Men's Netball Gains Momentum in Australia, Daniel Statton Selected for National Team

When Daniel Statton was plotting a move from Far North Queensland to Geelong, the prospect of playing more competitive netball was part of the attraction.

The 19-year-old is one of a growing number of Australian men and boys taking up the sport.

He has now been selected for Australia's national men's netball team, the Kelpies.

"I'm just still hungry for more," he said.

"There's still more to achieve in netball, and I'm just wanting to get after it."

Statton has represented Australia at under-18 level and played for Queensland in the Australian Mixed and Men's Netball Association national championships in Perth earlier this year.

"I'm pretty athletic and agile, so the coaches love that,' he said.

Born and raised in Cairns, Statton was the only boy playing netball in his sister's teams until he was about 12.

After that, age restrictions for boys forced him to switch to football and basketball.

He was not able to return to the game outside of mixed competitions until he was about 16.

"It was really exciting to know there were more like-minded athletes who enjoyed playing netball," he said.

Taking a shot

Before moving to Victoria for further study, Statton played in the Cairns men's netball league, one of the only men's competitions in Queensland.

Now in its third season, the Cairns competition has grown to four teams.

Lynton McKay grew up playing basketball, but after trying netball more than a decade ago, he never looked back.

He founded the Cairns men's competition so he could continue playing the sport after moving back to the region from Melbourne.

"There wasn't really anything on the scene other than mixed indoor [netball]," he said.

He said once men and boys had the netball itch, the sport was hard to give up.

"It's not as easy as it looks; it's quite tactical," he said.

Lots of talent emerging

Mr McKay said one of the biggest challenges to growing netball in regional areas was the smaller pool of players with competition from many other sports.

He said there was still a stigma about netball being a female sport, "probably more so in a regional place than a big city like Melbourne or Brisbane".

"But I do think that stigma is dropping," he said.

"I'm also a teacher, and I do find there's huge participation now among boys. They all seem to really enjoy netball when they come down and give it a try."

Mr McKay said the Cairns men's competition was "still a work in progress" but said the region had some "really talented players", including some recent high school graduates who had represented their state.

"Considering we've only got four teams, it's a testament to the talent we have here in Cairns," he said.

Leprechaun Netball Club men's team co-captain Damian Nowak said the sport was a safer option for people's joints.

He said the social aspect was also a big drawcard.

"We're just down here to have fun, a good bunch of mates, a good bunch of dads," Mr Nowak said.

Mr McKay said the best way for netball competitions to attract more players was to "keep pushing".

"I've noticed when we have school carnivals there are a lot of schools now starting to enter boys' teams," he said.

"This didn't happen five years ago."