When Bianca Chatfield was a topflight netball champion the game was shared by Network 10 and Fox Sports. The sport later moved to Nine before returning exclusively to the Foxtel Group for subscribers to Foxtel and Kayo starting with season 2022. Bianca Chatfield starts her new role on the Fox Netball coverage this weekend in round one of Suncorp Super Netball, screening on Foxtel and Kayo.
Chatfield is referred to now as a media personality as well as a former player. “You do one reality show then all of a sudden…” she laughed, referring to her season on Nine’s The Block. During her time with Nine, Chatfield was able to combine per passions for renovating and netball. “I love renovating when I’m away from sport.”
Bianca Chatfield with former netballer Carla Dziwoki on The Block
These days Australian netball players are amongst the highest-paid in the world. When asked about salary conditions in her day, Chatfield told Mediaweek:
“I went through a real transition during my years playing. When I started netball was virtually amateur status and players had another job. I had a teaching degree and worked part-time as a teacher. I was also heavily involved with the players association. Over a period of about 15 years, we went from being amateur to semi-professional and then by the time I finished I was a professional athlete. Netball was part of my earnings, with sponsorship and ambassador roles topping up the income.”
When thinking about life after netball, Chatfield said: “I had always liked to buck the trend of what people think you can do. During my whole career as an athlete people were saying, ‘You need another job, another career, something outside of sport.’ They said female sport would never pay me enough.
“Gradually I started to see opportunities working in the media. I enjoyed that and working in television, on sport and other shows, gives me an adrenalin rush that is similar to being an athlete.
“When you step out on court [for analysis and commentary] you either sink or swim. You either do your prep and do a good job or you don’t. It’s similar for an athlete too. The media scares the life out of me at times, but I enjoy the challenge.
“In my heart and soul I am still a netballer. It has been my sport and doing it in the media has been a real bonus and I’m lucky to be doing a job I love.”
Fox Netball’s Cath Cox, Bianca Chatfield, Hannah Hollis and Laura Geitz
Regarding the move to Fox Netball, Chatfield said: “With so much being invested into the coverage – things like camera innovations and greater access to the players on and off the court – it is exactly what was needed to keep moving the game forward.
“Netball isn’t just the ‘nice’ sport everyone thinks it is. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that we want to be able to showcase as broadcasters. We can talk about it all we like, but now having the evidence with conversations captured on and off the court is really important.”
Chatfield doesn’t have formal connections to any clubs. She does still have great friendships though from her time with the Diamonds and Melbourne Vixens. “I am neutral and I love it that way so I can say what I like during commentary.”
She admitted to grappling with criticising former colleagues when she first worked as a broadcaster. “I was concerned about constructive criticism to my friends because you don’t want to offend them on court when you know they are trying hard. The more I have done it the more I realised I have a job to do. The players who I am close to respect I’ve got a job to do. You can’t be fluffing around what is going on. You need to analyse the game and do it justice.”
In 2022 Chatfield will have both hosting and match calling duties. “This is new for me as I have always been in the expert role or on the sidelines doing interviews in the past. I will be doing a lot of the Melbourne games and Cath Cox will have a similar role at the Sydney games.”
Bianca Chatfield
Getting ready for this season, Chatfield said she needed to be across every player. “I will need to be connecting with a lot of the players, talking to the coaches and getting an understanding of what they are doing after what happened at training during the week.”
When it comes to learning from colleagues, Chatfield mentioned Fox Sports commentator and host Kelli Underwood. The two have also worked together on The Offsiders. “I have really been leaning on her to teach me the art of calling.”
Bianca Chatfield on court
Test caps with Australian Diamonds: 59
Melbourne Vixens/Phoenix games: 245
Premierships: 6
Commonwealth Games: Silver (2006), Gold (2014)
2022 role: Fox Netball commentary/hosting
See also:
Patrick Delany: Getting Netball back, Tier one sports and Kayo Freebies
The Foxtel’s group ‘magic dust’ and how Foxtel and Kayo compete for customers
Foxtel Group’s Amanda Laing tells the inside story of netball changing channels
Free Sunday games, flexible scheduling and magazine shows key ingredients