04:14
Faizan
Netball has been a popular sport for over fifty years, and has become one of the major women's sports in a number of countries. Traditionally, it has been dominated by commonwealth countries, especially Australia and New Zealand. Australia has won ten of fifteen World Netball Championships - including the most recent in 2015 - and has dominated almost every international competition they have played in. It makes sense therefore that the Aussie team contains some of the best netballers in the world. Here are the top five Aussie players of the modern era*:
1. Caitlin Bassett
Often considered to be one of the best goal shooters in netball history, Caitlin Bassett has gone from strength to strength over the past few years. According to most netball experts and major publications, Bassett is the most valuable player in world netball. She has been a part of the Australian Diamonds international team since 2008, and is renowned for her accurate shooting.
Probably the best example of this was in the 2011 World Netball Championships, where she missed just four goals for the entire tournament. Her final score of 151 from 155 shots, going at 97.5%, is considered one of the best individual tournament performances ever. She has a best score of 49 goals in a game, reached twice during her career.
In 2015 Basset was the first goal shooter to win the Liz Ellis Diamonds award, which recognizes Australia's player of the year. Her 2015 campaign saw her shoot 964 goals in both international and domestic competition, which was a career best. She was also the first Western Australian to be awarded the Liz Ellis Diamonds award.
2. Sharni Layton
Sharni Layton is one of the Diamond's defensive stalwarts, having held down a position at wing defence, goal defence, or goal keeper since her debut in 2010. She has consistently been among the best players for the New South Wales Swifts, winning their Player's Player Award in 2014. In 2010, Layton was crowned the best young player of the MARS ANZ championship.
Layton took her game to the next level in 2015, as she was crowned the ANZ Championship Player of the Year. She finished her year as the top Australian defender, with 49 intercepts, 112 deflections, 85 gains, and 36 defensive rebounds. This led to her first selection in the ANZ Championship All-Star team.
Following her break-out 2015 season, Layton has enjoyed a stella 2016. As the Diamond's acting Vice-Captain for much of the year, she has helped lead the team to a number of important victories, including a those over fellow world heavy weights England, New Zealand, and South Africa. With Layton's leadership from Goal Keeper, Australia recently bought home the inaugural Netball Quad Series title with a five goal win over New Zealand.
3. Natalie Medhurst
Medhurst has been a part of the Australian team since 2007, and is among the most capped players in history, with 80 international games to her name. She has been a part of three Netball World Championship winning teams, and has won both a gold and a silver medal at the Commonwealth games.
At 32 years old, Medhurst is one of the oldest international players in the world. However, this hasn't stopped her from continually improving, and it could be argued that she is a better player now than she has ever been. A good example of this is the fact the she was named the Most Valuable Player in the Diamond's last match, the final of the Netball Quad Series.
1. Caitlin Bassett
Often considered to be one of the best goal shooters in netball history, Caitlin Bassett has gone from strength to strength over the past few years. According to most netball experts and major publications, Bassett is the most valuable player in world netball. She has been a part of the Australian Diamonds international team since 2008, and is renowned for her accurate shooting.
Probably the best example of this was in the 2011 World Netball Championships, where she missed just four goals for the entire tournament. Her final score of 151 from 155 shots, going at 97.5%, is considered one of the best individual tournament performances ever. She has a best score of 49 goals in a game, reached twice during her career.
In 2015 Basset was the first goal shooter to win the Liz Ellis Diamonds award, which recognizes Australia's player of the year. Her 2015 campaign saw her shoot 964 goals in both international and domestic competition, which was a career best. She was also the first Western Australian to be awarded the Liz Ellis Diamonds award.
2. Sharni Layton
Sharni Layton is one of the Diamond's defensive stalwarts, having held down a position at wing defence, goal defence, or goal keeper since her debut in 2010. She has consistently been among the best players for the New South Wales Swifts, winning their Player's Player Award in 2014. In 2010, Layton was crowned the best young player of the MARS ANZ championship.
Layton took her game to the next level in 2015, as she was crowned the ANZ Championship Player of the Year. She finished her year as the top Australian defender, with 49 intercepts, 112 deflections, 85 gains, and 36 defensive rebounds. This led to her first selection in the ANZ Championship All-Star team.
Following her break-out 2015 season, Layton has enjoyed a stella 2016. As the Diamond's acting Vice-Captain for much of the year, she has helped lead the team to a number of important victories, including a those over fellow world heavy weights England, New Zealand, and South Africa. With Layton's leadership from Goal Keeper, Australia recently bought home the inaugural Netball Quad Series title with a five goal win over New Zealand.
3. Natalie Medhurst
Medhurst has been a part of the Australian team since 2007, and is among the most capped players in history, with 80 international games to her name. She has been a part of three Netball World Championship winning teams, and has won both a gold and a silver medal at the Commonwealth games.
At 32 years old, Medhurst is one of the oldest international players in the world. However, this hasn't stopped her from continually improving, and it could be argued that she is a better player now than she has ever been. A good example of this is the fact the she was named the Most Valuable Player in the Diamond's last match, the final of the Netball Quad Series.
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