The GIANTS’ most promising emerging talent is set to take to the court next week, with the GIANTS Academy one of 11 teams participating at the Australian Netball Championships (ANC).
The underpinning competition to Suncorp Super Netball, the Australian Netball Championships is the pinnacle for pathway netball in Australia
The GIANTS Academy – which was launched in 2019 – will participate in the second edition of the open age championships, looking to showcase the depth of the club’s next generation of talent.
For GIANTS Academy Manager and ANC Head Coach, Jenny O’Keeffe, the pathway is the priority for the Academy's at the upcoming tournament.
“It’s a massive development opportunity for all players, no matter what level they’re currently playing at,” she said.
“Wins would be nice, but the priority is our pathway. Our focus is ourselves. We have our performance based KPI’s, and they’ll be our focus.”
The GIANTS Academy’s 12-player squad will feature GIANTS midcourter Amy Sligar, as well as Training Partners Ang Frketic (captain), Erin O’Brien, Charli Fidler and Jemma Donoghue.
It also includes nationally identified young guns Monika ‘Otai and Hope White, who will compete at the competition for the first time.
“Monika and Hope are both heading into this environment for the first time – once you step out of your age group the challenges change but I'm very confident that both of them will rise to that,” O’Keeffe said.
“It’s great to welcome Jemma back into our GIANTS environment following her exposure in the English Super League with Leeds Rhino and I'm looking forward to seeing how our captains in Ang and Amy go in developing their skills and roles as leaders throughout the week.”
The GIANTS Academy have been fixtured in Pool A, set to take on the Collingwood Magpies, Capital Darters, Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts and Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures.
“We had a couple of hit outs against the Darters in preparation, but their team will look a little different come the competition,” O’Keeffe said.
“Collingwood are relatively unknown to us whereas Sunshine Coast [Lightning Bolts] and Adelaide [Thunderbirds Futures] have players that are known to us so we will certainly be looking at a strategy to make sure we deal with them.”
The seven-day competition gets underway on Monday, August 21, replicating a World Cup style event with consecutive days of matches.
The GIANTS Academy will begin their 2023 ANC campaign against the Collingwood Magpies on Monday at 3pm.
All matches will be available to watch FREE via Kayo Freebies. Registration for a Kayo Freebies account is quick and easy with just a name, email and mobile. Click here to sign up today.
GIANTS Academy Fixture:
Day 1 – Monday, August 21 v Collingwood Magpies at 3pm
Day 2 – Bye
Day 3 – Wednesday, August 23 v Capital Darters at 11am
Day 4 – Thursday, August 24 v Sunshine Coast Lightning Bolts at 3pm
Day 5 – Friday, August 25 v Adelaide Thunderbirds Futures at 7pm
Day 6 – Saturday, August 26 - Semi Finals
Day 7 – Sunday, August 27 - Finals
