I thought back to a great Australian film The Castle when it was announced GIANTS Netball would be rebranding to Sydney Sirens.
A big organisation coming in to take over a parcel of land that isn’t their own. Claiming the Sirens name.
Sydney Sirens has already been part of the fabric in the city for two decades. Representing Sydney ice hockey.
If a man’s home is his castle, the Sirens name is the heartbeat of a proud Sydney ice hockey community.
Just like the film, there is a David and Goliath moment happening within women’s sport.
Big business, looking to expand and grow its brand, while ripping out the heart of a community that has proudly carried the Sirens name.
A heart which has been pumping for 20 years in Sydney since its foundation in 2007.
Sports Entertainment Group (SEG), who will take over the licence of the Super Netball club, have thrown the Australian ice hockey world into chaos.
Ice hockey is a sport that lacks visibility, ask a local punter and they would be surprised it’s played on Australian shores.
However, despite the standing that ice hockey holds within the community, it has a proud history.
Since its foundation in 2007 the Sydney Sirens Ice Hockey Team have ingrained themselves in a tight-knit sports culture.
For those within the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) world the Sirens are an historic club, three-time Joan McKowen Cup champions and trailblazers in the women’s hockey space.
It’s why on August 18, 2026, the ice hockey community voiced their outrage as the rebranded netball team took centre stage.
After two decades of identity-building and countless hours of investment, the netball rebrand wasn’t just another sporting announcement.
For many inside the women’s ice hockey scene, it was never going to be about a sporting organisation picking a name they liked.
It was about selecting a name that already had meaning to an established community.
The Sirens name is steeped in history. Players that have represented the club across many years, fans and families watching from the stands, volunteers investing hours to keep the club alive.
But above all, it has people.
The building blocks that were pieced together to create something special, long before big sports media decided the Sirens name could help their brand.
This is what gives Sirens hockey fans that uneasy feeling.
Growing women’s sport is important. It’s why 6ix Dub Hockey exists. It’s why I believe in the ambition to make women’s sport something bigger than imagined.
Furthermore, it’s something that we need more of in Australia.
However, there should be a clear distinction between growth and something at the expense of people who have paved the way.
The irony is difficult to ignore.
Women’s ice hockey has spent its entire existence fighting for recognition, investment and respect. Sydney Sirens have been at the forefront of that for two decades.
They compete in a sport that is often void of mainstream attention. Representing Sydney for passion and respect, opening doors for women and girls to play ice hockey. Community building.
Now, in what has seemed like overnight, that very Sirens name has been placed on a different sporting product that holds significantly more commercial reach.
For many in the hockey community, there is a sense that what they have built doesn’t mean anything.
This is why The Castle comparison jumped straight to the front of mind.
The film’s core battle wasn’t just about a house; it was about what something meant which was bigger than money. Everyday people fighting for something that they loved, refusing to believe that big business should always win.
That is not to say that netball shouldn’t have a strong foothold in Sydney.
I have covered Super Netball in the past, it absolutely does.
This isn’t about critising the athletes who will wear the team’s colours. It’s a situation they didn’t create.
It is looking at the situation and asking one question: doesn’t the 20-year name and history of a sports organisation count for something?
It was never a blank canvas. Sydney Sirens have their own story.
In that story are generations of players, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters who helped keep the sport of ice hockey ticking along each year.
A story you cannot simply erase by the stroke of a pen or lodging of a trademark.
And not because a bigger organisation thinks the name fits their next chapter on the journey.
More deeply, it raises a bigger issue.
If we want to see the full growth of women’s sport in Australia, we need to understand that it begins before television cameras arrive.
Beginning doesn’t start with major sponsorship deals.
It doesn’t begin when a team licence changes hands.
It begins with the late-night drives to the rink, playing in venues that are barely holding on, fundraising and volunteering for space.
This is part of the Sydney Sirens history.
Maybe it is time for organisations like SEG and Super Netball start listening to the people that are voicing their opinions from the ice.
It’s not just about a logo, marketing strategy or brand.
We are talking about identity, belonging, culture and history.
But mostly importantly, respect.
Darryl Kerrigan fought against the establishment in The Castle because it was more than just a home.
When it comes to Sydney’s ice hockey community, the Sirens are more than a name.
It is a home.
And when the ice hockey community hears that dreadful knock at the door, maybe they have every right to say:
“Tell ’em they’re dreaming.”
