By Linda Pearce
Oh, and she also squeezes in a day job as the GIANTS Netball vice‑captain and 51‑game midcourter, who was named wing defence in the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball Team of the Year and has been a multiple Australian Diamonds training‑camp invitee.
How does she manage it all?
“My Google calendar!” the 23‑year‑old said with a laugh.
Back then, and at club and representative level, each moment was shared with her twin sister, Natalie — who in Round 1 made her SSN debut as a temporary replacement player for the Sunshine Coast Lightning. The Sligars have now joined the Cransbergs (Jordan and Zoe) and Hinchliffes (Tara and Maddie) as twins to play together or apart at SSN level.
“I always say I wish everyone could have a twin sister, we got to have a best friend at everything we did,’’ Sligar said.
“Netball, we loved it, and it was something that really connected us, and then as we went through the pathways you never had to face things alone like rocking up to a trial by yourself. I always had Natalie there with me.
“Sometimes one of us would make the team and the other wouldn’t, and that teaches you lessons that maybe take longer for other people to realise: that selection’s just a moment in time, and one person making it isn’t the be‑all and end‑all, we learned to support each other through that.”
Sligar is a disability support worker away from the court.
With the revamped GIANTS struggling for success under new head coach Nerida Stewart, despite narrow losses to the two top teams, Sligar is now combining a focus on her own performance — including an expanded role at centre with the team‑focused responsibilities that come with elevation to an official leadership role.
However “super‑challenging” the circumstances, Sligar is proud of how the group has stuck together and stayed committed to improving, while personally feeling privileged to have played every minute of game time in 2026 so far.
It has been a gradual rise through the GIANTS system. Contracted for 2021 as an 18‑year‑old, Sligar was stuck in the midcourt queue behind Amy Parmenter, Jamie‑Lee Price and Maddie Hay until Parmenter left for the fledgling Melbourne Mavericks in 2024.
Her 15‑game total across her first three seasons almost doubled in 2024, before a breakout 2025 for a player hailed by Stewart during the pre‑season as a powerful and fast ball‑winner with a fierce competitive edge, and a team‑first student of the game “who combines high‑level understanding with relentless work ethic and uncompromising standards.”
GIANTS assistant Jen Wright, who works with the defensive group and coached Sligar at NSW 19/U level, has noticed the growth in a disciplined and determined ball‑winner she rates as a future Diamond, and who leads by example both on and off court.
“Amy’s work ethic and tenacity at training, she really sets the bar high and that lifts everyone around her," Wright said.
“There was even a time when a lady was caught at customs with fishing reels — they were very expensive and she had to unwire all of them — and Amy stood there and helped. She’s just got a heart of gold, and being that wonderful and kind but also being a beast on the court is a pretty amazing combo.”
Others are taking notice too, as slightly‑under‑the‑radar suddenly became name‑in‑lights with that SSN Team of the Year recognition for a consistent 14‑game season that Sligar finished in the league’s top three for intercepts.
“I don’t mind being a bit of an underdog, I probably welcome that title a little bit,” Sligar said.
Sligar is comfy being seen as an underdog.
“I like to think that I work pretty hard at training, so anything’s possible and it probably surprised me, to be fair!
“Even to be named among the list of players that I was… it’s definitely a pinch‑yourself moment.
An apprenticeship under the now‑Mavericks trio of Parmenter, Price and Hay — playing across all three positions — helped provide the building blocks, as hard work combined with a thirst for learning left Sligar well‑prepared for when opportunities came.
“Centre is really different to wing defence, and people probably don’t appreciate how big the difference is between the positions but the ability to swap between them has been really fun,” Sligar said.
“I like centre because I like running around, I’m one of those people who actually enjoys running but wing defence is fun when you can shut down your opponent and work together with your defensive end.
"I’m just happy to be on court in any position.”
Meanwhile, Sligar has three subjects left in her biomedical degree before — netball commitments permitting — starting medicine.
The Fever’s Jordan Cransberg will qualify as a doctor this year, with former Thunderbirds Layla Guscoth and Carrie Worthley among the tiny cohort to have done so.
For now, Sligar says her disability support work is immensely rewarding, and the importance of giving back was instilled in both twins by their school‑teacher parents. The rising GIANTS star knows from experience how great the impact of positive examples can be.
Sligar had a breakout season last year.
“I don’t take that responsibility lightly, and it’s exciting," she said.
"People like Parmy and Kiera Austin are all doing amazing work, I constantly feel inspired by them.
"Even though they’re your teammates or rivals sometimes, they’re constantly inspiring me even as a fellow professional athlete.”
A self‑confessed stats and data nerd, emerging leader, aspiring doctor and wannabe Diamond, Sligar is also a passionate GIANT proud of what she calls her “never‑say‑die” attitude.
Chasing every loose ball until the final whistle — and giving maximum effort, always — has less to do with talent or skill than mindset, according to a 51‑game quiet achiever now gaining wider recognition.
“That’s the thing about Amy, she’s almost like a silent assassin,” Wright said.
“She goes about her business, she gets things done, she’s a no‑fuss, no‑frills kinda girl and she’s so humble.
"What a wonderful combination of personality traits to bring to a club.”
