A little bit of friendly rivalry never hurt anyone, but some match-ups can be closer than you’d expect. Take sisters Sophie and Georgia Elliott for example.
Since starting out their netball journeys at Baulkham Hills Shire Netball Association as juniors, both are now excelling in the Origin Energy Premier League, albeit with competing franchises.
Sophie plays a defensive midcourt role for the GWS Fury U23s while Georgia does likewise with the Panthers. Both have had different routes to Premiers League, but that’s not to say they don’t look to improve each other.
“We both played at circle defence in junior netball and I moved into defensive midcourt when I began playing Premier League and she (Georgia) has recently made a similar move,” Sophie says.
“We do debrief our training sessions and before a game we share experiences from playing against the opposition. So yes, we do share tips and tricks.”
Time spent in the DOOLEYS Metro League was key to both sisters’ development:
“I was still only 15 at the time (when she made the step up) and it’s a very different form of competition and coaching from junior netball,” Sophie reflects.
“I had to grow up quickly being surrounded by older, more experienced players who play a very different style of netball that was both faster and smarter and this short period helped me when I was pulled up into Premier League.”
The sentiment is shared by Georgia: “Playing Metro League allowed me to be exposed to a quality coaching and game play from a young age and gave me the opportunity to mature as a player each season. Being able to play it for a few years before debuting into Premier League, I became very determined to develop myself by setting goals for myself to elevate each season into a higher division and eventually into Premier League.”
Sharing the highs of netball are wonderful things to celebrate with family, but high-performance sport comes with low points too. In a cruel twist of fate, both sisters have suffered ACL injuries in their burgeoning careers.
For older sister Georgia, however, it’s been a powerful comeback.
“Being able to be vice-captain (of the Panthers U23s) this year is something I’m very excited about and take very seriously,” she says.
“After coming back this year from an ACL reconstruction, I am very excited to get back on court and lead my team to win.
“My role as vice-captain is to motivate the girls throughout the season and ensure that everyone knows their role on the team. I believe it’s important that everyone knows they play an important role in our team, regardless if they have a patch on their dress or not.
“Being one of the older players I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with some of the younger girls and developing them in their introduction to Premier League.”
When Sophie suffered her rupture she was able to rely on the brilliant support of her GWS Fury coaches, school coach and her big sister.
“I ruptured my ACL in October 2018 immediately after having won the U20 Premier League premiership and starting State Selections,” she remembers.
“Having played team sports all my life, including representative touch football, I found the months of rehabilitation lonely. The netball coach at my school was instrumental in keeping me connected to the game, ensuring I was still named in and trained with the school first’s team and gave me 30 seconds on the court in my Year 12 Grand final.
“I am grateful to Kath Tetley, Nardia McDonald and Jenny O’Keeffe – I’d been fortunate to have them coach me in various teams prior to my injury, and I appreciate their belief that I could come back in the 2020 season.
“Because I was so young and my growth plates were still closing at the time of my injury there was a lot of care to make sure my return was paced with the goal of not returning to competition for 18 months, so even the 2020 pre-season required a lot of patience, and my first game was quite emotional but felt great.
“My sister ruptured her ACL in 2020 and took the learnings from my reconstruction to partner with a different rehabilitation provider to combine her physio and gym conditioning. Unfortunately, her recovery was delayed with a complication needing additional surgery delaying her return this year.”
Despite that delay, not only is Georgina embracing her leadership role, she is also excelling under Panthers U23s coach Jenny Barsby.
“Jenny is new to our U23’s team this year and she has brought great energy and enthusiasm in the team.
“From our first training session Jenny has set a high standard of excellence for us and it has been very exciting to see all the girls lift this year. Jenny has allowed each of us to develop our skills each week by pushing us to the best we can be.
“One of my favourite parts of training with Jenny is at the end of each training session, we sit in a circle and go around and say something we are grateful for. It doesn’t have to be about netball, just something that we are thankful for from our day. It’s been a really nice finish to an often tough session.”
This week the sisters will go head-to-head as the Fury and Panthers clash at Netball Central. So how will they approach the game?
“I am very excited to play against GWS Fury and Sophie,” Georgia says. “It has been a long time coming for us to play against each other. In 2020 we had the opportunity to play against each other but unfortunately the day of the game, we both got pulled out due to Covid protocols, so we are both very keen to play.
“We will definitely be getting the win this week, but I see it being a close and nail-biting game.”
Sophie doesn’t think victory is a sure thing, but she’s predicting it will be a hard-fought affair:
“It’s tough to say who will come away with the bragging rights and I know our family and friends will be watching intently but neither of us will give up easily, either in the game or afterwards.”
In a funny subplot to the story, it turns out Mum and Dad – Mr and Mrs Elliott – are moving to America next week for work.
It means no matter who wins or loses on Wednesday night, the sisters will need to be teammates afterwards to keep their household operating until Mum and Dad return.
“I don’t think it has hit me yet that our parents are moving and it may not hit until after they’ve gone,” Sophie says. “(But) I love to cook and my sister is a serial cleaner, so lucky this may work out.”
And Georgia is more than willing to put their netball rivalry aside once they get home.
“Yes, Mum and Dad will be moving to America in a few weeks… I’m feeling a little nervous and excited at the same time about the move,” she says.
“It’s going to be a big change for the both of us having to look after the house ourselves. We will definitely be playing to our strengths in sharing the chores.
“Sophie will be doing the cooking as she is studying nutrition at Uni and really enjoys it, and I’ll be doing the cleaning otherwise we’d be eating toast each night.”
Come and watch the Elliot sisters go head to head LIVE this week - PURCHASE TICKETS HERE OR if you can't make it to Netball Central, be sure to tune into the livestream with Cluch TV HERE
