Burton excited for fresh start

By Sophie Taylor

Moving more than 14,000km across the world, and away from family and friends, might seem like a daunting task but for one Aussie netballer it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

West Australian Sloane Burton is one of a handful of Australian netballers honing their skills in the UK's Netball Super League.

One of the latest recruits to Team Bath, the 23-year-old goaler is brimming with pathways experience and potential.

Sloane took her netball journey into her own hands at the end of 2023 after making her way through the Netball WA pathway.

“I went through pretty much every single stage of the Netball WA pathway,” Burton said.

“I did under 12s, under 15s, under 17s… I played 17/U for WA twice, and then once in 19s, and then we had one Covid affected year.”

That Covid-affected year limited pathways opportunities across the country. But opportunities prior to 2020 really set Burton’s resume in motion, with no shortage of experience at a young age credit to stints in the Australian Netball League throughout 2018 and 2019.

“I was one of the youngest in the team, at about 16-17,” Burton said.

“We were traveling with the Fever team which was really exciting. But it was obviously difficult with school because we'd travel every second weekend, especially in Western Australia, where it's like, five hours on a plane.”

Post-Covid, Burton juggled her studies and burgeoning netball career.

“I was a training partner with West Coast Fever for two years, one with Stacey Marinkovich and then one with Dan Ryan,” Burton said.

“The premiership season was really exciting, and then last year I decided to have a break from (being a training partner) and I just focused on school.”

With a strong year on the court at state and national level in 2023, Burton decided it was high time she went looking for her next opportunity in netball.

Accepting a contract opportunity in England was the natural next step for the smooth moving goaler.

“At the time, I didn't really see an opportunity for myself in SSN,” Burton explained.

“When this (opportunity) came up, I didn't really think too much about it, I just thought playing a sport I love in a different country to challenge myself was just super exciting.”

Burton’s ‘netball resume’ came in handy when opportunities came knocking in late 2023, with her wealth of experience and go-getter attitude earning her a look in at the new-look Team Bath in the UK’s Netball Super League.

That excitement came with real challenges though, with Burton making the move over to Bath in January.

“A challenge for me is finding the balance between life and netball when I don't have family and friends over here like you usually would at home,” Burton said.

“It can be hard to deal with sometimes, especially because the only thing I'm really doing over here is netball.”

Burton has gained confidence as the season progressed, with an unexpected start on debut giving her a real sense of excitement and recognition that she had made the right decision.

“I was very surprised to start, in a good way obviously!” Burton said.

“Coming over to a new club, you never expect that… I was willing to work myself into the starting seven, so that was a really nice surprise and a very nerve-wracking day.

“We had the central venue (for round one), which was the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of, and the atmosphere was amazing. It was so cool, and it was really good to get a win as well.”

Despite that round one victory being the only win on the Bath tally at the midpoint of the season, it is clear that the young goaler has found her place within the playing group.

“Initially it was quite challenging,” Burton said.

“They play very differently over here, like a different style of netball.

“It’s exciting, but it took me a while to know what my role was… now I've really sorted out clarity around my role and embracing wherever they want me to play because I am playing over goal attack and goal shooter.

“I feel like I'm getting more and more confidence over here, it's just getting better and better.”

Header photo credit: Fever Pitch