The NSW Swifts are delighted to confirm that the following athletes have been selected for the 2021 QBE Swifts Academy Program.
Entering its second season, the Academy - which was setup by Netball NSW and the Swifts’ Principal Partner QBE Insurance - looks to strengthen the foundations of Australian netball’s most successful elite club by providing further pathway opportunities to aspiring players across the state.
It does this by providing a daily, high performance training environment for the selected athletes, each of whom have the potential to play for the Swifts in the future.
Academy athletes, who come from both metro and regional areas, will underpin the rostered athletes and training partners in the Swifts’ senior squad.
NSW Swifts Assistant Coach and Academy Performance Manager Anita Keelan congratulated everyone selected for 2021.
“We had a huge number of athletes identified by Netball NSW throughout the state who came and trialed and it was a rigorous selection process,” she said.
“The Swifts have a very proud history and we feel each of the Academy athletes selected has what it takes to make it at the highest level.
“Pathways have always been one of netball’s greatest assets and are key to ensuring the continued growth of the game, and the Swifts as a successful club.
“In recent years we’ve seen NSW players like Paige Hadley, Lauren Moore, Tayla Fraser and Sophie Craig win a Premiership, continuing the legacy of players like Liz Ellis, Cath Cox and Susan Pettitt.
“The Academy ensures the Swifts have a continued direct pathway link to local talent, who can learn from the best national and international players we also have at the club.”
The Swifts would like to thank QBE Insurance for their continued support of netball at elite and grassroots level across NSW.
2021 QBE Swifts Academy Squad
- Alisha Cairns – Eastwood Ryde
- Alison Miller – Eastwood Ryde
- Amelia Kirgan – Bankstown City
- Audrey Little – Manly Warringah
- Brooke Paterson – Randwick
- Charlotte Raleigh – Armidale District
- Charlotte Smith – Sutherland Shire
- Chelsea Mann – Manly Warringah
- Courtney Castle – Blacktown City
- Dakota Thomas – Newcastle
- Elle Bennetts – Northern Suburbs
- Emma Smith – Sutherland Shire
- Erin Asquith – Newcastle
- Kara Styles – Sutherland Shire
- Kristen Kessler – Wyong District
- Laura Towell – Sutherland Shire
- Lili Gorman-Brown – Sutherland Shire
- Madeline Eaton – Sutherland Shire
- Olivia Coleman – Eastwood Ryde
- Papi Alaalatoa – Liverpool City
- Sophie Fawns – Wagga Wagga
- Tarsha Hawley – Newcastle
