Fitzpatrick excited to get started as new Roosters coach

NEW North Ballarat coach Maddie Fitzpatrick is ready to face the challenge of leading the Roosters the only way she knows how – head on.

The highly-credentialed and experienced Fitzpatrick (nee Carter), an Australian Netball League (ANL) premiership-winning midcourter, has been announced as the successor to five-time flag winner Annie McCartin.

The appointment is her first in a head-coaching role.

Fitzpatrick, who will serve as a playing coach, brings a wealth of experience to the role, having achieved success at the highest levels of state competition.

An ultra-impressive resume includes ANL premiership success in 2018 with Tasmanian Magpies; VNL premiership player and captain at Melbourne University Lightning; VNL assistant coach with the Lightning from 2019-23; VNL Spirit of Netball award recipient; and specialist coach and player with Hepburn and Bendigo league club Castlemaine.

Her appointment also marks a return to the playing court for Carter, who last played with Castlemaine in 2022 and 2023, before taking a break for the birth of her first child Hugo, now 15-months old.

She arrives well versed on a few Ballarat league teams through her connections with grand final coaches, Darley’s Shannon Blackman, a former VNL teammate, and Sunbury’s Kim Bailey, a work colleague at Netball Australia.

“Years and years ago, when I first moved to Melbourne, I played for Melton Bloods, so I’ve kept tabs on a few clubs, mainly Sunbury and Darley,” Carter said.

“But I’m excited to get started with North. When they approached me, I was pretty stoked.”

Carter arrives well acquainted with two of her players, having previously played alongside dual league medallist Maddy Selmon and class midcourter Brydi Hutchinson at Hepburn.

She is genuinely excited at the current level of talent at North Ballarat, while hopeful of locking in a sprinkling quality recruits in the weeks ahead.

“We’ve signed three of our homegrown netballers at North; obviously Brydi and Maddy, who I have played with, are very exciting players, and Georgia Bodey is a nice up and coming goaler as well,” she said.

“But there’s a few things on the horizon potentially with recruiting.

“Some teams need a bit more recruiting than others, but North has an amazing established and developed group from under Annie and all the coaches there.”

Carter believed the learnings taken from her former Lightning coach Elissa Kent and the club’s current director of coaching Tegan Hopkins would stand in her in good stead as she prepares to take the helm as a head coach for the first time in 2026.

She is eagerly looking forward to resuming her playing career, and the plan is to slot back into the midcourt and/or defence.