![]() 18 June 2004: Natalie Avellino (centre) playing for the 2004 Southern Sting against Canterbury Flames in the National Bank Cup final at Stadium Southland. She competes with Flames players Vilimaina Davu (left) and Peta Stephens. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Natalie Avellino | |||||||||||||||||||
Born | Sydney, New South Wales [1] [2] | 15 December 1970|||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
Netball career | ||||||||||||||||||||
Playing position(s): WA, GA, GS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Club team(s) | Apps | ||||||||||||||||||
1989–1991 | Australian Institute of Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
1993–1996 | Adelaide Garville | |||||||||||||||||||
1997–1998 | Sydney Sandpipers | |||||||||||||||||||
1999 | Melbourne Phoenix | |||||||||||||||||||
2000–2002 | Sydney Sandpipers | |||||||||||||||||||
2003 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | |||||||||||||||||||
2004 | Southern Sting | |||||||||||||||||||
2005 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | |||||||||||||||||||
2006 | AIS Canberra Darters | |||||||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | Southern Sting | |||||||||||||||||||
Years | National team(s) | Caps | ||||||||||||||||||
1994–2006 | Australia | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career | ||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team(s) | |||||||||||||||||||
200x–2018 | Southland Girls' High School | |||||||||||||||||||
2008–2010 | Southland NPC | |||||||||||||||||||
2011–2012 | Southern Steel | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Natalie Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a former Australian netball international and current netball coach. Between 1994 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. Avellino was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medal at the 1995 World Netball Championships and the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
During the Esso/Mobil Superleague era, Avellino played for the Australian Institute of Sport and Adelaide Garville. In 1993, she was a member of the Garville team that were Australian netball premiers. Between 1997 and 2006, during the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era, she played for Sydney Sandpipers, Melbourne Phoenix, Adelaide Thunderbirds and AIS Canberra Darters. She made 100 Commonwealth Bank Trophy appearances. Between 2004 and 2007, Avellino also played for Southern Sting in Netball New Zealand's National Bank Cup league. She was a prominent member of Sting teams that won league titles in 2004 and 2007.
Avellino began her netball career with the Model Farms Netball Club in Sydney's north-west. In her junior years, she also played for netball associations representing Baulkham Hills Shire and Parramatta/Auburn. [3] [4]
Avellino represented New South Wales in the Australian National Netball Championships at under-19, under-21 and Open levels. [3] [4] [5]
Between 1989 and 1991, Avellino played for the Australian Institute of Sport in the Esso/Mobil Superleague. She was a member of the 1989 AIS team that finished as runners up to Sydney Tigers. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Between 1993 and 1996, Avellino played for Adelaide Garville in the Mobil Superleague. In 1993 and 1994, she helped Garville reach two grand finals. In 1993, a Garville team featuring Avellino, Jenny Borlase and Michelle den Dekker and coached by Patricia Mickan, defeated Sydney Electricity and finished as premiers. However, in 1994 Garville lost to their main rivals, Contax, in controversial circumstances. A closely fought match finished level at full time. However Garville claimed they had actually won the match 48–46. It was alleged that during the third quarter, the official scorer accidentally gave one of Garville's goals to Contax. Despite protests from Garville, extra time was played and resulted in a 61–58 win for Contax. Avellino scored 23 from 31 for Garville in the final. [11] [12] [13]
Between 1997 and 2006, during the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era, Avellino made 100 senior appearances. She played most notably for Sydney Sandpipers and Adelaide Thunderbirds, but also had spells with Melbourne Phoenix and AIS Canberra Darters. In 2006 she played in her 100th Commonwealth Bank Trophy match while playing for Darters. [2] [3] [4] [5] [14] [15]
Between 1997 and 2002, Avellino made 71 senior appearances for Sydney Sandpipers in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She made more appearances for Sandpipers than any other player. After spending the 1999 season with Melbourne Phoenix, Avellino returned to Sandpipers in 2000 and helped them achieve their best performance in the league . They finished third in the regular season, above their neighbours, Sydney Swifts. In 2001 and 2002, together with Joanne Morgan, Avellino co-captained Sandpipers. [1] [14] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] Ahead of the 2003 season, Avellino was dropped from the Sandpipers squad due to an osteitis pubis injury. [22]
