The Riddell District Football Netball League is in the spotlight for a gender dispute once again after its board removed two transgender athletes from its senior netball competition.
League CEO Jordan Doyle sent an email to all clubs after Melton South Football Netball Club threatened to forfeit matches if two players competed. The email cited Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act, and stated the exclusion of both players was on the basis they “exhibit superior strength, stamina and physique over their competitors”.
“The RDFNL will continue to work with the relevant stakeholders on this very sensitive issue and offer any support that we can. The RDFNL Board reserves the right to reconsider these options at a future date should circumstances change.”
Manawa Aranui, one of the banned athletes, said MSFNC was entitled to an opinion, but hypocritical because the club had approached her to join them in September 2024.
A MSFNC head coach allegedly messaged Aranui last year and wrote, “Hey Manawa, I just wanted to ask, depending on the rules in RDFNL, would you be open to playing for us A grade next season?”
She claimed the club has since spread false narratives behind the guise of safeguarding women’s spaces.
“The same club now publicly speaking out against me, bashing me and attacking the trans/non-binary community in the media, is the very club whose head coach approached me to join,” she said.
“Apparently now, I run full-speed into players and knock them over? We have two umpires on the court to keep the game safe. If I had done what you claim, wouldn’t I have been warned, or penalised, or reprimanded? For the record, I haven’t been cautioned once, not in this league, or any other I’ve played in.
“Would this still be a conversation if I accepted the offer [last year]?”
Netball Victoria’s gender diversity policy states, “players identifying as female can participate in the female category,” regardless of their gender assigned at birth. The policy must be adhered to by all affiliated leagues and Netball Victoria has appointed an “external investigator” to review the RDFNL’s exception under Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act.
The RDFNL received criticism earlier this year after it rejected a bid by the Kyneton Women’s Football Club to join their league. The same board cited concerns their team name was too similar to the Kyneton Tigers – from whom they recently split from over gender equity issues – despite other towns having two clubs represented in the league with similar names.
