High profile stars will test their mettle against rookies at the Australian Netball Championships
The Australian Netball Championships kick off on Monday and a host of SSN players will be up against talented rookies looking for their big break.
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It’s not the traditional preparation for an elite netball tournament.
But Annie Lawrie’s eight-month stint on a cattle property in Central Queensland has provided the perfect perspective for a player intent on having another crack at breaking into the world’s best netball league.
Lawrie has tasted Super Netball action before. Just 18 when she made her debut with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Covid hub in 2020 when the league allowed expanded 12-woman squads to deal with the compressed season, Lawrie stayed on the Coast for the next two years as a training partner, tasting action again in 2022.
But when she was not offered a position again for the 2023 season, Lawrie, who is training to be a primary school teacher, completing a Bachelor Education at Griffith University, headed west to get out of the netball bubble, completing a stint as a nanny.
Lawrie is among a handful of players with Super Netball experience who will feature at this year’s Australian Netball Championships — set to start in Caboolture, north of Brisbane, on Monday.
Adelaide Thunderbirds premiership player Lucy Austin and Swifts grand finalists Sophie Fawns, Lili Gorman-Brown and Teigan O’Shannassy are among them, while the Sunshine Coast, Giants, Victorian Fury and West Coast Fever reserves also have players with experience at the Super Netball level.
Firebirds Futures shooter Lawrie has that experience as well but found expanding her horizons earlier this year as a nanny to a family with three children aged one, three and five at Clarke Creek between Mackay and Rockhampton in Central Queensland, to be incredibly useful.
“I never thought of giving (netball) up, I think it was something that I knew I would always come back to because I still loved it so much,” Lawrie said.
“It was just that I needed a bit of a break. I don’t think I was all there mentally, so it was just nice to have a little bit of a refresh and realise that life is a lot bigger than just netball.
“Coming back I’ve absolutely loved every bit of it and being in the Firebirds environment, it’s so professional here and everything that they do training wise, psych wise, nutrition, everything is thought out so well, so I’m super keen to get on the court next week and show everyone what we can do.”
Lawrie was just 18 when she made her Super Netball debut. At 22, she’s hardly a veteran but the perspective she was handed by her nannying gig — one that she will return to later this year after a prac teaching stint at a 12-student school at St Lawrence, about 50km from the cattle station — reignited a passion for the game in a healthy way.
“I think it ignited a different flame,” Lawrie said.
“I’ve always just thought my life revolved around netball. But realising that there’s so many different layers and how important having life outside of netball is and how family and friends that make you so happy, then makes your netball life a lot better.
“So just having that really good balance of work, life and netball, has been something that I’ve really strived towards this season.”
Lawrie’s not ready to totally give up the court for the classroom just yet though, returning from prac teaching and nannying at the end of the year to prepare for the 2024 season and hoping for another taste of Super Netball.
“(Teaching in a remote area) is something I’d love to do now but it’s something that you can’t really do when you’re trying to play netball at this level. Probably after I’ve given netball another crack.”
Competition starts on Monday at the Morayfield Sports and Events Centre, north of Brisbane, with all matches streamed live on Kayo Freebies.
Lawrie’s story is just one from the ANC class of 2023, with plenty of players to watch out for over the next week.
Lucy Austin (Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures)
One of the highest profile players set to compete in the tournament, Austin is fresh off a premiership with the Thunderbirds and a Super Netball finals series in which she played a key part. A strong holding shooter with the ability to move around the circle and shoot from range, Austin will test every defender at the competition as she moves into a senior role with the T-Birds team in Morayfield.
Tyler Orr (Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures)
One of six T-Birds Super Netball training partners in the Futures squad, Orr provides the perfect link between attack and defence and was a key member of the team that handed Adelaide — then playing as Southern Force — the title last year. With a taste of Super Netball under her belt after a stint with Collingwood in the hub in 2020 as a replacement player in 2020, is keen to return to the top level.
Olivia Clark (Capital Darters)
A versatile goaler with the ability to play across both positions in the shooting circle, Clark – who has also turned out in several First Nations state and national representative sides – will bring plenty to the Darters outfit, whether it’s shouldering the scoring load or creating opportunities for her shooting partner.
Casey Adamson (Collingwood Magpies)
A versatile midcourter who made her Super Netball debut for the Magpies in 2022, Adamson will wear the black and white proudly in Collingwood’s final outing as a netball club. The Magpies were pipped for an ANC medal last season and Adamson would love to help take them out on a high note.
Zoe Davies (Collingwood Magpies)
Despite a late start to the sport, picking it up in her mid teens, the defender moved quickly through the ranks and played three games for the Pies in 2022, racking up five deflections with her strong game sense and aerial hops. A training partner in the Pies’ final Super Netball season, she will turn out in Caboolture hoping to write a successful final chapter for the club.
Leesa Mi Mi (Firebirds Futures)
Mi Mi made the most of her chance when handed a Super Netball start by coach Bec Bulley at the tail end of last season following an injury to Macy Gardner. In her first two appearances in the starting seven — including the Firebirds’ First Nations round upset of the Melbourne Vixens — Mi Mi matched up on Diamonds Jamie-Lee Price and captain Liz Watson and lost nothing to the pair, showing off her incredible pace and movement. Her ANC appearance could be a virtual audition for a Super Netball spot, with the signing window yet to open for next season.
