Former Swifts and Diamonds captain Liz Ellis AO has received Netball NSW’s highest honour after being elevated to Legend Status in the organisation’s Hall of Fame.
Regarded by many as the greatest netballer of all time, Ellis was elevated to her new status at Netball NSW’s Annual State Dinner at the Waterview in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night.
A four-time Premiership-winning captain of the Swifts, she also won three Netball World Cups and two Commonwealth Gold Medals with the Australian Diamonds.
Ellis started her playing journey at the Hawkesbury Netball Association before representing NSW at underage and opens levels. When the National Netball League (currently Suncorp Super Netball) was founded in 1997 she became a Foundation player of the Swifts.
Ellis captained the Foundation Club to four Premierships in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era of the National League, winning in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. She retired in 2007, just before the Sydney Swifts rebranded as the NSW Swifts
Ellis became Australian captain in 2004 and remains the most capped player in Diamonds history.
In 2007 she capped off a remarkable comeback from a knee reconstruction to lead Australia to World Cup glory, while in 2008 Netball Australia introduced the Liz Ellis Diamond which is awarded annually to the nation’s most outstanding netballer. Ellis was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Netball NSW Hall of Fame in 2013.
It was also a special night for Ellis’ former teammates Susan Pettitt and Vanessa Ware who were inducted into the Netball NSW Hall of Fame.
Like Ellis, both Pettitt and Ware are Swifts Centurions and with many Premierships between them.
Pettitt, who shone for the Diamonds at international level too, enjoyed a highly-decorated attacking career with the Swifts, wining titles in the Club’s famous 2006, 2007 and 2008 threepeat, while she won World Cup gold with Australia in 2007. In 2017 she became a foundation GIANT and played a Grand Final with the new Club before retiring from the game in 2018.
Ware won her first Swifts Premiership in 2004 was also part of their threepeat success in a career that lasted over a decade. She represented Australia and 19U and 21U levels and was part of the Australian Diamonds squad in 2008.
Also inducted into the Netball NSW Hall of Fame were former Diamonds and Swifts medical officer Dr Grace Bryant OAM and the late former Netball NSW President Pat Weston OAM.
In the night’s main awards Sarah Klau (Swifts) and Amy Parmenter (GIANTS) were both honoured with the Marilyn Melhuish OAM Medal for their respective performances in this year’s Suncorp Super Netball competition, while Sutherland’s Victor Nikolić wasnamed Male Player of the Year.
Wagga Wagga’s Rachel King took out the Margaret Corbett OAM Coaches Award with Michael Rudd of Orange Netball Association winning the Neita Matthews OAM Umpire Award and Alex Pinnington (Camden & District) named the Lynn Quinn OAM Bench Official Award recipient.
The Dot McHugh Administrator of the Year was Randwick’s Jenny Morrissey while journalists Brit Carter (ABC) and Nathan Taylor (Western Weekender) took home the Judy Dunbar Media Awards for best Overall Media Coverage (Carter) and Community Media Excellence (Taylor).
This years Anne Clark Service Awards were presented to Margaret Findlay (Manly Warringah), Maureen Sinclair (Northern Suburbs), Cheryl Goulder (Randwick), Katrina Doring (Eastwood Ryde) and Kathy Staggs (Ku-Ring-Gai).
“In our game, champions come in many different guises and Saturday night was a celebration of our entire netball community,” Sallianne Faulkner, Netball NSW Chair, said.
“We have those we see on our TV Screens winning World Cups, Commonwealth Gold Medals and Super Netball titles. But we also have those who hit the courts on cold Saturday mornings in winter, whose determination to play, coach or officiate cannot be diminished by the weather.
“Because, from grassroots to the Green & Gold of the Diamonds, we are all part of the same sporting community and netball champions cannot exist without those who champion netball.
“Our Hall of Fame inductees and Awards winners are just some of the wonderful people who keep netball at the forefront of the NSW sporting landscape and on behalf of Netball NSW I congratulate them, and their support networks, on their fitting recognition.”
Netball NSW State Dinner Awards Winners
- Marilyn Melhuish SSN Medal: Sarah Klau (Swifts), Amy Parmenter (GIANTS)
- Men’s Player of the Year: Victor Nikolić (Sutherland)
- Margaret Corbett Coaches Award: Rachel King (Wagga Wagga)
- Neita Matthews Umpire Award: Michael Rudd (Orange)
- Lynn Quinn Bench Official Award: Alex Pinnington (Camde & District)
- Dot McHugh Administrator Award: Jenny Morrissey (Randwick)
- Judy Dunbar Media Awards: Brit Carter (ABC, Overall Media Coverage), Nathan Taylor (Western Weekender, Community Media Excellence)
Netball NSW Hall of Fame Inductions
- Liz Ellis AO: Elevated to Legend Status
- Susan Pettitt: Inducted under Athlete Category
- Vanessa Ware: Inducted under Athlete Category
- Dr Grace Bryant OAM: Inducted under General Category
- Pat Weston OAM: Inducted under General Category
Anne Clark Service Award Recipients
- Margaret Findlay (Manly Warringah)
- Maureen Sinclair (Northern Suburbs)
- Cheryl Goulder (Randwick)
- Katrina Doring (Eastwood Ryde)
- Kathy Staggs (Ku-Ring-Gai).