Natalie Medhurst

Natalie Medhurst
Personal information
Born	(1984-01-20) 20 January 1984 Warracknabeal, Victoria
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Spouse	Travis Walsgott
Netball career
Playing position(s): GA, GS, WA
Medal record Competitor for  Australia Netball World Championships 2007 Auckland Netball 2011 Singapore Netball 2015 Australia Netball Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Netball 2014 Glasgow Netball World Netball Series 2009 Manchester Fastnet
Last updated: 27 March 2012

Natalie Medhurst (born 20 January 1984) is an Australian netball player. Medhurst plays as a goal attack and goal shooter, and is a current member of the Australian national netball team.

Born in Warracknabeal, Victoria, Medhurst rose to prominence in 2004, when the then-twenty-year-old had a strongdebut for the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Replacing club stalwart Jacqui Delaney, Medhurst put many of the world's best defenders to task with her accuracy, speed, and elusive nature.

Medhurst went on to represent Australia at the 2005 World Youth Championships, where they finished in third place. She continued to develop as a player at open level, and in 2007 she finally made her debut, against Jamaica on 8 July 2007. Her shooting accuracy was 100% during the quarter she was on.

Medhurst continued her strong debut season for Australia during the 2007 Netball World Championships, where she ended the preliminary rounds as the third-most accurate shooter at the championships, with a strike rate of 91%. Her rise continued in the grand final against New Zealand, when she was brought on in the final quarter when Australia's senior shooters were struggling. She calmly converted all three of her attempts at goal, with Australia winning the final 42–38, making Medhurst a world champion.

With the start of the ANZ Championship, Medhurst re-signed with the Adelaide Thunderbirds for the inaugural season in 2008. But in September 2009, she signed with the Queensland Firebirds for the 2010 season. She won the ANZ Championship in 2011 with the Firebirds and was named the season's MVP^[2]

In 2013, at the preseason tournament in Melbourne, Medhurst played many quarters at wing attack, but was only rarely seen there during the ANZ Championship season proper.

In 2014, Medhurst moved to Perth to play for the West Coast Fever,^[1] reuniting with her former Australian coach Norma Plummer, shifting with Firebirds wing attack Chelsea Pitman, and forging stronger links with Australian goal shooter Caitlin Bassett. Later, she was announced as their Captain. Later that year Medhurst was named in the Australian Netball Diamonds to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games who went on to win gold.

References