Former Swifts and Diamonds captain Liz Ellis has received Netball NSW’s highest honour after being elevated to Legend Status in the organisation’s Hall of Fame.
Regarded by many as the greatest netballer of all time, Ellis (pictured above) was elevated to her new status at Netball NSW’s Annual State Dinner at the Waterview in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night.
A four-time Premiership-winning captain of the Swifts, she also won three Netball World Cups and two Commonwealth Gold Medals with the Australian Diamonds.
Ellis started her playing journey at the Hawkesbury Netball Association before representing NSW at underage and opens levels. When the National Netball League (currently Suncorp Super Netball) was founded in 1997 she became a Foundation Player of the Swifts, then known as the Sydney Swifts.
Under the tutelage of Foundation Coach Julie Fitzgerald, Ellis captained the Swifts to four Premierships in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era of the National League, winning in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Ellis retired just before the Sydney Swifts rebranded as the NSW Swifts in 2008 when the Club went on to claim a historic threepeat by taking the inaugural title of the ANZ Championship era.
Ellis became Australian captain in 2004 and remains the most capped player in Diamonds history.
In 2007 she capped off a remarkable comeback from a knee reconstruction to lead Australia to World Cup glory, while in 2008 Netball Australia introduced the Liz Ellis Diamond which is awarded annually to the nation’s most outstanding netballer.
Ellis was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Netball NSW Hall of Fame in 2013.
It was also a special night for Ellis’ former teammates Susan Pettitt and Vanessa Ware who were inducted into the Netball NSW Hall of Fame at the event.
Like Ellis, both Pettitt and Ware are Swifts Centurions and have multiple Premierships between them.
Pettitt, who shone for the Diamonds at international level too, enjoyed a highly-decorated attacking career with the Swifts, winning titles in the Club’s famous 2006, 2007 and 2008 threepeat, while she won World Cup gold with Australia in 2007.
Ware won her first Swifts Premiership in 2004 was also part of the Club’s threepeat success in a Club career that lasted over a decade.
She represented Australia and 19U and 21U levels and was part of the Australian Diamonds squad in 2008.
NSW Swifts Executive General Manager Kath Tetley paid tribute to all.
“It was an incredible night for the Swifts on Saturday to see so many of our proud Alumuni continue to achieve accolades,” she said.
“The Swifts have been proud leaders and pioneers of women in sport for almost three decades and so much of who we are today is built on the legacy of those who’ve gone before.
“All three provided our fans and supporters so much joy down the years and to see their continued contribution to the game recognised is very important.
“Of course, no champions reach such heights alone. Behind every Swift is a collective of great teammates, coaches, support staff, volunteers and fans.
“Liz, Susan and Vanessa have always represented them and our Club brilliantly and we are exceptionally proud that they are part of the Swifts family.
"We were also delighted to see Sarah Klau take home the Marilyn Melhuish Medal for her efforts in our run to another Grand Final in 2023.
"Like our three Hall of Fame inductees on Saturday, Sarah is a proud Centurion of the Swifts and she continues to be a standout performer on the national and international stage."
