Dynamic midcourt duo Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley will continue their careers with the NSW Swifts after signing on for the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season.
The Captain and Vice-Captain who led the Swifts to a sixth Premiership in 2019 and another Finals Series in 2020, both Proud and Hadley enjoyed strong campaigns in this year’s Super Netball hub in Queensland, earning selection for the 2020/21 Australian Diamonds squad in the process.
Proud joined the Swifts in 2017 for the advent of Super Netball, having previously played for Adelaide Thunderbirds, and took on the role of club captain ahead of the 2019 season.
She played a key part the first half of the club’s 2019 title success before a ruptured ACL ruled her out of the Finals Series. However, she bounced back in 2020 with an MVP performance in the Swifts’ Round 7 win over Sunshine Coast Lightning her standout showing of the year.
World Cup winner Hadley, who became a Swifts centurion this season, has been a stalwart of both club and country since making her elite debut in 2012.
With Proud ruled out of the second half of last season she assumed the on-court captaincy as the Swifts became the first club to win titles in all three versions of the National Netball League: the Commonwealth Bank Trophy (1997-2007), the ANZ Championship (2008-2016) and Suncorp Super Netball (2017-present).
Proud said she was delighted to re-sign and said missing out on successive Premierships only served to further her drive and that of the team.
“I knew when I joined back in 2017 that getting to play for such a prestigious club was a huge honour and I think as a group we’ve done well but missing out on back-to-back this year means our hunger will only be greater,” she said.
“We didn’t get the chance to run out as Premiers in front of our own fans due to Covid, and that should be a massive motivation for us to win another title. Not only did we miss out but our fans and members did too. What better way to make that right than by trying to secure a title on your own patch.
“Being honest, we should never have come away from the Giants game with a draw, nor should we have let the Semi Final slip against Fever. We blew our chance to be in another Grand Final and we’ll have to live with that for the off-season.
“No excuses. We only have ourselves to blame and winning doesn’t just happen. You have to turn the hurt and disappointment into something special and I’m lucky I get the chance to do that.”
Hadley said she was delighted to recommit to the club she’s supported since childhood.
“This Swifts mean so much to me and I get such a sense of pride every time I step out on court in the Red dress.
“I remember supporting the Swifts when they wore yellow and was in the stands when Cath Cox lifted the Premiership trophy in 2008.
“Getting to do it myself, 11 years later, was the stuff dreams are made of and I think having tasted championship success only that will suffice in the future.
“Missing out on another title this year hurts and it should because that means you care.
“I want to take everything we’ve learned in the Queensland hub and use it to bring us back to the mountain top. I can’t wait to get started again.”
With the current Super Netball Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring at the end of 2021, competition clubs are not permitted to sign players beyond next season.
The Swifts will announce further signings for 2021 in the near future. Diamonds defensive duo Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner re-committed to the club last week.
