Netball has been a popular sport for over fifty years and has become one of the major women’s sports in a number of countries. Traditionally, it has been dominated by Commonwealth countries, especially Australia and New Zealand. Australia has won 11 of 16 Netball World Championships – including the most recent in 2015 – and has dominated almost every international competition they have played in. It makes sense, therefore, that the Aussie team contains some of the best netballers in the world. Here are the top five famous netball players of Australia in the modern era:
1. Caitlin Bassett
Often considered one of the best goal shooters in netball history, Caitlin Bassett has gone from strength to strength over the past few years. She is consistently ranked among the top goal shooters globally, and according to most netball experts and major publications, Bassett is one of the famous netball players Australia has ever produced. She has been a part of the Australian Diamonds international team since 2008 and is renowned for her accurate shooting.
The best example of this was in the 2011 World Netball Championships, where she missed just four goals for the entire tournament. Her final score of 151 from 155 shots, going at 97.5%, is considered one of the best individual tournament performances ever. She has a personal best score of 49 goals in a game, reached twice during her career.
In 2015, Basset was the first goal shooter to win the Liz Ellis Diamonds award, which recognizes Australia’s player of the year. Her 2015 campaign saw her shoot 964 goals in both international and domestic competition, a career best. She was also the first Western Australian to be awarded the Liz Ellis Diamonds award.
2. Sharni Layton
Sharni Layton is one of the Diamonds’ defensive stalwarts, having held down a position at wing defence, goal defence, or goalkeeper since her debut in 2010. She has consistently been among the best Netball players for the New South Wales Swifts, winning their Player’s Player Award in 2014. In 2010, Layton was crowned the best young player of the MARS ANZ Championship.
Layton took her game to the next level in 2015, being crowned the ANZ Championship Player of the Year. She finished her year as the top Australian defender, with 49 intercepts, 112 deflections, 85 gains, and 36 defensive rebounds, earning her first selection in the ANZ Championship All-Star team.
In 2016, as the Diamonds’ acting Vice-Captain, she led the team to several key victories, including wins over world heavyweights England, New Zealand, and South Africa. With Layton’s leadership from Goal Keeper, Australia recently brought home the inaugural Netball Quad Series title with a five-goal win over New Zealand.
3. Natalie Medhurst
Medhurst has been a part of the Australian team since 2007 and is among the most capped Netball players in history, with 90 international games to her name. She has been part of three Netball World Championship-winning teams and has won both a gold and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
At 32 years old, Medhurst is one of the oldest international famous netball players in the world. However, this hasn’t stopped her from continually improving, and it could be argued that she is a better player now than ever before. A good example is her being named Most Valuable Player in the Diamond’s final match of the Netball Quad Series.
Although Medhurst forged her reputation as one of the world’s best goal attackers and scorers, she has recently begun playing wing attack more regularly. Nevertheless, when she returns to goal attack, she shows why her and Caitlin Bassett form one of the best-attacking combinations in the world among famous netball players in Australia.
4. Kim Ravaillion
At just 23 years old, Kim Ravaillion has rapidly progressed through netball rankings to become one of the world’s premier centers. She remains the only player to make her international debut before her ANZ Championship debut, a feat she achieved at just 19. She has become a shining light in Australian netball, playing pivotal roles in Australia’s wins in the Netball Quad Series, the 2015 World Championship, and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Ravaillion is one of world netball’s most consistent and exciting young famous netball players. Barring injury, we can expect her to claim the title of the world’s best at some point in the coming years. With her strong influence in the center court, expect the Diamonds to remain a dominant force in the near future.
5. Laura Geitz
Although she has taken an indefinite break from netball as she is expecting her first child, former Australian Captain Laura Geitz deserves a mention as one of the most famous netball players Australia has ever seen. In her 29 games as captain of the Diamonds, she lost just three. During that time, she led Australia to gold medals at both the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Netball World Cup. She shaped the Australian team into the near-unbeatable force they are today.
In 2011, Geitz won the Liz Ellis Diamonds award as the best Australian Netball player and has likely deserved to win it again since. She was (or is) the second most-capped player in the Diamonds squad, behind the evergreen Natalie Medhurst. She was also just the second Queenslander to reach 50 test caps and to captain Australia. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Geitz’s great game in the future!
*Rankings are based on The Guardian’s end of 2015 player rankings. They were judged by a panel of international netball experts, including international coaches.
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