Rising shooting star Nicola Barge has been selected as a NSW Swifts Training Partner for the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season.
“It's a dream of mine to be a professional netball player and I'm very excited and grateful for this opportunity,” 19-year-old Barge said.
“They're the best girls and the best club and it's a great environment to be in. It’s a privilege”
It’s a significant appointment for Barge as Training Partners can be called into the main playing squad as both temporary and permanent injury replacements during the season.
“It is the most intense netball I've ever been in, but there is so much support - you get through every training session with everyone helping you along.
“Being at the Swifts and part of their high-performance unit we all have the same values and work very hard. It helps you to challenge yourself on the court and off the court too.
“I am looking forward to learning from the best players and coaching staff and contributing to the team along the way”
Growing up watching the Swifts, Barge lists Helen Housby as one of her favourite players. Now the teenager is training alongside the Swifts veteran.
“I just love the way she dominates on the court. She has her game face on and is ready to go. And the fact that she's also calm under pressure, like she's able to rise in the high-pressure moments and sink all those Super Shots - that's something that I would hope to be able to do one day.”
Born and bred in the Shire, Barge has come through the Netball NSW Pathway and the QBE Swifts Academy. She has amassed a significant list of achievements including being named in the 17U, 19U Australian Squads and being a member of the gold-winning NSW 17U (Vice Captain and tournament MVP) and 19U teams, winning the U23 Netball NSW Premier League, and winning a gold medal for Australia in the Commonwealth Youth Games.
She most recently completed a series with the national 21U team.
“It was a great series - being able to play against England and New Zealand and learn their way of the game. It was super intense, super hard but it was very rewarding. I've made lots of good friends with girls from other states, so it was also a really good catch-up.”
Barge’s dreams are on the cusp of becoming a reality. The Sutherland teenager has set her goals for the year and is going to embrace as many opportunities as she can with two hands.
“I’ll be working hard to continually improve my game. I understand and very much value being part of such a high performance environment.”
