It was just over 12 months ago that Maddie Hay was offered her contract with GIANTS Netball in the Suncorp Super Netball League.
Hay had been with the club as a training partner since its inception in 2017 before being offered a full-time contract.
GIANTS fans rallied in the emotions of the moment that Hay was offered her contract, with the video watched by tens of thousands across GIANTS Netball’s social media platforms.
CLICK HERE to watch the moment Maddie Hay was offered a contract by coach Julie Fitzgerald.
In reflecting on that moment Hay said that was one of the best moments of her life.
“Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 12 months,” she said.
“I would have never imagined the season to play out as it has in that moment, but I’m so happy with where I’ve come since then and how I’ve progressed.”
After 10 rounds of her debut season with the GIANTS, Hay is continuing to get the nod for the starting wing attack position and is constantly among the best and more consistent performers for the GIANTS.
Hay currently ranks fifth in Nissan Net points with 150 feeds with attempt and 132 centre pass receives.
“It’s all been really exciting,” she said.
“I didn’t necessarily expect to be getting so much court time, so it’s been amazing to get out on court and I’ve definitely learnt a lot from the experience.
“I know this will be something I remember forever – this hub life and everything that comes with it.
“I guess it’s a good way to kind of get thrown in the deep end and experience it the way it is this year.”
Traditionally more of a centre and wing defence, Hay has learnt to make wing attack her own this year after stepping up to take the position from good friend and former GIANT Kim Green.
“I never thought I would have been playing wing attack,” Hay admitted.
“It’s quite cool though, because I know from wing defence what I don’t like my wing attack’s to do, so I sort of applied that logic to the way I play wing attack.
“But now it’s starting to come more naturally to me and I’m really enjoying it and getting a lot of ball in hand.
“I spoke to Kim the other night – she’s such a great mentor for me.
“She always has a lot of great advice and I think training alongside her for so many years taught me more than I realised.
The 25-year-old had been a part of the Australian Netball League pathway for the past six years with both Canberra GIANTS and the NNSW Waratahs.
“It’s a big step up from ANL to SSN,” said Hay.
“It’s very different. There’s a lot more expectation, a lot more eyes on you – so you tend to put a little more pressure on yourself.
“I was very relaxed and confident in ANL, but this year I know I have to be on my game consistently for 60 minutes.
“I think ANL is so important – it’s so valuable and I know how much I got out it.”
Hay currently describes her netball journey to date as a roller coaster.
“I think that’s the best way to describe it, but that’s only a good thing,” she said.
“It’s give me a lot of resilience and I’m really thankful for everything that I’ve been through.
“I’ve loved all the highs and lows – but I think at the end of the day if you just really love netball, it doesn’t really matter what happens.”
