Four South Australian rising stars have been named in the 2024 Australian 21U Squad.
Sophie Casey, Kayla Graham, Tabitha Packer and Lucy Voyvodic have been selected in the squad of 24 athletes on the back of strong performances on the national stage in 2024.
As Adelaide Thunderbirds training partners, Casey and Graham have shined in the Super Netball Reserves competition for the clubs’ Futures side.
Packer and Voyvodic both represented South Australia at the National Netball Championships back in April and represented Australia at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games last August.
All four compete in The Hospital Research Foundation Group Premier League competition, with Casey and Voyvodic representing Matrics Netball Club and Graham and Packer hailing from Contax Netball Club.
All four athletes are also a part of the South Australian Sports Institute netball program.
The national 21U program will be led by Adelaide Thunderbirds assistant coach Cathy Fellows, who has been appointed head coach of the program ahead of the 2025 National World Youth Cup.
The selected group of athletes will compete in a three-day training camp in Sydney this August, before heading to Fiji for The Rising Stars: Fiji 21U Tour.
The tour will provide valuable competition experience for 21U teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Singapore, ahead of the 2025 Netball Youth World Cup.
Set to take place at Vodaphone Arena in Suva, Fiji from August 19-23, the four countries will take part in match play across the week to foster international connections and prepare players for elite competition.
Athletes will also take part in community engagement and cultural exchanges across the week.
South Australian umpire Georgina Sulley-Beales will also travel to Fiji for the Rising Stars Tour to officiate on-court and assist with local development during the tour.
2024 Australian 21/U Squad Athletes:
- Ruth Aryang – Western Australia
- Nicola Barge – New South Wales
- Sophie Casey – South Australia
- Georgie Cleaver – Western Australia
- Harriet Gall – Victoria
- Lily Graham – Victoria
- Kayla Graham – South Australia
- Scarlet Jauncey – Western Australia
- Nevaeh Matenga – New South Wales
- Paige O'Neill – Tasmania
- Monika ‘Otai – New South Wales
- Tabitha Packer – South Australia
- Lillyana Rennie – Queensland
- Charisse Rond – Western Australia
- Frederika Schneideman – New South Wales
- Charlotte Sexton – Victoria
- Ruby Shannon – Victoria
- Elsa Sif Sandholt – Queensland
- Lucy Voyvodic – South Australia
- Charlotte Walker – Tasmania
- Hope White – New South Wales
- Grace Whyte – New South Wales
- Clara Wigley – Western Australia
- Olivia Wilkinson – Western Australia
