Super Netball 2022: Mother’s Day milestone a moment to celebrate for Giants star Amy Parmenter

It’s one of the toughest days of the year for Giants midcourter Amy Parmenter, but this Mother’s Day she’ll be celebrating a ‘full circle moment’ - and in an intense derby atmosphere to boot.

Giants defender Amy Parmenter has been using meditation to stay on top of her mental wellbeing inside the netball QLD hub. Photo Lachie Millard

Sunday will be the best of days and worst of days for Amy Parmenter, but the Diamonds squad member believes having her 50th Super Netball match fall on Mother’s Day is a moment worth celebrating.

Parmenter lost her mother, Gilly, to mesothelioma in 2013 when the netballer was just 15 and Mother’s Day can be a tough occasion.

“It is a hard day but it also is a nice day, I think it’s kind of full circle,” Parmenter said.

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Amy Parmenter celebrates her 50th Super Netball game this weekend.

“I feel like it’s funny that my 50th game has fallen on Mother’s Day — I believe in signs, so hopefully it’s a little sign.

“But we’ve got a job to do and I’ve just got to go out and play netball. Hopefully all the family will be there and it’d be a really nice vibe and day.”

A Giants win in the NSW derby against the Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena on Sunday afternoon would cap the day for Parmenter, who faces a tough midcourt battle against Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud if her side is to get across the line.

After being named in the Diamonds squad ahead of the Quad Series last year, Parmenter was not among the 15 players who travelled to England for the championship, but she forced her way into coach Stacey Marinkovich’s 18-woman preliminary Commonwealth Games group with outstanding performances so far this Super Netball season.

“I’m like definitely in Giants land right now,” she said. “You don’t have any control over the Diamonds and for me, it’s just a bonus if it happens.

“I can’t really do anything more than just focus on playing well for the Giants and taking on some of that feedback that I got from Stace (Marinkovich).”

Like Parmenter, Hadley is trying to put her best foot forward ahead of the final Diamonds selection, but her first priority is trying to right the Swifts’ ship after the loss of key shooter Sam Wallace in the first leg of the derby in March.

Amy Parmenter and Paige Hadley will come up against each other this weekend.

The Trinidad and Tobago goaler suffered a season-ending knee injury and the Swifts have managed just two wins so far this season, slumping to the bottom of the ladder at the halfway point.

“It’s been tough and we’ve been thrown some curve balls, but the feeling is it’s coming and we’re going to find a way, we’re going to get this season back on track.

“Everyone’s saying that we’re down the bottom and yeah, we are, but in terms of what the ladder looks like, we’re just two wins away from being in that top four.

“It’s just about getting that win on the board and building that momentum and confidence.”

Hadley would love nothing more than helping the Swifts to an upset of their great rivals to help the cause.

“You always look forward to the derby, I think it’s for pride and playing in front of your fans and family ,” she said.

“It’s been a tough few weeks but when you play the derby, it’s anyone’s game and you turn up to play.”

Paige Hadley impressed during the Diamonds’ recent Quad Series victory.

Hadley’s showing at the Quad Series went a long way to earning her a ticket to Birmingham but she is not taking a Commonwealth Games berth for granted, especially in such a strong group of midcourt candidates.

While she would also love to see Swifts teammate Proud in there, she was happy to see Parmenter, a fellow NSW junior, come through the ranks into the Diamonds program.

“It’s awesome to see another NSW junior get in that Australian squad and I know how much it means to Parmy (Parmenter) and how hard she’s worked to get there,” Hadley said.

“But come Sunday, we’re ‘frenemies’ out on court and we’re going to be doing everything we can to get the win for our team.”

The Swifts will have to battle a Giants team that has their tails up after clawing their way back into the top four following a Covid outbreak that decimated the squad early in the season.

Parmenter was one of a number of Giants ravaged by the virus when the league refused to postpone their round 2 match despite six players testing positive.

They lost that clash against the Adelaide Thunderbirds and then two of the three games they played in a week through the condensed rounds 3-5, but they have clawed their way back into the top four heading into the back end of the season.

The Giants are showing the way for Sydney teams this year.

And Parmenter believes the experience gained from last year’s run to the grand final is already paying dividends.

“Last year gave us a lot of confidence,” Parmenter said.

“We didn’t win the grand final and that hurt a lot, but just the ability to know that we can match it with any of the teams and we can play finals netball.

“I think 90 per cent of the team had never played finals before, so just that experience has given us an extra edge this year.

“If we can keep playing the netball that we’ve played the last few weeks, we can beat anyone - I’m so confident of that.”

Why Thunderbirds find Lightning very very frightening

- Erin Smith

One goal is all that has separated Thunderbirds and Lightning the last three times they have met and Adelaide defender Matilda Garrett is well aware the side needs to convert the close games into wins if they want to make their first finals appearance.

Thunderbirds went down 51-52 when they hosted the Sunshine Coast team in Round 3.

Both their clashes in the 2021 season also went down to the wire, with a one point difference – Thunderbirds claimed one win and Lightning the other.

Swifts also managed to sneak a one point win over Thunderbirds in Round 4.

Adelaide have won just two of their seven games this season and are close to hitting the bottom of the ladder.

Matilda Garrett of the Adelaide Thunderbirds (R) says her team must close out tight games. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Another loss, no matter how small, against struggling Lightning would come close to crushing Thunderbirds’ dream to play in their first Super Netball finals series.

