'Brazill Dazzle': One of netball's greats

By Erin Lyons

There’s something about Ash Brazill’s presence that is uniquely comforting.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why.

Perhaps it is because she fills any room with her infectious energy, or maybe it’s her willingness to make time for everyone, even the fans who stop her on the street.

“Hey legend”, a phrase she uses so often to greet both mates and complete strangers.

Whether you’ve known her for a fleeting moment or your entire life, she makes everyone around her feel part of her journey.

So her decision to step away from the sport will leave a void hard to fill.

Brazill casually announced her retirement midway through the Suncorp Super Netball season, this World Cup in Cape Town where the Origin Diamonds were crowned world champions was her last.

A fitting end to a spectacular 14-year-long professional career.

The 33-year-old and mother-of-two didn’t need to seek any more affirmation. Not from others, and certainly not from herself. Nothing left to prove having achieved almost all of the sports’ biggest accolades. From winning multiple club MVP awards, to a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal, and now a Netball World Cup.

Her decorated career was nothing short of spectacular.

On court, Brazill was magic. Off it, she was a trailblazer for the sport. At 33, the dual-code athlete was one of the first openly gay netballers and overcame a long-term knee injury to work her way back into the Diamonds squad.

For those lucky enough to witness "Brazill Dazzle" in her prime, she will be remembered and admired by many.

THE KID FROM WOLLONDILLY

To say Braz was raised on the netball court is almost an understatement.

Some of her fondest childhood memories include watching both her parents play netball at the local courts in the Wollondilly region, in the foothills of Sydney’s Blue Mountains.

With just one asphalt court and two grass courts available at the local club, it was going to take a special type of kid to make it.

“I would hang out with the kids on the opposite court to mum and dad, I would literally just try and mimic them and their movements. My goal was to play with them but I couldn’t until I turned 13,” she said.

“I actually got to play state netball with my dad and that, to this day, was one of the highlights of my career.”

Braz’s career started when she “rocked up” to her local rep trials. She was an instant shoo-in, namely because only five kids showed up but lucky for them because she was brimming with natural talent. And, she was a netball nerd.

“I remember having like fights with my mum because she would tell me to do my homework but I would just sit there and write up netball drills instead,” she said.

“One day mum asked to see my books, and at least half of them were just filled with netball drills.”

Stubborn and desperate to make netball her career, Braz quit school in year 11 to pursue that dream.

“I just wanted to be a netballer which sounds stupid. I'd never let my kids ever do that,” she said.

She vividly recalls breaking her finger at an AFL clinic the day before a grand final when one of the AIS coaches was coming to watch. Tough as they come, she taped it up, and played on.

And the rest, you could say, is history.

During her time at the AIS in Australia’s capital Braz caught the eye of the then Sydney Swifts cohort. She made the move to the big smoke where she sat on the bench for two years, but it had its benefits.

“I got to train against Kim Green every session and that’s probably the reason I am the player I am today,” she said.

In 2016 Braz moved west to join the Fever where the legendary Norma Plummer AM was at the helm.

Braz said she felt fortunate the netball royalty like Plummer had taken interest in her, and her offer came with a promise – court time.

“Fever will always be the team that is closest to my heart,” she said.

“They gave my first real opportunity and I hope I can eventually return the favour and go back there in a coaching capacity or something.”

Current Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich took over the coaching role at Fever in 2014 and built a close relationship with Brazill. So after five seasons in the green dress, including multiple MVP awards and a captaincy, Brazill had to make arguably the biggest decision of her career, and one that may have seemed “crazy” to most.

She was struggling to break into the Diamonds squad and after a few phone calls with former Diamonds head coach Lisa Alexander, it was time for Braz to shake things up.

“Everyone thought it was a bit nuts when I left because I was in a really good spot as captain at Fever but my game wasn’t growing and I wasn’t making Diamonds,” Brazill said.

“When I would ask Lisa for feedback she would say I needed another element to my game and I realised I wasn’t going to keep getting better if I stayed there. That was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.

“But I have no regrets moving to Collingwood. It’s where I have played my best netball and I got back into the Diamonds squad. And I was able to start playing footy too which I never thought was possible.”

HER OWN WAY

Brazill has always done things her own way. Often going against the ‘norm’.

So announcing her retirement early was no different.

“Everyone was wondering why I announced my retirement at the start of the year, like, who does that?,” she said.

“But I was in such a good headspace because I’d achieved everything I've wanted to achieve. All of the career highs and lows. And some of the lows are probably even better memories.

“For me it was easy, because life after netball is even more exciting for me at the moment.”

Braz did query whether her commitment to being a dual-code athlete had something to do with the feeling of freedom once finishing her life on the netball court. Just a few days after arriving home in Melbourne she will rejoin the Collingwood AFLW side ahead of season 2023.

Her weekends, naturally, revolve around her sporting career. But when you’ve got two kids, Louis and Frankie, something has got to give. This time, it was Brazill’s career.

“Everything for me is based around sport and hanging out with my kids means them being on the sideline, and that’s not good enough for me,” she said.

“I can’t wait to have that time back with my kids, and with Brooke.”

The thought of life after netball is exciting for Brazill. Hot off a plane from South Africa she will be thrust back into the Collingwood environment.

One more year at the Pies AFLW side before packing up the Melbourne home she shares with her wife Brooke and two kids before heading off on a six-month adventure around Australia in the back of a campervan.

After that a move west to be closer to their families is on the cards.

“For us it is a priority to be close to not just our immediate family but our extended family too. Covid made us realise how much we rely on our family to help with the kids, but they’re what makes us happy too,” she said.

A LASTING IMPRESSION

Brazill’s influence and lasting impact will linger in the Diamonds’ environment long after her departure.

But she believes she is leaving the Diamonds group in a good place.

“I look at the Diamonds group and I am like, we're in a good place. That's really one thing I've loved this year,” she said.

“It was why I knew I was ready to retire, I was getting more enjoyment out of seeing them (the young Diamonds) succeed.”

When asked about what legacy she wants to leave on the game, Braz said it goes well beyond herself.

She’s not interested in being known as one of the best WDs to play the game, instead, she wants to be remembered by her opponents and fans of the game as being a fair player.

“I wanted players to think that when they were going to play against me, it wasn’t going to be dirty, but it was going to be hard and it was going to be fair.

“I am just a kid who fell in love with the game and if I get burned by my opponent I am going to give them praise.

“I hope I come across as a good person. Netball is supposed to be fun and enjoyable and win or lose, in the end, it’s a game and I have never forgotten that.”