Kate Eddy has vowed to work her “butt off” to get back on a Super Netball list after her “cry for help” was answered with a career lifeline from cross-town rivals Melbourne Mavericks in the wake of her messy split with the Vixens.

After one of the most controversial list decisions of the league’s frenzied contracting period, Eddy will seek to relaunch her career as a training partner at Mavericks in a “new chapter” for the 29-year-old after seven years with the Vixens.

In her first interview since it was revealed she had been left without a spot on a list for 2027, Eddy described the contracting chaos as a “really hard experience” which she hoped would not “have to happen to somebody else again”.

“It was just a really hard experience,” Eddy said.

“Everything happens for a reason and I’ve had to come a long way to get to that, but I think new opportunities open up.

“Hopefully this doesn’t have to happen to somebody else again. If I am a little guinea pig this has happened to, hopefully there are different guidelines and things like that in the future that can hopefully not allow this to happen again to someone else.”

One of the biggest talking points of the contracting period, Eddy was left without a spot on the Vixens’ list for next season after what she described as a “breakdown in communication” which all unfolded while she was holidaying overseas.

Eddy’s manager Anthony Panozzo hit out at the Vixens for pulling their contract offer late, leaving her no time to find a spot at another club.

The Vixens explained they had wanted to retain Eddy, but they had been unable to reach an agreement with her management in the required time frame.

A fan favourite among the Vixens’ faithful, the controversial loss of Eddy amid a wider list shake-up at the Vixens sparked widespread backlash among fans.

Now, the Mavericks have swooped to offer Eddy – a two time premiership winner with the Vixens – a spot as a training partner for 2027.

Eddy said she was thankful for the opportunity at the Mavericks to keep her dream of playing Super Netball alive, revealing she had chased coach Gerard Murphy herself to pitch for a training partner role.

“I feel like when I spoke to ‘Gez’ on the phone, it was like a cry for help almost,” Eddy said.

“I texted (former Vixens teammate and Mavs recruit) Zara (Walters) and I was like, ‘Do you have Gez’s number’?

“I said to Gez I would love to be a part of the club … and Gez was amazing and welcomed me and has been really supportive throughout this whole experience.”

Eddy said she still had a “lot to give” as a Super Netball player.

“You never know what can happen in the future. I just know that for the next 12 months I am going to work my butt off to try and get back into the SSN environment,” Eddy said.

“I’m going to work my butt off to stay really fit, netball fit, netball smart and just take any opportunity that I can with two hands.

“As we know, netball is crazy and I just want to be able to put everything that I can into it and just give myself the best opportunity because that’s where I want to be.

“I still have a lot to give. I just think being able to train with new people, being outside of my comfort zone as well I think I am really hoping to improve a lot and learn a lot as well.”

Regarded as one of the league’s premier wing defences, Eddy was part of the Vixens’ title winning teams in 2020 and 2025 in a seven-season stint with the club.

She has featured in the past three Super Netball grand finals with the Vixens.

While Eddy has accepted Netball Victoria’s offer of employment, she said she has to move to a new environment as a training partner in order for her to “move forward”.

“I feel like for me to move forward in a positive way and for me to be my best self and also the club – for the Vixens as well – after things that have happened, it is probably not healthy for everybody for me to be in that environment,” Eddy said.

“Probably for me to move forward, I probably need to be somewhere else as well.”

Mavericks coach Gerard Murphy had no hesitation bringing Eddy into the club’s fold as a training partner.

“We are really excited to have her. It’s a huge benefit for us training environment wise to have someone of her calibre and IQ training with us all the time,” Murphy said.

“Obviously the ultimate back-up player so that if something does actually happen, who else would you want coming into your team?

“We also know that it also means that other teams have the opportunity potentially as well. We know that and we are open and agreed to that.

“It’s too big of a miss for someone like Kate of her standard and experience to not be playing netball, so that is a commitment that we worked on together that while we are going to be preparing her, it might not be for us and it maybe for someone else.

“That’s OK and that’s the right thing for us to do.”

Eddy joins the already-announced Charlotte Sexton as a Mavericks’ training partner for next season.

Originally published as Melbourne Mavericks sign Kate Eddy as a training partner for 2027 after her shock Vixens exit