At a glance…
- Paige Hadley is an Australian elite netballer and one of the long-serving players of the NSW Swifts.
- In January 2026, ahead of the birth of her son, she spoke with The Weekly about life, her new passion in finance, and her excitement for her new role as a mother.
- Paige speaks candidly about how planning for life beyond elite sport has become increasingly important to her, as she looks to build a secure financial future for herself, her partner and her growing family.
When I spoke to Paige Hadley earlier this year, she was just weeks away from becoming a mum for the first time.
After 14 years of elite netball, the NSW Swifts and Australian Diamonds star knew motherhood would bring a major change to her life. She was excited, but also honest about the uncertainty of stepping away from the sport that had shaped so much of her adult life. With maternity leave on the horizon, she was also thinking about what life beyond the netball court could look like, and how she could build a secure financial future for her growing family.
“I hope that one day, whenever that may be, I’ll be able to be both: be a netballer and finish my career and also be a mum,” she told The Australian Women’s Weekly at the time.
Her son, Tully, arrived in February. Just 74 days later, Paige was back on court, returning to competitive netball for the NSW Swifts.
Now, as she navigates life as both an elite athlete and a new mum, her reflections on motherhood, money and planning for the future take on a new significance. Paige spoke candidly about the challenge of balancing motherhood with a sporting career, the women who have shown her what’s possible, and why she believes women shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and educate themselves when it comes to their finances.
How are you feeling about stepping away from netball for a bit to enter this next chapter in your life?
It’s daunting, obviously. For the last 14 years, all I’ve done was play netball. As an athlete, as a mum now, it’s definitely been a different experience, and I know there’ll be ups and downs; obviously, becoming a mum is going to be super tough and super challenging in its own different ways. So yeah, missing some netball, but you know, I hope that one day, whenever that may be, I’ll be able to be both: be a netballer and finish my career and also be a mum. I’m looking forward to that challenge whenever that may arrive.
Are there any things that you’re missing from your usual routine like training with your teammates?
I’ve actually been really fortunate that I have been training with the girls pretty much my whole pregnancy. So I obviously have modified what I’m doing, but I have been on court with the girls. Twice a week up until now, which has been amazing to be able to.
I’ve had amazing health physios around me, a physio around me kind of guiding what I can do to stay super active and super fit. Obviously, you know, I think being active is important to be a mum as well, to be able to, I guess, embrace those challenges. So I definitely am going to miss being around a team all the time.
When you have your child, you’re going to be at home, and you have different routines, so you’re not going to be around the team all the time. But I do feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to stay. I feel grateful that my body’s been able to stay super active. And I’ve still been in the gym with them three days a week and on court twice, and doing some pool sessions and some bike sessions. So I feel very grateful that my pregnancy has allowed me to do those things and still be a part where possible.
Obviously, now that the end is close and the baby’s arrival is close, obviously I’ll keep changing kind of what I do each week. But yeah, I feel very fortunate that, for this far, I’ll be able to do that. But I definitely will miss, you know, like when the girls start playing and the away trips and all those things that, you know, I guess the netball is one part, but it’s definitely the social side as well that you’ll definitely miss, you know, not being around every day.
Do you have any role models in sport or other high-performance careers who have successfully navigated parenthood while staying in elite sport?
I think it’s one of those things. It’s like when you’re buying a new car, you know, all you see is that new car that you want. I’ve obviously got some really good mates in netball who have had a baby and come back and played and been able to manage the role of motherhood and being an elite athlete. But obviously there are other, you know, athletes out there. I look at Jess Stenson, like, who’s a marathon runner; she has had two kids now and is back running.
So I feel when you’re in it, you realise how amazing some people are and what they do and the sacrifices they make. I feel very fortunate that I’ve had people reach out to me and give advice, and everyone’s different, and everyone says that, you know, they’ll give different opinions at different times, but you know your body, and you know what’s right for you. I feel very fortunate that I have had so many role models that have come back to their elite sport and gone on to, you know, the Olympic Games, or whether it’s netball or whatever it is. I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last to do it. So just to remind myself to be kind, everyone’s journey is a little bit different to get to where they want to be.
Speaking of the Olympics, how are you feeling about Back the Bid?
Isn’t it awesome? Like, I definitely won’t be playing [laughs]. But, you know, if we get netball into the 2032 Olympics, that’d be unreal. I think netball has grown so much. If we can get in the Olympics, I think it would obviously expand the game in leaps and bounds. We would be able to showcase what our sport is about.
That’s what the Olympics can do for so many sports and for so many athletes. I’ll definitely be staying tuned to see how it goes. But yeah, it’d be awesome to be able to have netball involved in the Olympics.
What message do you think it would send to young Australian girls, especially netball players, who might dream of one day being an Olympian in the sport that they love?
I think the landscape of women’s sport has changed so much. It’s wild to think about how the opportunities have increased for women in elite sports. For me, when I first put on my netball dress at seven years old, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would play for Australia. Imagine knowing that you could be on the world’s biggest sporting stage with the world’s best athletes from all around the world. It’s just inspiring.
So I really hope that we can get there, and I think it would just grow our game even more. And having those countries like America and India get them on board with netball would make it skyrocket.
Obviously, you’re juggling motherhood now and elite sport. Do you have any tips for women who juggle busy careers while also wanting to invest in their future?
I think for me, it’s just being really present with what you’re doing. If I look at being in the netball environment for 14 years, I probably would have been able to set myself up completely and never have to work a day after I retire. But unfortunately, that’s not what being a female athlete is like at the moment.
