Mandurah-based netballers Ella Sigley and Phillipa Whitney helped WA’s under 15s take out the gold medal at the under 15s national netball championships last month.
Sigley played while Whitney assistant coached the side that trumped New South Wales in an unlikely upset to bring home the gold.
WA finished the regular rounds of the competition in third place overall, but pulled off a couple of heroic wins in the finals to claim top spot on the podium.
“The whole thing was really elating – to take out top spot was such a great feeling,” Sigley said.
“We were a bit intimidated going into the final against a side that had only lost one game, but we felt like we could take it to them.”
Sigley, a member of the Peel Regional Academy of Sports, was picked to the all-Australian side, which recognises the top 16 players of the carnival.
“To be chosen as one of the top 16, even as a reserve, was really special to me,” she said.
“But winning as a whole was awesome, we had a really good team.”
The gold medal is WA’s first since 1988, and the festivities continued even into the plane ride home.
“As we were getting ready for take off to come home the captain of the plane we were on made an announcement and congratulated us on the win,” Sigley said.
“That was a really nice moment – we all cracked a smile.”
Whitney said she was thrilled with Sigley’s performances, saying the up and comer played a huge part in getting WA over the line.
“Ella was absolutely great throughout the entire tournament, especially in the grand final,” she said.
“It was a really good group of girls and they all brought out the best in each other.”
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
