IG News Updates,
Former England coach Tracy Neville is excited to design the blueprint for Super Netball’s new Melbourne team, which will enter the competition in 2024.
key points:
- Tracy Neville will be the first head coach of Craig Hutchison’s new Super Netball franchise
- Neville leads English team to surprise gold medal at 2018 Commonwealth Games
- She is the sister of English Premier League legends Gary and Phil Neville.
Neville will move to the yet-to-be-named outfit from the Adelaide Thunderbirds, where he served as an assistant on this year’s title-winning team.
The team, owned by media group Sports Entertainment Network, will replace Collingwood, who left the eight-team competition at the end of the 2023 season, and will be based south-east of Melbourne.
Sister of English football greats Gary and Phil Neville, Tracey coached the England national netball team between 2015 and 2019 after earning 81 caps as a player.
He led England Roses to a historic gold medal and Australia a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
The 46-year-old becomes the second international coach to lead a Super Netball team after Kiwi Noelle Taurua, who led the Sunshine Coast Lightning to two titles before moving into the Silver Ferns coaching role.
Neville said his super season with head coach and good friend Tania Obst reinforced his desire to lead a team again.
“While coaching with the Adelaide Thunderbirds, I knew where I wanted to build my coaching career and Australia is definitely where I want to be,” Neville said on Wednesday.
“And when does an opportunity come along when you get to write the blueprint for a new franchise.
“It’s an opportunity for the players, the staff and even me to create a legacy, to create history for a club that is just at the beginning of its journey and that’s very exciting.”
The new team is yet to recruit any players, with Neville keeping his eyes and ears open at the Netball World Cup in South Africa.
If England shooter Eleanor Cardwell chooses to leave Adelaide, she will surely be in target.
AAP
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