Regional NSW athlete Sophie Fawns has been called into the Swifts’ match-day squad for the Premiers’ Round 2 Suncorp Super Netball clash with the Melbourne Vixens.
The Wagga Wagga native is one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in Australian netball and has come through the Netball NSW pathway and the QBE Swifts Academy.
The 18-year-old attacker, who was made a Swifts Training Partner in 2022, has been named as a temporary replacement player for Club stalwart Sam Wallace who will miss the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury which she suffered in last week’s narrow loss to the Giants.
Swifts head coach Briony Akle said Fawns was a fantastic prospect and fully deserving of her shot at the elite level.
“It has been a pretty crazy week, losing Sam and the emotions that go with that, however, Sophie has trained really well with the team,” she said.
“Sam has also been courtside encouraging her which is brilliant to see… Sophie has been in and around the team for a while now via the Academy and her role as a training partner, so she knows what it’s like at this level.
“Sophie was actually called into our team last week when we lost a player due to COVID exposure, and while she didn’t get on the court, I think the whole experience was great for her and now she has an idea of what to expect.
“In the long term we are still assessing our options as there is almost a full season left to play out, but in the interim we’re really looking forward to seeing what Sophie can do should the opportunity come.”
The Swifts and Vixens go head-to-head at Ken Rosewall Arena on Saturday 2 April at 5pm (AET). The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