Garrett and Shamera Sterling won’t have it easy on Saturday night with Lightning’s shooters Cara Koenen and Steph Wood, both named in the 2022/23 Diamonds squad, in top form.

“We are super hungry, we have had some really close games, moving forward we just want to turn those one point games into wins,” Garrett said.

“The losses are definitely motivating us to get those wins and chase the premiership.

“The last couple of times we have played them we have either had a one point win, or a one point loss,” Garrett said.

“This time we are hungry to get redemption.”

Garrett said there was no reason why Thunderbirds couldn’t get the win.

“We just want to win as much ball as possible and keep throwing it down the attacking end,” she said.

“We have a very versatile team but one or two errors could be the difference between us winning or losing.”

The clash will be Garrett’s 50th national league game, after debuting for Collingwood in 2018.

She has honed her skills alongside some of the world’s best defenders – Sharni Layton, Geva Mentor and now Thunderbirds teammate Sterling.

The 23-year-old has many highlights from her 49 games including the chance to play in front of the Pink Army at Adelaide Entertainment Centre and travelling to New Zealand for a pre-season tournament with Collingwood to play against the ANZ teams.

But winning premiership remains her goal

Thunderbirds will play Lightning at USC Stadium at 7pm (AEST) on Saturday.

SWIFTS SHOOTING SENSATION LEADS LIST OF RISING STARS

The sister of a Super Netball star and a Swifts’ teenage shooting sensation headline Australia’s future Diamonds hopefuls – being named among the nation’s best young netballers following the National Netball Championships.

The 26 players were chosen by selectors after impressing at the nationals tournament held in Hobart last month.

Among the list of rising stars is Sophie Fawns, who missed nationals after earning a full-time contract with NSW Swifts, replacing injured shooter Sam Wallace.

Sophie Fawns of the Swifts has been named in the Australian u19 netball side. Picture: Getty Images

Fawns has shot 88 goals this Super Netball season, with a 79 per cent accuracy.

Swifts training partner Audrey Little put on quite a show throughout the tournament, earning MVP in the NSW side’s gold medal match win over South Australia.

Little, the daughter of former Wallaby Jason Little, was almost unstoppable in the midcourt.

Despite tearing her ACL during the tournament Ruth Aryang, the younger sister of Fever’s Sunday Aryang, was also named in the side.

South Australian athlete Kayla Graham was relentless on the court. She was named the MVP of the championships and also earned a spot in the U-19 side.

Queenslander and Sunshine Coast lightning training partner Ava Black made the side.

Lily Clark, from the Northern Territory, is back in the national side after previously playing in the U/17s.

Audrey Little, with her Dad, former Wallaby Jason Little. Picture: Julian Andrews

Netball Australia’s chair pathway selector Michelle Wilkins said the level of netball on show at the National Championships lead to a great deal of excitement about what the U/19 and U/17 teams could achieve.

“This competition is critical for the selection of our pathway talent and ensuring the Australian Diamonds’ future success and there is certainly a future Diamond listed within this year’s underage national squads,” Wilkins said.

“The quality and standard of performance was exceptional and, as importantly, the competitiveness, passion and sense of fair play was testament to the strength of our sport.”

Of the 26 athletes selected in the U/19 squad nine are already involved in the Suncorp Super Netball league.

Both underage national teams will take part in a series of training camps later this year.

U19 National Team

Emily Andrew (Vic)

Ruth Aryang (WA)

Ava Black (Qld)

Sophie Casey (SA)

Lily Clark (NT)

Lucy Denton (SA)

Sophie Eastaugh (WA)

Ashleigh Ervin (Qld)

Sophie Fawns (NSW)

Charli Fidler (NSW)

Poppy Gillfillan-Silk (SA)

Kayla Graham (SA)

Jasmah Haywood (WA)

Ella Johnson (NSW)

Audrey Little (NSW)

Charli Nicol (Vic)

Oliva Nicholls (SA)

Erin O’Brien (NSW)

Milla Papallo (ACT)

Lillyana Renni (Qld)

Millie Roach (NSW)

Elsa Sif Sandholt (Qld)

Aaleya Turner (SA)

Ash Turner (Tas)

Zara Walters (Vic)

Olivia Wilkinson (Vic)

U17 National Team

Nicola Barge (NSW)

Sienna Burns (SA)

Georgie Cleaver (WA)

Darcie Davies (Qld)

Jada Delaney (Qld)

Sophia Dobson (Qld)

Aitaua Enari (WA)

Talitah Fai Fai (Qld)

Lily Graham (Vic)

Gemma Hutchings (Qld)

Brooke Irlam (SA)

Ocean Karekare (Qld)

Eugenie Little (NSW)

Ellie Marshall (Tas)

Sophia Martinussen (ACT)

Ashlyn Materne (NT)

Mikaela Minns (Vic)

Eliza Molino (Vic)

Jayden Molo (Qld)

Charlotte Morey (Vic)

Amelia Olech (SA)

Paige O’Neill (Tas)

Monika Otai (NSW)

Tabitha Packer (SA)

Elisa Robinson (ACT)

Laura Roy (NT)

Frederika Schneideman (NSW)
Poppy Scholz (SA)

Tayla Styles (WA)

Kaylin Van Greunen (Qld)

Mia Van Wyk (Vic)

Lucy Voyvodic (SA)

Tara Watson (Vic)

Hope White (NSW)

Grace Whyte (NSW)

Emma Winfield (Vic)

Originally published as Super Netball 2022: Mother’s Day milestone a moment to celebrate for Giants star Amy Parmenter