Netball Victoria prepares to announce state under-17 and 19 teams

Victoria’s best junior netballers will pursue gold medals when they travel to the national netball championships next year. See the final teams.

Victoria has named its teams to contest the national netball titles in 2023.

The under-17 and 19 teams will travel to Darwin in April next year for the national championships.

After an exhaustive selection process, 12 players have been selected to represent their state.

Tracey Brereton and Wendy Jacobsen have been named as the head coaches of the under-17 and under-19 sides respectively.

UNDER-19s

Mia Aitken (Geelong Cougars)

Sahara Ball (Parkville)

Tully Bethune (Geelong Cougars)

Harriet Gall (Goulburn Valley League)

Charli Hoey (Geelong Cougars)

Piuti Laban (Casey Demons)

Mia Lavis (Albury Netball Association)

Eliza Molino (Hawks Netball)

Georgie O’Brien (Hawks Netball)

Mackenzie O’Dwyer (Goulburn Valley League)

Leila Simpson (Peninsula Waves)

Teah Wilson (Boroondara Express)

UNDER-19s

Shae Clifford (Bendigo Football Netball League)

Lily Graham (Wilson Storage Southern Saints)

Teal Hocking (City West Falcons)

Grace Markovic* (Melbourne University Lightning)

Mikaela Minns (City West Falcons)

Charli Nicol (City West Falcons)

Christine Oguche (City West Falcons)

Charlotte Sexton (Bendigo Football Netball League)

Ruby Shannon (North East Blaze)

Mia van Wyk (Wilson Storage Southern Saints)

Tara Watson (North East Blaze)

Olivia Wilkinson (Peninsula Waves)

CUTS AHEAD FOR VICTORIAN COACHES

The strength of Victoria’s junior netballers means coaches are set for a difficult task of picking teams for the national championships.

Squads of 50 players have been cut to 25 with a final decision on the under-17 and under-19 teams for next year’s titles.

The 2023 championships will be held in Darwin next year pitting the country’s future Diamonds against one another.

Victorian under-19 coach Wendy Jacobson said the process to the final team announcement had been an exciting one.

“We’ve had to make some hard cuts already and it’s going to be difficult narrowing it down to the final team,” she said.

“It’s fantastic to see just how much talent there is in Victorian netball. One of the biggest things with breaks in the last two years has been we’ve seen some new faces introduced into the state pathway system.

“The girls have brought into what we’ve asked of them. I think I set some pretty high expectations and they’ve continued to challenge themselves to reach those.

“It’s amazing to see the drive these girls have shown to reach this point and we look forward to the challenge ahead in preparing for the national titles.”

Last month, Netball Victoria announced its final 25-player squads for both teams.

A training camp has since been held to try and whittle down the numbers.

An official announcement on teams is expected in the coming weeks.

UNDER-19 SQUAD

Keeley Burgmann – Hawks Netball

Shae Clifford – Bendigo Football Netball League

Saachi Donald – Boroondara Express

Kiahna Fallon – Geelong Cougars

Lily Graham – Southern Saints

Isabelle Grapsas – Geelong Cougars

Sienna Green – Hawks Netball

Teal Hocking – City West Falcons

Millie Hogg – Wilson Storage Southern Saints

Dee Dee Lambert – Hawks Netball

Grace Markovic – Melbourne University Lightning

Mikaela Minns – City West Falcons

Charlotte Morey – Geelong Cougars

Charli Nicol – City West Falcons

Christine Oguche – City West Falcons

Ella Roberton – Peninsula Waves

Charlotte Sexton – Bendigo Football Netball League

Ruby Shannon – North East Blaze

Georgia Shattock – Boroondara Express

Jessica Tetley – Peninsula Waves

Alannah Trevisan – Ballarat Football Netball League

Mia Van Wyk – Wilson Storage Southern Saints

Tara Watson – North East Blaze

Olivia Wilkinson – Peninsula Waves

Achel Yout – City West Falcons

UNDER-17 SQUAD

Mia Aitken – AFL Barwon

Sahara Ball – Parkville

Tully Bethune – Geelong Cougars

Elisa Butterworth-Gonebale – Altona Netball Association

Kate Evans – Ovens Murray League

Lupe Fonua – Casey Netball

Harriet Gall – Goulburn Valley League

Lucinda Gatt – Boroondara Express

Chelsea Giblett – Boroondara Express

Charli Hoey – AFL Barwon

Georgia Howell – Geelong Cougars VNL

Grace Ioelu – Casey Netball Association

Piuti Laban – Casey Netball Association

Mia Lavis – Albury Netball Association

Annecy Lyon – Ariels

Madeline Mickovski – Geelong Cougars

Eliza Molino – Hawks

Kate O‘Dwyer – Sandringham

Mackenzie O‘Dwyer – Goulburn Valley League

Monique Parker – Altona Netball Association

Jessie Prvulj – Casey Netball Association

Charlize Reid – Waverley Night Netball Association

Amy Scott – West Gippsland FNC

Leila Simpson – Peninsula Waves

Teah Wilson – Boroondara Express