Australia national netball team

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The Australian Netball Team has traditionally been regarded as the most successful in international netball, having won eight of the eleven Netball World Championships, and currently are ranked second in the world.

While they remain amongst the world's very best, they have come under increasing challenge from New Zealand's national team, the Silver Ferns, in recent years. New Zealand won the 2006 Commonwealth Games final and the 2003 final of the Netball World Championships, which saw Australia lose the top world ranking.

Most recently the Australian Netball Team and the Silver Ferns won one test each in the 2006 Holden Test Match Series in Australia in July. Australia then won two out of three test matches in October in New Zealand.

Historically, Australia has had a slight edge over New Zealand, as they have posted 48 victories, as opposed to New Zealand’s 42 out of the 82 tests they have played (as at 20 October 2006), including two matches ending in a draw. This gives the Australians a 58% win rate over the Silver Ferns but New Zealand’s dominance over the trans-Tasman rivalry during the past three years has seen them victorious on ten occasions from the past 15 match ups.

But the time has come to change the course of the future and the one thing the Silver Ferns do not have on their side is the Australian fighting spirit. Therefore, the netball world will witness the Australian Netball Team’s courage under pressure, determination, unwavering strength and team unity which will see them battle until the final whistle is blown at the 2007 World Netball Championships to be held in Fiji in July.

The Australian team is coached by former national captain Norma Plummer and captained by Liz Ellis. Sharelle McMahon is the current vice-captain.

Some notable players from the team are: