Netballer set to follow teammate in switching to footy

Maisie Nankivell (left) playing for the Melbourne Mavericks and (right) for Adelaide. Pictures: Instagram/AFL Photos

ANOTHER switch from Super Netball to AFLW is on the cards, with Melbourne Mavericks player Maisie Nankivell exploring a move back to football just weeks after her former teammate Liv Lewis crossed over.

It is understood Nankivell, who played two AFLW games for Adelaide in 2019 before spending the past six seasons focusing full-time on netball, will return to footy next year and is already attracting significant interest from Victorian-based clubs.

Richmond, North Melbourne and Carlton are among a host of sides to have registered an interest in Nankivell, who had plied her trade at both the Adelaide Thunderbirds and the Mavericks recently before announcing her netball retirement earlier this month.

Clubs had already been pursuing her former teammate Lewis after the Mavericks' reigning Defender of the Year announced she would play footy in 2026, with Collingwood now seen as the favourites to land her signature.

Multiple Victorian clubs have spoken to Lewis about potentially joining via their rookie list next season, though rivals believe the Magpies have since emerged as the frontrunners to secure her.

Lewis, a 184cm goalkeeper for the Mavericks who had previously represented the West Coast Fever and the Melbourne Vixens, is expected to become a key defender at AFLW level.

Nankivell, a 176cm centre in netball, was renowned for her elite endurance base and aerobic capacity at the Crows back in 2019 and has been identified as a second tall defender or mobile ruck by AFLW clubs.

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