News
142,000 Views and Counting: How Fans Took Over the Premier League
Published Mon 14 Sep 2026
On Sunday 16 August, ten clubs and sixty teams walked onto two courts at Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park for Grand Final Day. Gold, silver and bronze medals were on the line across six divisions, every match was livestreamed, and the crowd that had followed this competition since April was finally watching it finish.
It capped a season none of us could have delivered alone. This is the story of how we got there, together.
It started with ten clubs saying yes
Back in November 2025, we announced the ten clubs awarded licences for the first Premier League cycle, covering the 2026 and 2027 seasons:
- VOSTOK - UNSW Premier Volleyball Club
- UTS Volleyball Club
- Sydney Amazon Warriors powered by Endeavour Volleyball Club
- Sydney United x Westside
- Sydney University Volleyball Club
- ProVolley Academy
- Sydney Acers
- Illawarra Volleyball Association
- Sydney North Volleyball
- Just Spike It x Going Global
We launched together at Netball Central on 28 February, unveiling the competition's branding, trophy and medals alongside referee education, integrity briefings and training on the Hudl and Club Ducks platforms, which made their league debut and became key tools for clubs across the season.
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The people who made it real
Every Sunday from 12 April, sixty teams and 768 players took to the court across Premier, Premier Reserve and Junior Premier divisions. But the season was built by people well beyond the sideline. Craig Noble and his family delivered livestream coverage across all seventeen rounds, match after match, week after week. Our referees gave up their Sundays so competition could run. Content creators Josephine "Azzy" Taylor, Ivy Huynh, Benjamin Nguyen and Kevin Dang captured the season in photos and video that let clubs, families and fans who couldn't be courtside feel part of it anyway. And Netball NSW opened their venue and backed our event team all year.
By Round 14, nine of our ten clubs had reached at least one finals series. Eight made it through to semi-finals and grand finals. That is the depth of competition our clubs built, together, in a single debut season.
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| Craig Noble: Livestreaming | Ivy Huyng: Photogrpaher |
Grand Final Day
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Division
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Gold
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Silver
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Bronze
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Men's Junior Premier
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Sydney United x Westside
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UTS
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Nova Volleyball
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Women's Junior Premier
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ProVolley Academy
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Vostok X UNSW
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Sydney University
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Men's Premier Reserve
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Nova Volleyball
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Sydney United x Westside
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UTS
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Women's Premier Reserve
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Sydney United x Westside
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Sydney Acers
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VOSTOK x UNSW
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Men's Premier
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UTS
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Sydney Acers
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Sydney United x Westside
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Women's Premier
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ProVolley Academy
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Sydney Acers
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Sydney United x Westside
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Jack Croll and Brigitte Vanderham, both of Sydney North, were named our first ever Premier League All Stars, voted on by their fellow Premier coaches. Alex Lyndon, Lydie Van Deursen, Joshua Yoo, Nina Takahaski, Kennith Heng and Fransesca Siliva took out Most Valuable Player across the six grand finals. Full results are on the Volleyball NSW website here.
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What the numbers tell us
The season nearly doubled the competition we ran in 2025, growing from 234 matches and 32 teams to 414 matches and 60 teams. Across the season, 204 matches were livestreamed, totalling 327 hours of coverage watched for 16,547 hours by fans at home. That coverage brought 142,000+ views on YouTube and grew our subscriber base by 1,000. The most watched match of the season, the Premier Men Gold Final between UTS and Sydney Acers, drew 5,100 views on its own.
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Our Sport. Our Plan.
We're building the future of volleyball in NSW, shaped by our community, delivered in partnership. Season one of the Premier League is proof of what that looks like in practice: ten clubs, hundreds of volunteers, referees and content creators, and a community that showed up every single Sunday. We will lead the growth of volleyball nationally, and this season is how we start proving it.
Partner with us
Volleyball NSW would like to thank our 2026 partners, Scape Australia, Mahindra Australia, Mikasa, Valour Sport, Sportslink Travel, Office of Sport, Power Potential and Pride in Sport for backing the Premier League from day one.
Volleyball is one of the fastest-growing and most diverse sports in NSW, and the Premier League sits at the heart of that growth. As we look ahead to 2027, we're seeking partners who want to connect with a passionate, engaged and gender-balanced community while aligning with one of the state's fastest-rising sports.
Every partnership helps grow the game. Revenue generated through the Premier League is reinvested into clubs, competitions and development programs, creating more opportunities for athletes, officials and communities across NSW.
Interested in partnering with Volleyball NSW? Get in touch with our team to talk partnership opportunities for 2027: partnerships@volleyballnsw.com.au
Player, Coach & Admin We Want to Hear From You!
If you played, coached or volunteered in PLV / SVL / YSVL this year we want to hear from you! Complete the 2026 feedback form below and help us make the 2027 season even better.
