Giants Netball captain Kimberlee Green knows a strong woman when she comes across one. Indeed, she gets to see plenty of examples everyday in both her on-court and player development roles at the GWS Giants. And, of course, Green is a strong woman herself.

Her excitement surrounding the upcoming inaugural Suncorp Super Netball league is inspired by her passion for seeing strong, focussed female athletes succeeding at what they do best, and – with the establishment of Australia’s new domestic competition - finally being properly financially rewarded for it.

“You’ll find a lot of players in the league are very strong women,” Green tells Inside Sport. “They’re very independent and want to be challenged. Most of us either study, own businesses or work. We’re pretty prepared, I think. Structured athletes, are netballers; we like to have a bit of structure in our lives.

“I guess being in the welfare space, I see quite a bit of research around athletes and when they retire and what that looks like; if they’re prepared. What if you get delisted and not get picked up by another team? What does that look like? Are you ready for it? To be honest, athletes are rarely ready to let go of everything.”

The newly-created Giants Netball will open the inaugural Suncorp Super Netball season when they host the Swifts at 5pm on Saturday, February 18 in what promises to be a thunderous Sydney local derby at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.

For more insights from Green, and to find out how netball’s new league is helping to change the landscape for professional female athletes in Australia, be sure to grab a copy of the current edition of Inside Sport magazine and check out our special feature: Super-Sized Netball.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Inaugural Giants Sam Poolman, Jamie-Lee Price, Kim Green and Susan Pettitt clown around ahead of the first Suncorp Super Netball season. (Photos by Phillip Wittke).