The Adelaide Thunderbirds have announced five South Australian athletes as training partners for 2023.
Defender Chelsea Blackman and midcourter Tyler Orr return as training partners, while midcourter Sophie Casey, defender Jessie Grenvold, and shooter Lauren Frew will join for the first time.
All five athletes compete in Netball SA’s The Hospital Research Foundation Premier League, the state’s pinnacle netball competition.
Blackman and Grenvold hail from Contax Netball Club while Casey, Frew and Orr are from Matrics Netball Club.
New addition Casey took significant steps in her netball journey in 2022, winning a premiership with Matrics and a gold medal with the Southern Force at the Australian Netball Championships (ANC).
At the 2022 South Australian Sports Institute Awards, the midcourter was named Program Athlete of the Year for Netball.
Frew was also a member of Matrics’ premiership side and the Southern Force side who won gold at ANC, playing a key role in goal attack for both teams.
Grenvold experienced a breakout year in 2022, representing South Australia in April and the Southern Force side in August.
Post ANC, the defender was named the MVP and Players’ Player Award winner for Southern Force.
Both Frew and Grenvold were named in the 2022 Australian 21U squad, and all five training partners were named in The Hospital Research Foundation Group Premier League Team of the Year.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds will travel to Bendigo, Victoria this weekend for two pre-season matches. Both games will be live streamed via the Thunderbirds Facebook page.
