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As Kyah Simon accepted Australia\u2019s highest sporting honour on behalf of the Matildas, she also made it clear her team was right behind the netballers in their pay dispute with Netball Australia.<\/p>\n
The Matildas were awarded the Don award for 2023 by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on Friday at a ceremony at the MCG, with the award recognising the team or athlete that has most inspired the nation.<\/p>\n
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Kyah Simon of the Matildas poses with the Don Award, and Socceroos great Tim Cahill poses with his medal after being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the MCG on Friday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n Simon, who is recovering from injury, accepted the award on behalf of her teammates who are preparing to face Canada in two friendlies, and stood up for her netball colleagues who have gone more than two months without pay as the dispute over their collective bargaining agreement rolls on.<\/p>\n Simon was one of the Matildas who stood up to Football Federation Australia (now Football Australia) in a two-month strike in 2015, which ended in a significant growth in pay in national team contracts and improved conditions that helped lay the groundwork for the emergence of international stars including Mary Fowler.<\/p>\n They further improved their conditions during pay deals in 2019, and most recently with a new CBA for the A-Leagues.<\/p>\n Diamonds defender Jo Weston spoke through tears on Thursday as she described the \u2018devastating\u2019 impact of its pay war with Netball Australia.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Simon Schluter<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWe can really empathise as it was only a few years ago that we, the Matildas, were fighting for our CBA rights,\u201d Simon said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rights that, we felt, were appropriate for us as female athletes and footballers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just recently signed off on our A-League CBA here in Australia. I really feel for the girls \u2013 I know what they are going through, fighting for your rights, for what you truly deserve and you are being starved of.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope they can come to a resolution fast. It really does affect people\u2019s livelihood, and not just on the pitch but your life off the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have the full support of the [Matildas] girls and hopefully, they can come to a resolution in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n The Matildas celebrate Cortnee Vine\u2019s match-winning penalty in the World Cup.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n The Matildas\u2019 run at the World Cup captured the attention of the nation and Simon admits she is still reflecting on the achievement, adding she knew that the investment for FA and the players had propelled their side among the highest rating national teams.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is something we as female athletes have been fighting this fight for \u2013 it\u2019s the approach where you invest and the benefits follow,\u201d Simon said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is always room for improvement, no matter what industry you are in, but it does show what a little bit of investment can do and the ripple-on effect that can go beyond the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n Simon said the challenge for her side was to continue building up to Paris 2024 ,where the team hopes to again challenge for a medal.<\/p>\n \u201cTo accept this award, being the most prestigious sporting award in Australia, is remarkable,\u201d Simon said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that we weren\u2019t able to take a medal away from the World Cup, which as athletes was quite disappointing for us, but thinking back on and reflecting back on the tournament, we were able to do something much more in terms of inspiring the next generations to follow their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sydney 2000 Australian women\u2019s water polo team, who actively lobbied the International Olympic Committee for the women\u2019s game to finally be admitted to the Olympics \u2013 which had previously been repeatedly rejected \u2013 was awarded the Dawn award for a team whose courage changed sport for the better.<\/p>\n Eight members of the gold medal team from Sydney 2000 were there to receive the award, and they also expressed their support for the netballers and were proud to share the day with the Matildas after their big year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really hard and it was a fight that had been going on for 20-odd years,\u201d former goalkeeper Liz Weekes recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just so happened that, in 1997, it was a really exciting time in Sydney and officials from the IOC were visiting the city to check on the Games\u2019 progress.<\/p>\n \u201cIt presented us with a great opportunity to voice our case, again and again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe organised a protest at Sydney Airport and then a few of us gatecrashed an IOC press conference to state our case.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the pivotal moment because they realised this bad noise wasn\u2019t going to go away, and they\u2019d better do something about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a life-changing moment for all of us and, particularly now, a lot of us have daughters playing water polo.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, it\u2019s a legacy we\u2019ve left that will change their lives too.\u201d<\/p>\n Socceroos great Tim Cahill was also honoured on Friday after he was elevated to the hall of fame earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cI retired five years ago and was a little bit taken back when I got the call and didn\u2019t understand what this award was and the impact you make on Australian sport,\u201d Cahill said looking out over the MCG.<\/p>\n \u201cI scored a few goals here and I never really looked up properly \u2013 this is the first time I\u2019ve noticed the flags.\u201d<\/p>\n He also called on the state and federal governments to make more investments into sporting infrastructure for codes beyond the AFL and NRL.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Cahill taken aback by hall of fame honour<\/h3>\n
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