Defender Matilda McDonell, training partners Sophie Dwyer, Clare Iongi and Matisse Letherbarrow and Academy members Annie Miller and Amy Sligar have all been named in the 24-player squad.
The youngest player in the Suncorp Super Netball league in 2019, the now 19-year-old McDonell stepped out of the classroom and onto the court, graduating from high school at the end of 2018 before making her Suncorp Super Netball debut in 2019.
Dwyer, Iongi and Letherbarrow were recently announced as GIANTS Netball training partners for the 2020 season.
Dwyer, 18, is an exciting talent in the netball scene, recently invited to Netball Australia’s Development Camp alongside fellow GIANTS Kiera Austin, Amy Parmenter, Kristiana Manu’a and Sam Poolman.
In 2018, Dwyer lined up for the Netball NSW Waratahs, taking home the player of the final despite being in the losing side.
Iongi is an athletic defender who was a member of both the 19U New South Wales State team, NNSW Waratahs and was also coached by GIANTS Netball Assistant Coach and Academy Manager Jenny O’Keeffe in the NSW Premier League.
Letherbarrow, 17, has a promising netball career ahead of her. The 188cm shooter has been playing in the Australian Netball League since she was 16-years-old and was selected in the 17U Australian Squad in both 2018 and 2019.
Miller and Sligar were both part of the Canberra GIANTS ANL training squad in 2019 and were nationally identified at the 19&U National Titles.
In September, the GIANTS launched their new GIANTS Netball Academy, with the pair part of the inaugural 2019/2020 Academy squad.
Netball Australia has announced a 24-strong squad in preparation for the Netball World Youth Cup which is taking place in Suva, Fiji in June 2021.
The selection of these athletes has been based on performances in Suncorp Super Netball, the Deakin University Australian Netball League, the National Netball Championships and training camps throughout 2019.
World Youth Cup team coach Kylee Byrne said she’s delighted with the spread of young talent coming through the Netball Australia pathway.
“The future of Australian netball is looking very bright with the calibre of athletes myself and the selectors were presented with during this process,” she said.
“It’s exciting to be kicking off our World Youth Cup campaign with such a strong squad and I’m really looking forward to working with this group over the next 19 months to bring home that Cup in 2021.”
The squad will first meet at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on Friday, 14 February, for a four-day training camp that will commence Netball Australia’s 2021 Netball World Youth Cup campaign.
A second squad selection will then be made at the beginning of August 2020 and these athletes will represent Australia on a tour of Fiji later in the year, where the squad will play several matches to prepare them for international competition.
Australia has won the Netball World Youth Cup four times, in 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2009.
New Zealand has also won the event four times, including the last two titles in 2013 and 2017.
Ten out of the 18 current Samsung Australia Diamonds squad members played in a World Youth Cup tournament earlier in their careers, with current GIANTS Kiera Austin, Teigan O’Shannassey and Jamie-Lee Price all part of the 2017 team.
2019/2020 Australian Netball World Youth Cup squad:
- Nyah Allen – South Australia
- Sunday Aryang – Western Australia
- Lucy Austin – South Australia
- Chelsea Blackman – South Australia
- Maggie Caris – Victoria
- Georgia Dent – South Australia
- Sophie Dwyer – New South Wales
- Macy Gardner – Queensland
- Kimberley Hearnden – South Australia
- Georgie Horjus – South Australia
- Clare Iongi – New South Wales
- Matisse Letherbarrow – New South Wales
- Sacha McDonald – Victoria
- Matilda McDonell – New South Wales
- Annie Miller – New South Wales
- Hannah Mundy – Victoria
- Tyler Orr – South Australia
- Martina Reekers – Queensland
- Maddison Ridley – Victoria
- Trinity Rond – Western Australia
- Amy Sligar – New South Wales
- Allie Smith – Victoria
- Tayla Williams – South Australia
- Sarahpheinna Woulf – Queensland