After been let go by Sydney Sandpipers, Avellino was signed by Adelaide Thunderbirds. However, the move proved controversial. Avellino subsequently missed most of the 2003 season after Netball Australia declared she could not play for Thunderbirds because she was not registered as a resident of South Australia in time. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of South Australia which ruled in Avellino's favour. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] In 2005, Avellino had a second spell playing for Thunderbirds. [15] [30] [31]
Between 2004 and 2007, Avellino played for Southern Sting in the National Bank Cup league. [32] She was initially signed as cover for Donna Loffhagen. However, after Tania Dalton suffered a season ending injury, Avellino became a prominent member of Sting team that won the league title in 2004. In 2006, she helped Sting finish as runners up. In 2007 she won a second title with Sting. She played for Sting in three grand finals. [1] [28] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]
Between 1994 and 2006, Avellino made 20 senior appearances for Australia. She made her senior debut for Australia on 20 July 1994 against Trinidad and Tobago. She was a member of the Australia team that won the gold medal at the 1995 World Netball Championships. Almost a decade passed before Avellino was recalled to the Australia team. In October 2004 she returned to international netball and was subsequently a member of the Australia team that gained the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. [2] [6] [39] [40] [41] [42]
Tournaments | Place |
---|---|
1995 World Netball Championships [43] | ![]() |
2006 Commonwealth Games [44] [45] [46] | ![]() |
While playing for Southern Sting, Avellino started working as a sports co-ordinator and netball coach at Southland Girls' High School. She coached SGHS for over a decade. [32] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] She coached SGHS as they competed in Invercargill, [53] [54] South Island, [55] [56] [57] [58] and national netball tournaments. [59] [60]
Between 2008 and 2010, Avellino coached the Southland netball team that competed in the National Provincial Championships. [47] In 2008 she was player coach as Southland defeated Auckland Waitakere 56–46 to win their first title in 49 years. Her Southland teammates included Julianna Naoupu and Wendy Telfer. [61] [62] [63]
In May 2011, Avellino and Janine Southby, were appointed co-head coaches of Southern Steel. [48] [49] [64] [65] However, after a poor 2012 ANZ Championship season, which saw Steel win just two matches and lose 11, Steel decided to end the co-coaching experiment. [66] [67] [68] Ahead of the 2013 season, Southby was appointed head coach and Avellino was named as assistant coach. [69] [70] However, this new arrangement survived only four weeks into the new season. It was reported that the two coaches had a falling out and had differences in "coaching philosophies". In April 2013, Avellino was subsequently sacked as Steel assistant coach. [71] [72] [73]
In August 2010, Avellino was appointed assistant coach of the New Zealand Secondary Schools team. She subsequently had a ten-year involvement with the team. She was also Waimarama Taumaunu's assistant coach when New Zealand team that won the 2012 Fast5 Netball World Series. [3] [4] [47] [52] [74] [75]
In 2019 she joined Briony Akle's coaching team at the New South Wales Swifts as a specialist shooting coach. She subsequently helped Swifts win the 2019 and 2021 Suncorp Super Netball titles. Ahead of the 2023 season, she was promoted to assistant coach. [3] [4] [52] [76]
Between 2009 and 2011, Avellino worked as a commentator for New Zealand's Sky Sport. She also worked as a netball writer for The Southland Times . [48] [77]
Year | Award |
---|---|
2000 [2] [78] | Australian Sports Medal |
2022 [5] | Netball NSW Hall of Fame |
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Bank. Melbourne Phoenix were the competition's most successful team, winning five premierships. Sydney Swifts were the second most successful team, winning four premierships. Between them, Phoenix and Swifts played in every grand final, except in 1999 when Adelaide Thunderbirds won the second of their two premierships. Ahead of the 2008 season, the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league effectively merged with New Zealand's National Bank Cup to form the ANZ Championship.
Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team based in Sydney. Between 1997 and 2007, they represented Netball New South Wales in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Together with Sydney Sandpipers and Hunter Jaegers, they were one of three teams to represent NNSW in the competition. After Melbourne Phoenix, Swifts were the league's second most successful team, winning four premierships and three minor premierships. In 2008, when the Commonwealth Bank Trophy was replaced by the ANZ Championship, Swifts and Jaegers merged to form New South Wales Swifts.
Belinda Louise Colling is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1996 and 2006, she made 92 senior appearances for New Zealand. She captained New Zealand at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 World Netball Championships and was a member of the New Zealand teams that won gold medals at the 2003 World Netball Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Colling is also a double international and played for the New Zealand women's national basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. During the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup era, Colling played netball for Otago Rebels, Canterbury Flames and Southern Sting. She also played for Team Northumbria in the Netball Superleague. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.
Catherine Anne Cox is a former Australian netball international and current netball commentator and podcaster. Between 1997 and 2013, she made 108 senior appearances for Australia. She was a prominent member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 and 2011 World Netball Championships. She was also a member of the Australia teams that won silver medals at the 2003 World Netball Championships and the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games. Cox captained Australia on seven occasions, including when they won the 2011 Constellation Cup.
Megan Anderson, also known as Megan McWilliams and previously known as Megan Dehn, is a former Australia netball international and current netball coach. Between 2000 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia team that won the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. During the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era, Anderson was a member of Sydney Swifts teams that won premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. During the ANZ Championship era, she played for Southern Steel and Northern Mystics. After retiring as a player in 2011, she became a coach. In 2020 Anderson was appointed head coach of Queensland Firebirds.
Jane Altschwager is a former Australia netball international. During the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era, Altschwager made 81 senior appearances for Adelaide Thunderbirds, Sydney Swifts and Hunter Jaegers. Between 1999 and 2004, she was a member of three premiership winning squads – 1999 with Thunderbirds and 2001 and 2004 with Swifts. During the ANZ Championship era she re-joined Thunderbirds and also played for Central Pulse. Altschwager captained both Jaegers and Pulse. After retiring as a netball player, Altschwager went on to play women's Australian rules football for North Adelaide in the SANFL Women's League.
Cathrine Tuivaiti is a netball international who has played for Samoa, New Zealand and Tonga. She represented Samoa at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 World Netball Championships, New Zealand at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Tonga at the 2023 Netball World Cup. During the National Bank Cup era, she played for Northern Force. During the ANZ Championship era, she played for Northern Mystics. She subsequently played for Central Pulse, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Strathclyde Sirens and Severn Stars. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.
Wendy Frew, previously known as Wendy Telfer, is a former New Zealand netball international. During the National Bank Cup era, she played for Southern Sting. During the ANZ Championship era and early ANZ Premiership era, she played for Southern Steel. She was a member of six premiership winning teams – the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007 Southern Sting teams and the 2017 and 2018 Southern Steel teams. She captained Steel when they won both premierships. She also captained Steel when they won the 2017 Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.
Peta Scholz, also known as Peta Squire, is a former Australia netball international. She was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medals at the 1999 World Netball Championships and the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the silver medal at the 2003 World Netball Championships. Between 1997 and 2007, Scholz made 169 appearances for Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She was a prominent member of the Thunderbirds teams that won five successive minor premierships between 1997 and 2001. She also played in six successive grand finals between 1997 and 2002, helping Thunderbirds win premierships in 1998 and 1999. In 2010 and 2011, Scholz played for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Championship.
Jenny Borlase, also known as Jenny Kennett, is a former Australia netball international. Between 1989 and 1999 she made 70 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 World Netball Championships, the 1993 World Games and the 1998 Commonwealth Games. At club level, Borlase played for Garville in both the South Australia state league and the Mobil Superleague and for Adelaide Ravens and Melbourne Kestrels in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She also represented South Australia. Borlase was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1992. After retiring as a player, Borlase has remained involved in netball as both an administrator and coach.
