Sam Winders (nee Sinclair) will embark on a new challenge in 2024 with the former Silver Fern joining the GIANTS for the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball season.
Winders will become the first talent from across the ditch to join the club and joins just a handful of New Zealand players to have played in the Suncorp Super Netball competition.
The 28-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the GIANTS’ lineup after a National League career spanning 10 years and 138 caps.
She spent the first nine years of her career at the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, before a venture south in 2023 to represent the Southern Steel.
Winders was at the Magic during Julie Fitzgerald’s three-year stint across the Tasman, with the former Magic captain to not only re-unite with her conference winning coach, but also former teammates Jo Harten and Jamie-Lee Price.
The proud Kiwi has also represented her home nation on 47 occasions and was named the Silver Ferns’ Player of the Year in 2021.
Winders is a coach's delight, with the versatile midcourter a driving force both on attack and defence where her tenacity, determination and athletic attitude are strong features of her play.
With the trademark qualities of a dogged, tenacious wing defence, the former Silver Fern is also an efficient and effective distributor from centre or wing attack.
The GIANTS’ newest signing said she is grateful and excited for the new challenge.
“It’s a massive privilege to have the opportunity to play in the Suncorp Super Netball league,” she said.
“I felt like I was in a transitioning phase of my career. 10 years of playing at the top level had me asking, ‘now what else do I want to do before it’s all over?’ When the opportunity came up to play in Australia and for the GIANTS, it just felt like the right thing to do, at the right time.”
Winders will be welcomed by familiar faces upon her arrival into Sydney with the opportunity to reunite with Fitzgerald, Harten and Price a contributing factor.
“They’re all great women, who are superstars of the sport,” Winders said.
“I cannot wait to reunite with them all.”
Winders said she has watched on from afar since the GIANTS were introduced into the revised competition back in 2017 and can’t wait to get involved in the club.
“I’ve followed the GIANTS closely since their inception given I knew some of the girls. From the outside it looks like an awesome club with an awesome game day atmosphere and I'm super pumped to get amongst it,” she said.
GIANTS coach Julie Fitzgerald said she is ecstatic to reveal the club’s first new signing for the 2024 season.
“It’s exciting to welcome a fresh face into the side,” Fitzgerald said.
“Sam’s versatility and experience will complement our 2024 list and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work with her again.
“She has the characteristic of what we believe makes a GIANTS player both on and off the court and she will fit in seamlessly.
“She is such a friendly and warm person, and I can’t wait for the members and fans to get to know her.”
Winders is the first of three new signings for the GIANTS for season 2024, joining a cohort of current GIANTS who re-signed on Friday.
GIANTS Netball Signings
Sophie Dwyer (2026)
Jo Harten (2025)
Maddie Hay (2025)
Matisse Letherbarrow (2025)
Tilly McDonell (2024)
Jamie-Lee Price (2026)
Amy Sligar (2025)
Sam Winders (2024)
