Coffey proud to represent First Nations on NSL stage

Gabby Coffey is ready to be the representation First Nation netball players need as she takes to the court for Birmingham Panthers.

The 24-year-old has joined from Australia for her first season in the NSL, becoming only the second Aboriginal player to play in the league after Donnell Wallam.

Coffey left her home in Alice Springs at 17 to pursue her netball career in Melbourne, and the resilience that experience taught her will be used to help Panthers mount a title challenge in their first season.

“I come from a mob called the Wiradjuri mob,” she explained. “It is the New South Wales side of Australia. It is really cool being over here and spreading more First Nations representation here.

“Even though it is not in Australia and the league over there, it is still cool to show other girls that they can come over here and experience life over here.

“Birmingham Panthers have welcomed me with open arms and have been really open to supporting that.

“They’ve also been really open to learning and listening, in the same way I have been doing the same for the histories over here, learning about that, I love all of that.

“There has been something really cool about having those conversations.”

Coffey spent four seasons with Suncorp Super Netball side Melbourne Vixens prior to making the move to the Midlands.

Having come up against a stack of star defenders in the Vixens training environment, Coffey is ready to take centre stage in Birmingham as she takes over the goal defence bib from Panthers head coach Jo Trip.

She added: “If there was a goal for me this year, it would be to be as consistent as I can every game and hopefully be one of the most annoying defenders on court and get heaps of ball!

“I have been under Jo Weston, who is one of the best defenders in Australia. She plays for the Australian Diamonds, she is in the starting seven for Vixens, and I have learnt so much from her.

“She is like this dogged, annoying defender, and I try and emulate that. I am like velcro to my goal attack and not letting her go anywhere without me being there.

“I try and be that annoying, gritty person.”

Birmingham Panthers have joined the NSL for the 2025 season, although many of the team previously played together at Severn Stars, who were a part of the Super League until last year.

Coffey is one of the new faces in the league and recently dug out an old diary to reflect on what it is like to move away from home for the first time.

She added: “I think there is a huge challenge with funding and funding without support.

“You can send players down to a school and have these amazing netball communities, but is there support around that player when she is homesick, when she is missing that connection to culture and family?

“I moved for my last two years of schooling, and it was really challenging. I got really homesick, I wasn’t sure if it was for me.

“I still remember that I had this diary and on the day of my first training session it said ‘this was the hardest training session, I don’t think I can come back on Monday’.

"Obviously, I went back, but it was really hard, and I built a lot of resilience. I developed a lot in those years, but I couldn’t have done it without mum and dad.

“Since my time, I’ve fed back a lot to the school, telling them this is what I really struggled with, and this is what I really needed, and they have taken that on heaps and changed a lot, which has been a really good result.

“It was challenging, but I wouldn’t change it because after I finished school, I loved it. I started university and my adult life and was building my netball career too, and then I thought this was the right decision.”

Coffey was pleased that her first training session at Panthers was a world away from those feelings she had in Melbourne.

There was a thread that has run from Severn Stars to Birmingham Panthers, with the squad proud to label themselves ‘a bunch of weirdos’.

And Coffey is happy to slot right into place.

“I still have the diary, it isn’t used as much, but I do pull it out every now and again; it is a good outlet,” she said.

“My first training session with Panthers was good. I was nervous, I didn’t know what to expect, but the girls welcomed me in with open arms, and we had a bit of fun in that first session.

“I couldn’t help but be smiling at the end of it and feeling the love from everyone and knowing how far we have travelled and them being so supportive.”

To keep up with the latest news, make sure to follow the @NetballSL on X, Instagram and TikTok, Netball Super League on Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our newsletter.

Photo Credit: Dean Williams