Simone McKinnis is a former Australia netball international and the current head coach of Melbourne Vixens in Suncorp Super Netball. As a player she was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991 and 1995 World Netball Championships, the 1993 World Games and the 1998 Commonwealth Games. She also captained the Melbourne Phoenix team that won the 1997 Commonwealth Bank Trophy. She was head coach when Vixens won the 2014 ANZ Championship and the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball titles. In 1992, McKinnis was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and in 2010 was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame.
Contax Netball Club are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Their senior team currently plays in the Netball South Australia Premier League. Between 1989 and 1996, Contax represented Netball South Australia in the Esso/Mobil Superleague. They were premiers in 1994. They were originally known as Contax Basketball Club, when netball was known as women's basketball. During the Esso/Mobil Superleague era, they were also referred to as Adelaide Contax. Between 1995 and 2012, when the club was sponsored by ETSA, and then ETSA Utilities, they were known as ETSA Contax.
Garville Netball Club is an Australian netball team based in Woodville, Adelaide, South Australia. Their senior team currently plays in the Netball South Australia Premier League. During the 1990s they played at a national level, representing Netball South Australia in the Mobil Superleague. During the Mobil Superleague era, they were also referred to as Adelaide Garville. In 1993 they were Mobil Superleague premiers.
Adelaide Ravens were an Australian netball team that, together with Adelaide Thunderbirds, represented Netball South Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. In 1997 Ravens were founder members of the league. In 1999 they were grand finalists. They continued to play in the competition until 2002, when they were replaced by AIS Canberra Darters.
Australian Institute of Sport are a former Australian netball team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They were the netball team of the Australian Institute of Sport. They effectively acted as a development/under-21 team for the Australia national netball team. Between 1985 and 1996, AIS played in the Esso/Mobil Superleague. In 1985 and 1986 they finished as champions. Between 2003 and 2007, the AIS and Netball ACT entered a combined team known as AIS Canberra Darters in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 2008 and 2012, the AIS entered a separate team in the Australian Netball League. They were ANL grand finalists in both 2008 and 2009. They have also entered teams in the NSW State League, Victorian State League and the South Australia State League.
Roselee Jencke is a former Australia netball international and netball coach. As a player, Jencke was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medal at the 1991 World Netball Championships and the silver medals at the 1985 World Games and the 1987 World Netball Championships. In 1992 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. Between 2009 and 2020, Jencke served as head coach of Queensland Firebirds. Between 2011 and 2016 she guided Firebirds to five ANZ Championship grand finals, winning three premierships in 2011, 2015 and 2016.
The Mobil Superleague, originally known as the Esso Superleague, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1985 and 1996. The league was Australia's first national netball league. It was organized by the All Australia Netball Association and featured the state league champions from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia plus a team from the Australian Institute of Sport. Between 1990 and 1996, the winners of the league were also awarded the Prime Minister's Cup and this is sometimes used as an alternative name for the competition. Its main sponsors were Esso and Mobil. In 1997 it was replaced by the Commonwealth Bank Trophy.
Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between 2008 and 2011, she served as head coach of New South Wales Swifts in the ANZ Championship. In 2008, she guided Swifts to the inaugural ANZ Championship title. Between 2014 and 2016, she guided Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic to the Finals Series every year in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Fitzgerald has served as head coach of Giants Netball in Suncorp Super Netball, guiding them to two grand finals and two minor championships. In 2020, Fitzgerald was made a Member of the Order of Australia.
The 2004 Southern Sting season saw the Southern Sting netball team compete in the 2004 National Bank Cup league season. With a team coached by Robyn Broughton, captained by Lesley Nicol and featuring Natalie Avellino, Adine Harper, Donna Loffhagen and Wendy Telfer, Sting won their sixth consecutive league title after defeating Canterbury Flames in both the major semi-final and the grand final.