My biggest tip is to be educated about what else is out there. I know I want to create a life where I can live in Sydney, be comfortable raising my kids, go on holidays and do those things that I was fortunate enough to experience growing up.
But it’s definitely a juggling act. Being an elite athlete has probably always been my number one priority. It’s been about training, eating, sleeping and all those things. But with investing, it’s about planning for what the future looks like. I think for so long, as an athlete, I’ve always had these goals that I wanted to achieve. I’ve realised that I can help set up what my future looks like for my family, for me and my partner, Jordan.
I remember when I first started investing with InvestorKit, I was very, very overwhelmed and had no idea what I was getting into. But it was about having a plan and knowing that plans always go off track, but having a plan, following it and being really disciplined with it, which is what an elite athlete is as well.
They’ve been amazing in terms of educating me and being really patient with all the questions I’ve had. It’s about trying to set yourself up outside of just your sport.
As you came into this new chapter of motherhood, did you notice any shifts in your priorities when it comes to money and investments?
Not too much. My partner and I have wanted to live in Sydney and Sydney’s Southern Coast, not the cheapest place to live! But netball isn’t going to be forever. I know when I retire, there’ll be other opportunities. I’ve done a business and commerce degree, and I’ve started my own business for PIVOT. So there’ll be different avenues, but it is kind of daunting knowing that you have been a professional athlete for 14 or 15 years, and there may only be a couple of years left. And then what does life look like?
It wasn’t until I was older that I realised the sacrifices that my parents made for me to be able to chase my netball dream. It was never like, “No, no, we can’t do that”. They obviously managed their finances really well to be able to allow me opportunities to be able to live my dream, so I want to be able to do that for my child as well.
Is that uncertainty about your financial future something that you and your teammates might discuss from time to time because of the discrepancy with women’s pay in sport?
Yes and no. I think for me, I’ve been very fortunate to surround myself with people like InvestorKit, who have been able to plan with me and help me manage my next steps.
But I guess with my teammates, I’m trying to make that finance conversation normal. I feel like we probably never really spoke about finances and all of that.
You look at men’s sports, and a lot of their pay is openly available on the internet or in the news. You know how much they earn and all those sorts of things. It’s probably never really been spoken about between women that much, and that’s why I want women to feel comfortable talking about it and realise there are different opportunities.
While we’re not making all the money by playing sport, there are avenues to create different sources of income and different support for yourself with the money that you do earn. Because unfortunately, your sporting career may be long in terms of how many years, actually goes so, so, so fast.
What were your biggest uncertainties or fears you experienced when you first started investing?
I think my biggest fears came from growing up in a family that was very hardworking, where the mindset was that every dollar you earn, you save. So when my partner said, “Hey, let’s look at investing. Let’s look at other ways that we can create a life for us,” that was a very different way of thinking for me.
I’ve probably been a saver since I was a young kid. When Nan and Pop used to give me $5 in a Christmas card, I’d save it. I’d always been someone who thought, once you earn a dollar, you put it in the bank. You save it, you save it, you save it. I didn’t realise there were other opportunities, like investing in property and leveraging equity. I’d always been raised with the idea that you buy your home, you pay it off, you save your money, and that’s what you live with.
So I was definitely risk-averse. And obviously, sometimes you don’t see the rewards until later. That’s daunting because when you save your money, you want to know that you’re going to get something from it. When you invest, you don’t necessarily know what that’s going to look like.
That was one of my biggest challenges: that initial feeling of, “What do you mean? That’s money in the bank. It’s my money, but now it’s gone. Where does it go?” It was about educating myself around that rather than being so focused on whatever I earn; I need to be able to see it in front of me.
So changing that mindset and thinking about how I could use that money to best leverage for me was quite challenging.
And if you could give one piece of advice to women who are hesitant about taking that first step into investing, what would it be?
I think my biggest piece of advice would just be to do your homework and educate yourself. So, I was really naive at the start, but once I started asking questions, I realised there was so much I didn’t know. I had a thousand questions, and they were really patient in answering them.
As an athlete, you put a team around you. You’ve got a physio, a coach, your teammates all these people around you to make you the best you can be. That’s how I see investing as well. You have a team around you. You’ve got property consultants, brokers, property managers and all these people who help you understand things, make decisions and work out where you sit.
It’s not for everyone, and you don’t have to go wild with investing. But I think for me, it’s about having that team around you to help you be the best you can be. It’s just like being an athlete. It’s like being a mum. You have a village around you to help you raise your child.
And with investing, there’s no right or wrong time to do it. And no matter what age or where you are in life. It’s not just a one-size-fits-all, but it’s open to everyone, no matter where you are and what stage of your life you are in.
One final question: are there any misconceptions about investing or women in finance or sport that you’d like to see broken?
I think netball and women’s sport have always been quite male-dominated spaces. But I think women are incredible, and what we can achieve as athletes and financially is incredible.
When you look at our parents’ generation, it was often men who controlled the money and were the breadwinners. But now, you look around, and it’s completely different. Things have changed.
Just like sport isn’t just for men, finance isn’t either. Women are incredible, and what we can achieve in both spaces is huge. We work incredibly hard on the track, on the court, in our jobs and in our finances.
So I definitely don’t think it’s just a male-dominated arena anymore. Women are doing amazing things, and we can continue to do amazing things.
Paige Hadley is an ambassador for InvestorKit; find out more here.
