Netball Australia has announced a 24-strong squad selected in preparation for the Netball World Youth Cup which is taking place in Suva, Fiji in June 2021.
The selection of these athletes has been based on performances in Suncorp Super Netball, the Deakin University Australian Netball League, the National Netball Championships and training camps throughout 2019.
Eight of the 24 are currently signed to Suncorp Super Netball squads as either part of the 12-player squad lists or as club training partners, including West Coast Fever's Sunday Aryang, Queensland Firebirds Macy Gardner and Adelaide Thunderbirds Chelsea Blackman, who all made multiple appearances for their teams in 2019.
World Youth Cup team coach Kylee Byrne said she’s delighted with the spread of young talent coming through the Netball Australia pathway.
“The future of Australian netball is looking very bright with the calibre of athletes myself and the selectors were presented with during this process,” she said.
“It’s exciting to be kicking off our World Youth Cup campaign with such a strong squad and I’m really looking forward to working with this group over the next 19 months to bring home that Cup in 2021.”
The squad will first meet at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on Friday 14 February for a four-day training camp that will commence Netball Australia’s 2021 Netball World Youth Cup campaign.
A second squad selection will then be made at the beginning of August 2020 and these athletes will represent Australia on a tour of Fiji later in the year where the squad will play several matches to prepare them for international competition.
Australia has won the Netball World Youth Cup four times, in 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2009. New Zealand has also won the event four times, including the last two titles in 2013 and 2017.
10 out of the 18 current Samsung Australia Diamonds squad members played in a World Youth Cup tournament earlier in their careers.
Australian Netball World Youth Cup 2019/2020 squad:
- Nyah Allen – South Australia
- Sunday Aryang – Western Australia
- Lucy Austin – South Australia
- Chelsea Blackman – South Australia
- Maggie Caris – Victoria
- Georgia Dent – South Australia
- Sophie Dwyer – New South Wales
- Macy Gardner – Queensland
- Kimberley Hearnden – South Australia
- Georgie Horjus – South Australia
- Clare Iongi – New South Wales
- Matisse Letherbarrow – New South Wales
- Sacha McDonald – Victoria
- Matilda McDonell – New South Wales
- Annie Miller – New South Wales
- Hannah Mundy – Victoria
- Tyler Orr – South Australia
- Martina Reekers – Queensland
- Maddison Ridley – Victoria
- Trinity Rond – Western Australia
- Amy Sligar – New South Wales
- Allie Smith – Victoria
- Tayla Williams – South Australia
- Sarahpheinna Woulf – Queensland
