On the Court with Geelong Venom: Why Women's Sport Matters to Us

There's a particular kind of energy in a room full of women training hard together: focused, loud, unapologetic. If you've spent any time around a Geelong Venom training session or game day, you'll know exactly what we mean. It's one of the reasons our team looks forward to being there.

As we head into our second season working alongside Geelong Venom, Move Beyond continues to provide on-court medical and allied health support during training and games. It's the kind of partnership that reminds us why we got into this work in the first place, not just treating injuries, but being part of a team, a community, and a movement that's changing the shape of women's sport in this country.

Meet the team behind the team

Leading our involvement is Dan Ioannidis, who heads up the medical team working with Venom. Dan and our osteos and physios are court-side through training and games, assessing, strapping, treating, and keeping a close eye on the load these athletes are putting through their bodies week to week.

It's a different kind of practice to what happens in a clinic room. There's no appointment book, no quiet treatment space, just fast decisions, real-time care, and a deep understanding of the sport itself. After a full season together, Dan and the team have built genuine relationships with the players and coaching staff, so care isn't just reactive when something goes wrong; it's proactive, built on trust and continuity that only grows season on season.

Watch this short video of how our team has helped Shyla throughout her season

Why women's sport, why now

Women's sport in Australia has come a long way, and it still has further to go: in funding, in visibility, in the resourcing that men's teams have long taken for granted, including access to quality medical and allied health support. Being part of closing that gap, even in a small way, matters to us.

Geelong Venom's players train and compete with the same intensity, the same demands on their bodies, and the same need for high-quality care as any elite athlete. Supporting that properly, having the right people court-side, not just on standby, is something we're genuinely proud to invest in for a second year running.

There's also something bigger than the medical support itself. It's about showing up. It's about a group of women's health professionals turning up week after week for a group of women athletes, and everyone involved knowing that this partnership is built to last, not just a one-off sponsorship photo.

More than a logo on a jersey

We didn't want this to be a partnership that starts and ends with branding. Being embedded in training sessions and on the bench during games means our team sees the work up close: the intensity, the camaraderie, the setbacks and the comebacks. It's community in the truest sense, turning up, being useful, and caring about the outcome as much as the people involved do.

That's the spirit we tried to capture in the video accompanying this post: a glimpse of what that looks like week to week, and why it means so much to everyone on our side who gets to be part of it.

Get around your WNBL team

We would love to encourage you to support your local WNBL team - or check out the VENOM here.

If you're part of the Venom community, player, coach, family, or fan, we'd love to hear from you. And if you're a club or team looking for a medical and allied health partner who'll actually show up, get in touch with us.