Collingwood Magpies star Geva Mentor lashes out over club pulling out of Super Netball

The Collingwood Magpies teamed up to take a near victory against the resurgent Sunshine Coast Lightning with captain Geva Mentor, begging for ‘common sense to prevail’ after the club’s demise was confirmed this week.

Speaking to media before the game, netball and AFLW legend Ash Brazill, who announced her retirement earlier this season, said she struggled to find the words to comfort her teammates.

For example, Jamaican Shimona Nelson could soon face visa problems.

The Magpies fell to the Lightning by just four points, days after the AFL powerhouse confirmed they would withdraw from Super Netball competition.

After the game, Mentor begged the organizers to put things in order, as there are literally “lives on the line.”

“I want common sense to prevail. I want everyone to get in a room and put egos aside and just get out of this,” she said.

Lives are now on the line. It’s people who have mortgages to pay, who don’t know where their next income will come from. We have a lot of people who will become unemployed.’

Potential visa issues for foreign stars was one that Mentor said would be incredibly difficult for players to deal with.

“It’s so hard for international players who have visas tied to where they play,” she said.

So what should they do now? They have to be uprooted when they have only been able to settle here for three or four years. It’s really difficult.’

The loss was just an outlier in the storyline of Collingwood’s tumultuous season.

In the opening game of First Nations’ Round, Magpies started energetically, leading by seven at half time. But their consistency crumbled, as it has for much of the season, with the lead evaporating in the third.

Lightning took advantage of this as he employed a mischievous defense and a neater attack to take a three-goal lead going into the final break.

Collingwood found their fight and managed to level the game with less than two minutes remaining. However, match MVP, Steph Wood delivered a super shot that gave the home side some breathing room.

Diamond Sophie Garbin had the right of reply on the other side, but instead delivered an air ball, as her tearful coach Nicole Richardson looked on.

Lightning was able to close out the game with a four-goal victory: their second in nine rounds.

Dramatic as the game was, it was nothing compared to the off-field storyline that unfolded this week.

Collingwood announced that they would not be renewing their Super Netball license at the end of the season.

To complicate matters, Super Netball’s broadcasting contract is conditional on an eight-club league, meaning that until a new licensee is found, all 80 athletes, their coaches and support staff are in uncertainty.

With their careers on the line, many of the Magpies athletes put on performances worthy of the top Hollywood casting agent, all in hopes of catching the eye of Super Netball’s newest coach, whoever that may be.

Some athletes, like Diamond Garbin, will almost certainly find new contracts, but others, like Molly Jovic, will harbor doubts in the coming months.

But in her 50th national league game, Jovic more than proved her worth, with a neat three turnovers and one interception.

If there’s one positive outcome to emerge from this licensing saga, it’s the camaraderie between players.

During the two hours of match play, Lightning and Magpies were competitors, but after the final whistle, they came together to warm up, interact with fans, and then share a meal.

That sense of community is something that Mentor highlighted as one of the “great things” that can come out of all the mess.

‘As soon as the news became known, korfball as a community threw its arms around us. We really felt that love from all the other franchises, CEOs, players and even overseas. It’s one thing that’s great about our sport,” she said.

Time is not on the side of Netball Australia.

There are strong arguments for why they should sign a licensee as soon as possible: the deadlocked CPA and TPA negotiations, the threat of losing talent to other leagues whose signing windows are closing soon and, of course, the Netball World Cup.

The latter is perhaps the most urgent because it is a competition for which we do not want athletes with a split focus.

And while CEO Kelly Ryan has said they want to sign the new club as soon as possible, it could be argued that a July deadline should be maintained.