WA Fifth at 21U National Championships

WA has finished fifth at the 2014 21U National Netball Championships in South Australia, following a 55 – 45 victory over ACT.

A dominant third quarter from the West Australians provided the edge in an otherwise close contest, between two sides who had recorded a tie earlier in the tournament.

WAIS athletes Annika Lee-Jones and Sophie Garbin were both impressive for WA in the match, providing stability at either end of the court.

South Australia retained the National 21U Title, after defeating Victoria in the final by 16 goals (43-27). Remarkably, SA was the first state to win the championship on home soil in more than two-decades.

At the culmination of the National 21U Championships, Netball Australia announced its 2014 21U National team, with two WAIS scholarship holders earning inclusion.

West Coast Fever contracted pair Courtney Bruce and Kaylia Stanton both received nomination in the 22 player squad.

Australian 21/U coach Tania Obst said the selectors were impressed by the quality of matches at the 21/U titles, which made choosing the squad difficult.

“There’s been lot of healthy and robust discussions among the selectors and I’m very impressed with the 22 names we’ve put together,” Obst said.

“If any of these athletes are named in the Australian Diamonds team for this year’s Commonwealth Games, which is being announced in May, we will select replacement players.

“There are a number of athletes who have played this week at the 21/U national titles who are still eligible for the 19/U titles in Melbourne next month, so there’s going to be some very talented athletes also available for selection in the national squad for that age group.

“Our High Performance Player Pathway looks very healthy in 2014.”

– withNetballAustralia