Hills Ollies Netball Club shooting sky high
with Matt“ Duck Man” Austin
Netball remains the leading female participation sport in Australia and stands as a benchmark in women’ s professional sport. For many young girls, teenagers, and adults, it continues to be a passion. Hills Ollies Netball Club, founded in 1979, has built a proud tradition as a fun, inspirational, and team-focused club. Based in Baulkham Hills, the club is part of the Baulkham Hills Shire Netball Association. All matches in the competition are played at the Kellyville Netball Complex on Wellgate Avenue, which boasts 39 courts.
This year marks a milestone for Hills Ollies as it coincides with the 50th
Hills Ollies u14Cs after a mssive 53-3 win. Credit Hills Ollies Netball. anniversary of the association itself. Sarah Bidner, the club’ s current President, has been involved with Hills Ollies for the past four years. With 32 years of playing experience at Kellyville Netball Club, Sarah brings a wealth of local knowledge to the role. She proudly notes that Hills Ollies, despite being one of the smaller clubs in the district with 13 teams, consistently punches above its weight. Last season, half of their graded teams reached the finals and two-thirds of them went on to win their grand finals— an extraordinary result by any standard. The club’ s philosophy centres on promoting sport to achieve both individual and team excellence, with an emphasis on fun, teamwork, and commitment. Hills Ollies actively fosters a strong sense of community and club spirit, creating a positive environment for players of all ages. The club fields two senior teams and wears navy blue and gold with white.
Hills Ollies runs netball clinics each school term for children aged 5 – 7, and places are still available for the current term. Clinics run for 4 – 8 weeks and cost between $ 10 –$ 20. Registration for the season typically runs from
December to February, with a fee of $ 320— including uniforms— making it a very competitively priced option.
The player pathway begins with NetSetGO, moving into juniors( up to Under 14s), followed by Intermediate( Under 15s to 18s), and finally Seniors. Talented players can progress to Metro League netball, with representative carnivals and selection opportunities starting from the Under 11 age group.
Sarah noted significant changes in the competition over the years, including shifting club sizes— with Rouse Hill and Kellyville now among the larger clubs— and a faster style of gameplay with fewer whistles. Uniforms have also evolved from pleated skirts and tops to bodysuits, and now to A-line skirts. Notably, the competition has become more inclusive, with men’ s teams, Friday night competitions, and representative programmes now available for boys and men— developments that have emerged over the past three years.
The club currently has approximately 120 registered players, including some competing into their 50s and beyond. Sarah recalls playing against a woman in her 70s, and notes many players remain active into their 60s.
Sarah expressed gratitude to the dedicated committee, particularly
Girls in action for Hills Ollies Netball Club. Credit Hills Ollies Netball Club.
Jackie Marshall, who serves as both Secretary and Treasurer, and is heavily involved in behind-the-scenes work and Bunnings fundraising events. She also acknowledged Katey, who regularly cooks at the club BBQs and was the most recent recipient of the Margaret Danes Award. The committee frequently goes above and beyond, organising invitational matches and extra training clinics for the players.
Looking ahead, the club will host a trivia night during the next school holidays, and their presentation day is scheduled for October. Originally a Catholic club, Hills Ollies will also participate in a special night tournament with other heritage Catholic clubs, featuring an invitational competition for 7 – 10-year-olds.
James Webb: eating his way to the top
with Matt“ Duck Man” Austin
Everywhere you go in the world, someone has a mate who can eat a lot— serious amounts, usually for a laugh or simply because they love food. But James Webb is in a league of his own.
Better known as JWebby Can Eat, James is Australia’ s very own world champion eater, making a serious impact in the realm of professional competitive
Webby at the Khartoum Hotel where it all started. Credit JWebby Can Eat. eating. Many are surprised to learn that such a profession even exists, but this Baulkham Hills local, hailing from Sydney’ s north-west Hills District, has taken the eating world by storm in recent years. Currently ranked as the number one professional eater in Australia— no small feat— James has spent the past three years turning his unique talent into a career, documenting his journey across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. What started as a bit of fun quickly exploded.“ Within three weeks, my socials had gone global,” he said.“ I had 160,000 TikTok followers. It was crazy.”
James has built a personal brand around JWebby Can Eat, something all top professional eaters do to help support their careers. His brand centres on food, fitness, and following your passion. A selfconfessed“ fat kid”, James says his love of food began in childhood, growing up in a Croatian household where every family gathering revolved around cooking— and plenty of it. He credits his mum and Baba for shaping his appreciation of flavour and quantity.
James always knew he had a bigger appetite than most, often finishing everyone’ s leftovers at family dinners. But he didn’ t realise it was a true talent until a visit to the Khartoum Hotel in Cessnock, NSW. There, he tackled the previously undefeated 5kg Burger Challenge. In just
27 minutes and 37 seconds, he devoured a 5kg burger, fries, wedges, and onion rings— making national news and smashing a long-standing record. Of the 56 people who had attempted it before, none had succeeded. To this day, he remains the only person to complete the challenge three times.
According to his bio, James currently holds seven world eating records and is ranked fourth globally. In the past week alone, he’ s added two more titles— including a Guinness World Record for eating a 1kg bowl of mozzarella in just 1 minute and 22.59 seconds during a live reality TV broadcast in Italy. He beat three other international competitors and proudly claimed the title of world mozzarella eating champion.
Another recent win came with the Smoke Slam Eating Championship, where he downed 24 pulled pork sandwiches in just 10 minutes, earning $ 5,000 USD and yet another title.“ It’ s definitely a career highlight,” James said when we spoke.“ I’ m very proud of it.”
His ultimate goal? To win the iconic Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest,
Webby wins the SmokeSlam Eating Championship. Photo courtesy of MLE.
where current champion Joey Chestnut holds the record with 83 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. James placed third last year with 47— and he’ s hungry for more.
With 1.8 million TikTok followers, 222,000 on Facebook, 109,000 on Instagram, and 145,000 YouTube subscribers, there’ s little doubt JWebby Can Eat is on track to claim the world number one spot. Not bad for a 36-yearold from Baulko.
26 ISSUE 120 // JUNE 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT