The Australian Netball Players’ Association says booking a performer who had pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges to appear at last week’s sold-out Super Netball grand final in Melbourne caused “genuine hurt” among its members.
Siala Robson, a former finalist on The Voice, was part of a three-pronged act that featured at the grand final, won by the Melbourne Vixens in front of a crowd of 15,013 at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
The singer fronted court in Queensland last year over a series of charges relating to a domestic violence incident in December 2023.
She pleaded guilty in the Cleveland Magistrates Court to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.
Robson, 22, was ordered to pay $500 compensation to each of the two victims ($1000 total) and given a community service order of 60 hours. No conviction was recorded.
Netball Australia said it was not aware of the offences committed by Robson before the grand final and the matter was only brought to their attention after the game.
The governing body indicated it would strengthen its risk management protocols for events.
“Netball Australia has a zero-tolerance position on violence and actively campaigns against domestic violence with the support of our playing group, who are deeply connected to this society-wide issue,” it said in a statement.
“With respect to the necessary checks and balances in place, we relied on the third-party agency we partnered with to supply the talent. This was not sufficient and Netball Australia will immediately strengthen its event risk management protocols to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
But the players’ body, which has previously strongly advocated for domestic violence victims, was angered by the situation.
“The Australian Netball Players’ Association is extremely disappointed that an individual, who
has previously been found guilty of domestic violence charges, was engaged to perform at
one of the sport’s premier events,” it said in a statement on Friday.
“This decision has caused genuine hurt among the playing group and undermines the values they stand for – particularly their strong and ongoing commitment to ending domestic violence in Australia.
“We acknowledge that Netball Australia has accepted responsibility for this serious oversight
and we appreciate that it is taking steps to improve its processes to ensure such a situation
does not happen again.
“Our players have consistently used their platform to advocate for change. They wore purple
armbands at every Suncorp Super Netball match last year to raise awareness of violence
against women, recently produced a video reaffirming their commitment to being part of the
solution, and continue to work on further initiatives aimed at making Australia safer for all.”
Melbourne’s effort to win the Super Netball title as underdog finalists before pipping the red-hot favourites West Coast Fever 59-58 in front of a boisterous and energetic crowd at Melbourne Park last Saturday night was described as a “fairytale” premiership win.
The drama of the Vixens’ stunning finals series and the sold-out grand final crowd was a landmark moment for a sport that was dogged by an ugly pay dispute in 2023, which was eventually resolved when a collective agreement was signed that included players sharing revenue with Netball Australia for the first time.
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