12 Netball NSW stars of the future and why revealed
UPDATED: They are the next big things netball, the young guns from across NSW out to make their name in the game. Find out why these 12 players are the future of netball in NSW.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
They dream of flying high as Swifts, Giants and Diamonds players one day and are the Generation Next of Australian netball.
Young players from across NSW who will be courting success for their state and country in the not-to-distant future.
Some aren’t far off. Others have a few years to grow and develop.
RUGBY GUNS: Most dangerous players in Shield Shield
LIST: Best Swifts players in Super Netball era
Here’s a list of some of the best and brightest netball talent in the state expected to be making a big mark in the game.
LEILANI ROHWEDER
Lismore/Penrith
Rohweder played her junior netball in her hometown of Lismore before making the move to Sydney for more opportunities.
Now with the Penrith District Netball Association, this young mid-courter is coming along in leaps and bounds.
A member of the QBE Swifts Academy, the 20-year-old was given a great opportunity to train with the Super Netball side when they relocated to Queensland and were allowed to extend their training squad.
The young netball has been identified as a future talent and is in the Australian u21 squad.
SOPHIE FAWNS
Wagga
You may not have heard the name yet but it is more than likely you will soon.
From Wagga, this young shooter like most regional athletes is well versed in spending hours on the road racing to training and games.
But her dedications is paying off with the young talent part of the Swifts Academy.
She impressed during a trial match for the Swift against the Giants earlier this season where she went up against experienced defender Kristiana Manu’a.
Playing Netball NSW Premier League with new franchise South Coast Blaze, 17-year-old Fawns has been a member of numerous state age teams with her preferred position at goal attack.
AUDREY LITTLE
Manly Warringah
Little by name but a big, big talent in netball.
This schoolgirl from the Northern Beaches of Sydney is the daughter of former Wallaby player Jason Little and is on course to be a big hit in her own sport.
A NSW junior, the 16-year-old made the leadership group with the NSW under 17s team.
She was also one of the youngest members named in the Swifts Academy and has been gaining experience and strength from playing in the Netball NSW Premier League where she represents the Manly Warringah Sapphires.
TAYLA FRASER
Baulkham Hills
This Sydney talent has finally secured her first player contract despite actually getting time on the court in Super Netball over both the 2019 and 2020 netball seasons.
The 21-year-old midcourter from Sydney was with the NSW Swifts Super Netball team in their Queensland hub after clubs were allowed to extend their squads due to coronavirus.
Since the end of the comp she has signed on with the club for next season.
Fraser last year played some minutes into the Swifts Super Netball win and is one of the most versatile and dynamic mid-courters in the state.
MATISSE LETHERBARROW
Baulkham Hills
A young sharpshooter with a big future ahead of her.
Matisse Letherbarrow has recently been named in the Australian u21 squad, showing she is a young Diamond in the making.
The young gun has made her way through the NSW pathways system, representing her state in numerous state age teams.
A former member of the Netball NSW Waratahs – the team which feeds into the NSW Swifts – she moved across to the Giants in 2020 and made her elite debut while training with them in Queensland at the tender age of 18.
SOPHIE DWYER
Eastwood Ryde
Another impressive shooter who, like Letherbarrow, is a member of the Australian u21 squad and destined for big things in the game.
Dwyer, 18, also benefited from teams being allowed to bring extra players into their squads during the Super Netball season and made her debut in the top domestic competition in the world after switching from the Swifts to the Giants.
The teenager has learned her craft in state teams from an early age and also played for the Swifts feeder team, the Netball NSW Waratahs.
Last season she was named the Australian Netball League Grand Final MVP.
LATIKA TOMBS
Manly Warringah
The talented daughter of former Australian centre and multiple world champion Carissa Tombs (nee Dalwood) and former Wallaby Richard Tombs.
Tombs, 18, has excelled in state teams over the years and played with the Canberra Giants, the then feeder team to Giants Netball.
Now she is part of the Giants Academy and is seen as a star in the making – in the same position as her mother in the midcourt.
Tombs was recently named in the 2020 Australian u21 squad and plays Premier League for the Manly Warringah Sapphires.
OLIVIA COLEMAN
Eastwood Ryde
Known for her height and gritty defence, Coleman is also a member of the Australian u21 netball quad.
Coleman has blossomed in the NSW Swifts environment and took the court for a number of pre-season games under the guidance of former Swifts player turned coach Briony Akle.
Coleman was sidelined early as a talent by Netball NSW pathway and has played in numerous state teams along with the Premier League for ERNA Hawks.
Coleman is in the perfect environment to learn more about her crafty with Swifts defenders Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner seen as two of the best in the game.
CLARE IONGI
Inner Western Suburbs
If she looks a little familiar there is a reason why.
Iongi is the niece of one of the toughest netballers ever to play for Australia in Mo’onia Gerrard.
A talented and athletic netballer is still in her teens and seen a bright talent for the future.
A tough defender and was bought through the Swifts’ pathway with the Netball NSW Waratahs and played in last year’s Australian Netball League (feeder competition to Super Netball) season decider.
She switched to the Giants camp this season as a training partner.
AMY AND NATALIE SLIGAR
Camden & District
Netball’s sister act.
These talented twins, a midcourter and shooter, are expected to be a big hit on an off the court in the future.
Amy and Natalie have progressed through the NSW Netball pathway system side-by-side and have also just been named together in the Australian 21 and under squad.
The twins are also members of the Giants Academy and seen as having a big future in the game.
KRISTEN KESSLER
Wyong
This young midcourter has talent and energy to burn.
Kessler was the Netball NSW Premier League MVP in 2016.
Growing up on the Central Coast, she played alongside NSW Swifts talent Lauren Moore.
She has won a Premier League title with Heart and has attracted enough attention to grab a covered spot in the NSW Swifts Academy.
Originally published as 12 Netball NSW stars of the future and why revealed
Players want professional women’s A-League
There are fears that the A-League women’s competition will fail to produce future Matildas or attract top quality players unless it turns professional.
‘Oh my god’: Monster deal stuns Buckley
Injury-prone St Kilda key forward Max King has been handed a monster new deal that has left AFL greats in disbelief.