The Tamworth club have joined forces with Westview Netball Club to form the Westview Pirates (WVP) Netball Club.

The joint venture comes at a perfect time for the club, Westview secretary/registrar Sarah Horne, adding that many of the existing players are excited about being ‘part of something bigger’.

“The players have started pre-season training with the Pirates rugby teams, with some excellent camaraderie developing,” Horne said.

The club held a registration day for the TNA winter competition at Pirates’ clubhouse last Saturday and will be holding another this Saturday from 9-11am.

Horne said early indications are that they will have six or more teams taking to the court across a wide range of ages and divisions, after last season entering four teams. The club is also looking to nominate teams in the Monday ladies and Thursday social ladies and mixed competitions in Term 2. Pirates already sponsor two teams in the Monday competition.

Pirates president Stuart Prowse said the club have for a while sponsored a junior and senior netball side, which led to conversations with Westview Netball Club.

“Rugby and netball clubs have been successfully run in conjunction in many regional and metro areas throughout Australia and are common in New Zealand and South Africa for both sporting, social and community fundraising benefits,” he said.

“It enables PRUFC to broaden its membership base in the community beyond the immediate rugby community.”