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NSW win Marie Little Shield title in Brisbane

12 SEP 2024

The Marie Little Shield is back at Netball Central after the NSW reclaimed the title with an undefeated campaign in Brisbane in September.

Named after Marie Little OAM, since 2013 the competition has provided an opportunity for female athletes with an intellectual disability to compete at the national level over three days of action.

In an event first, in 2024 the competition featured teams from every State and Territory with the inclusion of an inaugural Tasmanian team.

The eight teams vied for the 2024 title at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena from Friday to Sunday, 6-8 September.

NSW started their campaign with a hugely impressive 51-3 win over the Australian Capital Territory on the Friday before backing it up later that day with an equally fine showing against the Northern Territory (45-3).

On the second day of competition, they faced a sterner challenge in the form of South Australia, however, in the end the side in blue had too much for their southern counterparts, running out 22-13 winners.

The last round game for NSW was a meeting with their old rivals to the north, Queensland, but there would be no stopping the Therri Ellison-coached side who ran out 32-1 winners to book themselves a place in the playoffs.

While NSW may have been a dominant force throughout the weekend, their last games of the tournament would be their toughest. In the semi finals they were pushed hard by Western Australia but eventually powered home to win 38-8 and setup a Grand Final clash with Victoria.

On the Sunday NSW regained the Shield but it wasn’t easy. The Victorians put up a huge fight and the 18-13 score-line was one of the closest games of the entire tournament.

Not that it mattered in the end because the Marie Little Shield was heading back to NSW.

“The Marie Little Shield Team are one of most consistent NSW State Teams and it was a privilege to see them return to Championship-winning ways in 2024,” Tim Fava – Netball NSW Executive General Manager, Community & Pathways – said.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in the program in 2024 for their efforts and congratulate them on a fantastic campaign up north in Brisbane.”

Netball Australia CEO Stacey West reflected on the significance of the national all-abilities event in its eleventh year.

“To have all eight of our states and territories competing in this year’s Marie Little Shield was truly wonderful,” West said.

“The Marie Little Shield plays such an important role for the development and growth of every competing player.

“It highlights netball’s touch point to all who take part in the event including coaches, officials, administrators and the supporters who come out to cheer on our national participants.”

2024 NSW Marie Little Shield Team