A quartet of Netball Central’s rising young talent has been selected in the New Zealand Secondary Schools (NZSS) team to tour Australia in June.
Zoe Elliott (Woodford House), Zara Feaunati (Scots College), Sarah Guiney (Samuel Marsden Collegiate School) and Phoenix Schwalger (St Mary’s College, Wellington) have been included in the 14-strong team which was confirmed after a three-day trial held in Auckland last week.
Elliott, an in-circle defender, played for Hawke’s Bay U18 team last year and was in the NZSS A team as well, so makes the step up to the top NZSS team in 2023.
Wellington’s Guiney can play both shooting roles and makes a return to the team after being a member last year. Feaunati is a circle defender and is coached at Scots College by current Central Manawa coach Ngarama Milner-Olsen.
Both Guiney and Feaunati played for Wellington U18 last season.
Shooter Schwalger, who has made a splash during her debut season in the Synergy Hair Netball League (SHNL) for Manawa, is also returning to the team after being part of the NZSS set-up last year.
The trial involved fitness testing, specialist skill sessions and trial matches before the New Zealand Emerging Talent Selectors along with New Zealand Secondary Schools head coach Pelesa Semu made their final selections.
The NZSS team will travel to Canberra from June 27 - July 3 where they will be involved in the U19 Australian camp, training and playing matches against the U19 squad, providing some vital international play which has been missing in the past three years due to the global pandemic.
Semu, who will coach the side with assistant Jo Morrison, said announcing the team was just another step towards getting New Zealand’s best secondary school netballers back on the competitive netball court.
“We have been waiting a long time to get to this point of naming our side and it’s a really exciting time for us,” she said.
“Our opportunities to head overseas for international play has been severely impacted in recent years due to Covid. I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of this pathway when we look at the bigger picture of high performance netball in New Zealand.
“It all begins again here and Jo and myself are eager to work with this group of players and watch their progress.”
Semu said it had been a thorough process leading up to the team announcement which had started last year with regional tournaments, National Development Camps in January and this month’s trials.
“History shows a number of New Zealand’s elite players having started their netball journey with the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, so we recognise the important work we have to do with this special group of schoolgirl netballers.”
New Zealand Secondary Schools team 2023:
Liza Ball (WBOP) – Hamilton Girls’ High School
Zoe Elliott (Central) – Woodford House
Zara Feaunati (Central) – Scots College
Sarah Guiney (Central) – Samuel Marsden Collegiate School
Shaquaylah Mahakitau-Monschau (WBOP) – St Peter’s Cambridge
Le’Oxeayn Maiu’u (Northern) – Avondale College
Emilie Nicholson* (South) – Columba College
Priscilla Rasmussen (Northern) – Avondale College
Phoenix Schwalger (Central) – St Mary’s College, Wellington
Ella Southby (South) – St Hilda’s Collegiate School
Sienna Stowers-Smith (Mainland) – St Andrew’s College
Summer Temu* (Northern) – Mt Albert Grammar
Grace Tiko* (South) – Cromwell College
Lili Tokaduadua (Northern) – Howick College
*Subject to fitness clearance