“It’s kind of a cool story, you know!”
Kelsey Browne beams as she traces back across the years, experiences and emotions that make up her netball career, and her renaissance this season.
“I hope I’ve been a feel-good story for people out there, that things can happen. And as much as I thought it was embarrassing at the time, that I carried a bit of shame around with me, it was important for me to step back.
“To stop and think that while it could have happened at any stage in my career, I can tackle problems and find positives in them. That’s what I want my story to be. I look at my whole career as – well, it’s been so up and down, I wouldn’t change it, but it has been cool.”
The “It” that Browne refers to was the demise of Collingwood’s netball team. With just four weeks to run of the 2023 season, the football goliath announced that after an internal review, it was withdrawing its netball franchise from the competition. That left its players, coaches and support staff all suddenly out of a job, and its athletes unable to look for a new one while Collective Player Agreement (CPA) negotiations were at a standstill.
The demise of Collingwood netball took a huge toll on the team. Kelsey Browne is consoled by assistant coach Kate Upton. Image Aliesha Vicars.
Kelsey Browne – saying goodbye to fans. Image Aliesha Vicars.
Browne takes up the story.
“With the union dispute I was keeping an eye on what was going on, but behind closed doors everyone knew that the majority of the lists were already filled. I knew pretty early on where I was sitting. So six weeks before that, I had come to terms with the fact that my future could potentially come down to an injury replacement, or I’d have to step away from the game.
“After the CPA was in place, and at the 11th hour, I rang Kath Harby Williams (CEO, Australian Netball Players Association) and asked if all the lists were done. She said they were, and contracts were being signed.
“So I put the Instagram post out on Thursday at 5pm, not knowing that two days earlier Verity (Simmons) had told Fever she wasn’t re-signing. On Friday I got a call from Dan (Ryan, Fever coach) asking where my head was at.
“After that we had a lot of conversations, a weeklong process between the club and myself to figure out whether we were the right fit. It was very late in the piece, start of December, and I moved across the country two and a half weeks later. The rest is history.”
The Instagram post Browne refers to was a graceful piece of writing etched with maturity and time to reflect on a playing career that seemed to have come to a screeching halt.
The months leading up to her post had been emotional, for sure, but there had been plenty of room for positivity too.
“My emotions were up and down, but I think if you speak to my family, they were quite shocked at how I handled everything. I was quite matter of fact, and they thought I’d be a lot more emotional. I think you have to be, that comes with maturity and I’m 32 now – you learn to handle disappointments and setbacks with a little more age under your belt.
“It was tough, but I also felt lucky and grateful for what I was able to do in the nine years I’ve played at this level.
“As much as I thought I had more to give the sport, I was also really proud.
If you’d told me that I could do all that when I was first starting out, I’d have thought you were kidding.
“It was a nice reflection time for me to think, ‘Sometimes things don’t go your way, they aren’t within your control, but you can be proud of what you’ve put out there, and you couldn’t have given anything more.’
“So I thought, ‘Everything I’ve lived and known for nine years is now gone, I’m okay with where I’m at, and I’m also excited for what’s ahead.’”