Amy Sligar (Giants Netball Academy)
One of the Giants’ 10 contracted players last season, Sligar played five Super Netball matches in 2023 and lines up as one of the most experienced members of the Academy side. Comfortable across all three midcourt positions, Sligar is an athletic and versatile player who will show off her range as she chases a contract again for next season.
Jemma Donoghue (Giants Netball Academy)
One of the players best suited to making the next step to the full professional ranks, Donoghue returns to play for the Giants after a stint in the UK Superleague with Leeds Rhinos. The defender, who can push into the midcourt or play in the circle at goal defence, is a former Australian U21 representative, who played her only Super Netball game for the Giants in 2022. With a new Super Netball club set to enter the competition next year and coaches and scouts likely to be on the lookout, the 22-year-old will be keen to put her best foot forward.
Monika Otai (Giants Netball Academy)
She took up netball just four years ago but at 17, Otai is already making giant strides in the game, captaining Australia to Fast5 gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago just last week. The UTS Randwick goaler was also named player of the year in Netball NSW’s open Premier League competition and is among those to watch next week.
Lili Gorman-Brown (Swifts Academy)
Stepped up for the Swifts this year as Allie Smith waged an ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis, eventually playing seven matches, including a stint in the grand final, with coach Briony Akle unafraid to inject her into the thick of the action. Will be one of the keys for the Swifts in the midcourt, with her ability to get to circle edge and feed her shooters a boon for her side.
Teigan O’Shannassy (Swifts Academy)
O’Shannassy has one of the toughest gigs at the Swifts, playing behind representative stars Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner. But the 188cm goalkeeper holds her own in the line-up, playing nine games across the season for 19 deflections and five intercepts. Will prove a tough test for any shooter hoping to dominate the circle at Morayfield.
Sophie Fawns (Swifts Academy)
Fawns will head to Caboolture as one of the stars of the ANC after starring for the side in their charge to the Super Netball grand final. Still just 19, Fawns has a maturity that belies her age — something that was on full display in the SSN finals as she put on a masterclass in the dying minutes to spark a comeback against the Fever and push her side into the season decider.
Charlie Bell (Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts)
Rangy holding shooter Bell stepped up to the plate for the Lightning this year, making the trip up the M1 from Brisbane after Reilley Batcheldor tore her ACL ahead of the season. A former Firebirds training partner, Bell made the most of her opportunity on the Coast, eventually playing seven Super Netball games. But she’ll be keen to make the most of her ANC carnival as well, with Batcheldor recovering well and back to opposed training ahead of the signing window opening.
Ashleigh Ervin (Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts)
Ervin showed enough in her maiden Super Netball season to suggest she’ll be around the top level of the game for a long time despite the Lightning’s glut of outstanding defenders. The 192cm defender played 11 games last season, earning 19 deflections and 10 intercepts and is likely to prove a nightmare for ANC shooters with her clever positioning and arms-over defence.
Kiera Heffernan (Territory Storm)
The Queensland-based Territory product will be one of the go-to players for the Storm as they make their ANC debut. Heffernan’s talent was rewarded with a spot in the Australian U19 squad earlier this year and she will put her midcourt skills on display again next week as she rallies her team.
Maddie Hinchliffe (Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts)
Hinchliffe has headed back to the Coast for the ANC competition after a Super Netball season with the ill-fated Magpies. A former Lightning player, Hinchliffe will be out to impress given she is currently clubless and in limbo with the Super Netball signing window still not defined.
Kelly Singleton (Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts)
Another who has headed to Queensland after the Magpies collapse, former Swifts and Pies shooter Singleton will be looking to lock in her radar at the ANC titles as she works to earn another Super Netball shot. A nippy goal attack who can be lethal from long range, Singleton will thrive in space and help set up her shooter given any opportunity.
Gabrielle Coffey (Victorian Fury)
After making her Super Netball debut in 2022, Coffey was again named a training partner for the Vixens in 2023 and added another game to her Super Netball tally early in the year. A strong defensive presence, the Alice Springs product is a great reader of the game and will be a key player for the Fury as they attempt to reverse last year’s ANC grand final loss and walk away with the title.
Sharni Lambden (Victorian Fury)
Like Coffey, Lambden has made the leap to the Super Netball level on occasion, turning out for the Vixens. A nippy and athletic wing defence, Lambden has plenty of versatility, able to shift into the circle as a defender or swing across to centre, bringing her trademark tenacity to any position she plays.
Jordan Cransberg (West Coast Fever Reserves)
A former Melbourne Vixens training partner, Cransberg moved west in 2023 and reaped the dividends, making her Super Netball debut, eventually playing two games in the midcourt. The ANC could provide the perfect stage for the 23-year-old, who is likely to be keenly watched by coaches and scouts alike next week given her SSN showings.
Originally published as High profile stars will test their mettle against rookies at the Australian Netball Championships
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