On Sunday, as the curtain raiser to the NSW Derby at Ken Rosewall Arena, the inaugural Netball NSW Indigenous All Stars team stepped on court against the GIANTS Netball Academy.
This was the first time an All Stars team had been selected, and as they took the first centre pass there was a sense that no matter what the GIANTS Academy threw at them this team was going to play with determination and they were going to be there for each other.
Indigenous umpires Mark Munnich and Jordan Kiss officiated the match, and Coach, Ali Tucker-Munro and Assistant Coach Georgina Cohen inspired athletes with their calm and poised leadership.
The strong and experienced GIANTS Academy team included former Super Netball player Taylah Davies, GIANTS training partners Latika Tombs and Ange Frketic and several National Squad representatives. The GIANTS Netball Academy is the feeder program to GIANTS Netball, with the squad training regularly in preparation for the Australian Netball Championships in September.
The All Stars, led by captains Courtney Jones and Tarsha Hawley fought hard, played with skill and never let their pace drop. There were many gripping performances including Tegan Holland and Emma Jones who were relentless in defence and the confidence and skill shown by the three youngsters of the team Ayla Clark, Chloe Pattison and Georgie-Annah Elder.
Although the score went the way of the GIANTS there was a positive feeling in the All Stars camp at the end of the game, a feeling that this game was just the beginning.
