charcoal colours as part of a strategic alliance since the expansion netball club’s inception.
Super Netball’s 2017 debut season also featured teams owned by AFL powerhouse Collingwood, which surrendered its licence in 2023 amid broad criticism of its handling of the netball program, and the NRL’s Melbourne Storm Group, which established the Sunshine Coast Lightning in partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast and claimed two premierships.
The Magpies’ controversial exit led to a new licence being awarded to SEG, which established the Melbourne Mavericks in a quick turnaround for the 2024 season.
The Mavericks contested their first Super Netball finals series this year, with Hutchison having spoken previously of the benefits of economies of scale in administration, marketing and sponsorship across multiple SEG-owned teams, including those in the NBL and WNBL.
The high-profile founder and CEO has been open about his ambitions to add extra netball real estate to a business that has diversified from its media and broadcast roots, with suggestions of a clause in the Victorian deal providing priority consideration in the case of expansion or licence sales.
In Queensland, the Global Sports Management Group, led by co-owners Justin Pascoe and Lee Hagipantelis, took over the state’s second licence from the Melbourne Storm Group last October.
Giants Netball made a strong start under foundation coach Julie Fitzgerald, featuring in the inaugural grand final against the Lightning and again in 2021, while crowned minor premiers in both 2018 and 2021.
But the team has found little success in recent seasons, winning a single game in 2026 under coach Nerida Stewart, whose contract, and that of assistant Jen Wright, has been extended until the end of 2027. The Giants have finished in the bottom three on the ladder for the past four seasons.
All Super Netball players remain unsigned for 2027 as terms have yet to be agreed on a new Collective Player Agreement with the Australian Netball Players’ Association.
The dispute means expansion of the world’s best domestic league is on hold until at least 2028, despite a new five-year broadcast deal starting in 2027.
