01 Nov 2024
Earlier this week, our under 15s girls netball team competed against some of NSW’s best players at the Netball CHS State Finals.
The tournament consisted of two gruelling days of netball at the Illawarra Sports Stadium. The pool was relentless, with the girls playing 15 matches and only taking a brief break to catch their breaths in between.
The girls, who had already proved themselves Riverina and Southwest Champions, managed hold their own. There was some fierce competition on the bill, with 4 selective sports high schools and state and national athletes in the mix.
Despite this, Wade managed to rank 10 out of 15 overall. A notable high point of the competition was the match against the renowned Westfield Sports High School, where our girls were down by a single point at half time.
Daisy O’Connor and Ellie Matthews were an excellent defensive team, getting turnovers and rebounding countless goals. Captain Tess Jamieson was a standout in centre, giving the game her absolute all and battling exhaustion by the end of the tournament.
Isabelle Corti and Matilda Poole were absolutely electric on the attack. The usually mild mannered Corti was ferocious, demonstrating tremendous accuracy while Poole fed her shooting opportunities.
Megan Callcut was a reliable utility player in the centre court. She kept the team spirits up with her can do attitude. Meanwhile, Myah Stefanin showed a lot of grit and managed to smile off a few minor injuries in defence. Layla Codemo was swift and worked hard to get turnovers while Molly Jones was an asset to the wing, supporting other shooters and working the circle.
“The girls showed good sportsmanship and grace,” recounts Jessy McRae, “They played as a team and played for each other. We are so proud of them. They were a lovely group to take away.”
”To have such a young team achieve such an impressive result is amazing,” continues Jessy, “Hopefully the experience they gained from playing against these well drilled, older sides will help them next year.”
Special thanks to Maddy Murdoch for organising the entire excursion and Corinne Poole who was described as being like a mum to the team. She made sure everyone had plenty of food and water and was a massive support throughout the trip.