World Cup-winning Australian Diamond Kim Green OAM and former Chair Wendy Archer AM have been officially inducted into the Netball NSW Hall of Fame.
Induction into the pantheon of greats is one of the highest honours Netball NSW can bestow on an individual and the ceremony took place during the organisation’s annual State Dinner at the Bankstown Sports Club on Saturday night.
Green is one of the greatest netballers ever produced by NSW. A double-World Cup winner and Commonwealth Gold Medalist with the Australian Diamonds, she also played over 100 games for the Swifts, winning Premierships in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 before captaining the Club to back-to-back Grand Finals in 2015 and 2016.
In 2017 she took up a fresh challenge when she joined Netball NSW’s new franchise – GIANTS Netball – going on to captain them until her retirement in 2019.
A stalwart of NSW netball, Archer is one of the most respected administrators in the game.
Under her stewardship Netball NSW experienced significant advancements. She championed the implementation of a modern constitution, leading to more effective governance and was instrumental in negotiating funding for the construction of Netball Central in Sydney Olympic Park.
Her visionary approach also extended to player development, with the introduction of formal pathways at the State level and advocacy for the recognition of bench officials.
Concurrently, her tenure oversaw the continued growth of Swifts in the ANZ Championship and, more recently, the introduction of the GIANTS alongside the Swifts when Suncorp Super Netball replaced the trans-Tasman competition.
A Netball NSW Life Member and a former Chair of Netball Australia, where she remains a Director, Archer continues to contribute hugely to the game at every opportunity.
Current Netball NSW Chair Sallianne Faulkner paid tribute to both inductees.
“It is wonderful when we get the opportunity to properly acknowledge the greats of our game, and both Kim and Wendy are two of the best.
“To inspire our community, we need excellence on court but also off it. Kim proved herself to be one of the finest netballers of her generation in her time with the Diamonds, Swifts and GIANTS, while Wendy worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure we’ll continue to produce Kim Greens in the future.
“This is an exceptionally proud moment for them and their loved ones and on behalf of Netball NSW I would like to congratulate and thank them for their immense contribution.”
The State Dinner was also an opportunity for Netball NSW to recognise some standout performers across all areas of the game over the past 12 months.
In 2024 Netball NSW introduced new awards including Community Excellence, which was presented on the night to Ku-Ring-Gai Netball Association by NSW Minister for Sport, The Hon. Steve Kamper MP.
Other new categories included Teacher of the Year and Community Volunteer of the Year.
A full list of winners is supplied below.
2024 NETBALL NSW AWARDS WINNERS
- Marilyn Melhuish OAM Medal for Super Netball Excellence: Paige Hadley (Swifts), Jamie-Lee Price (GIANTS)
- Marj Groves AM Academy Awards: Dakota Thomas (QBE Swifts Academy), Monika ‘Otai (GIANTS Academy)
- Nance Kenny OAM Medal – Premier League Opens Player of the Year: Lauren Woods (North Shore United)
- Wendy Archer AM Medal – Premier League U23s Player of the Year: Ashlen Morelli (Manly-Warringah Sapphires)
- Men’s Player of the Year: Liam Forcadilla
- Margaret Corbett OAM Coaches Award: Margaret Stone (Bankstown City)
- Neita Matthews OAM Umpire Award: Alexandra Brown (Newcastle)
- Lynn Quinn OAM Bench Official Award: Calli Miller (Eastwood Ryde)
- Dot McHugh OAM Administrator Award: Nicole Oram (Bankstown City)
- Community Volunteer Award: Oriwia Brown (Wenty Leagues Netball Club)
- Community Excellence Award: Ku-Ring-Gai Netball Association
- NGS Teacher of the Year: Craig Warner
- Judy Dunbar Media Awards: May Bailey (Overall Media Coverage), Nathan Taylor (Community Media Excellence).
- Anne Clark BEM Service Awards: Karen Waud (Eastwood Ryde), Anne Peterkin (Nambucca Valley), Peter Havrlant (Ku-Ring-Gai), Brooke Burton (Grafton)
