Steph Wood

Last updated

Stephanie Fretwell
Stephanie Wood.jpg
Personal information
Born (1991-11-28) 28 November 1991 (age 32) [1]
Hyde Park, Queensland, [2] [3] [4] Australia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Spouse Marcus Fretwell
Married 29 September 2023
Netball career
Playing position(s): GA, WA
YearsClub team(s)Apps
2008–2013 Suncoast Lynx
2009Carina Tigers
2009–2014 Queensland Fusion
2010–2011AIS
2012Queensland Firebirds 0
2014–2016 New South Wales Swifts
2015NNSW Waratahs
2016– Sunshine Coast Lightning
YearsNational team(s)Caps
2017–2023 Australia 56 [1]
Medal record
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Netball World Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Liverpool Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Cape Town Team
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2018 Gold Coast Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Team

Stephanie Fretwell (born 28 November 1991), previously known as Stephanie Wood, is a former Australia netball international, who currently plays for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Super Netball competition.

Contents

Fretwell was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and at the 2023 Netball World Cup. Between 2015 and 2016, Fretwell played for New South Wales Swifts in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 she has played for Sunshine Coast Lightning in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2015 and 2019, she featured in five successive grand finalist squads, winning premierships with Sunshine Coast Lightning in 2017 and 2018.

Early life and family

Fretwell was born in Hyde Park, Queensland. Her family moved around because her father served in the Australian Defence Force. The family eventually settled in Brisbane and Brendale. She is the youngest of three girls. Her two older sisters, Jodie and Tracey, also played netball. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Playing career

Early years

Fretwell started playing netball when she was six and was playing in division one with the Pine Rivers Netball Association when she was twelve. [6] [7] [9] She represented Queensland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. In 2010 she captained the under-19 team to an Australian National Netball Championships title and was named Tournament MVP. Her shooting partner was Ameliaranne Wells. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] Wood also played for both Suncoast Lynx and Carina Tigers in the Queensland State Netball League. [6] [14] [15] [17] [18]

Queensland Fusion

Between 2009 and 2014, Fretwell played for Queensland Fusion in the Australian Netball League. In 2014 she was a member of the Fusion team that finished as runners up in the ANL. She was also named the 2014 Queensland Fusion MVP. [6] [14] [15] [19] [20] [21] While playing for Fusion, Fretwell was also called up as a replacement player for Queensland Firebirds during the 2012 ANZ Championship season. However she never made a senior appearance for Firebirds. [5] [22] [23]

Australian Institute of Sport

Between 2010 and 2011, Fretwell played for the Australian Institute of Sport. [5] [9] [16] [24] In 2011 she won the Gweneth Benzie Award for the best player in the program. [13] [25]

New South Wales Swifts

In 2014 Fretwell signed for New South Wales Swifts. She subsequently made her ANZ Championship debut with Swifts in a 2015 Round 2 match against Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. [9] [25] [26] [27] During 2015, Fretwell played for NNSW Waratahs in the Australian Netball League. Fretwell played for Swifts in two successive grand finals in 2015 and 2016. However, on both occasions they lost to Queensland Firebirds. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]

Sunshine Coast Lightning

Since 2017, Fretwell has played for Sunshine Coast Lightning in Suncorp Super Netball. Together with Caitlin Bassett, she was one of the first players to join the new franchise. [4] [14] [15] [33] [34] Wood was a member of the Lighting teams that won the 2017 and 2018 Suncorp Super Netball titles. In 2018 she was named Lightning's Members' Player of the Year. She also shared the main MVP award with Karla Pretorius. [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]

Grand finalsTeamPlaceOpponentGoals
1 2015 New South Wales Swifts Runners up Queensland Firebirds
2 2016 [40] [28] New South Wales Swifts Runners up Queensland Firebirds Netball.svg  3/4 (75%) [41]
3 2017 [35] [36] Sunshine Coast Lightning Winners Giants Netball Netball.svg  16/20 (80%)
4 2018 [38] Sunshine Coast Lightning Winners West Coast Fever Netball.svg  17/20 (85%)
5 2019 [42] [43] Sunshine Coast Lightning Runners up New South Wales Swifts Netball.svg  8/14 (57%)

Australia

Fretwell made her senior debut for Australia on 27 August 2016 against South Africa during the 2016 Netball Quad Series. [1] [2] [9] [44] [45] [46] She had previously represented Australia at under-19 and under-21 levels. [19] [12] [47] Fretwell was subsequently a member of the Australia teams that won the silver medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games [3] [48] and at the 2019 Netball World Cup. [49] [50]

Fretwell was appointed as vice-captain of the Diamonds in 2021, alongside captain Liz Watson, with the team winning every major tournament under their leadership, including gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 Netball World Cup.

Following the 2023 Netball World Cup, Fretwell announced her retirement from international netball after 56 matches for the Diamonds. [51]

TournamentsPlace
2016 Netball Quad Series [44] [45] [46] Gold medal icon.svg
2018 Commonwealth Games [3] [48] Silver medal icon.svg
2018 Netball Quad Series (September) [52] Gold medal icon.svg
2019 Netball Quad Series [53] Gold medal icon.svg
2019 Netball World Cup [49] [50] Silver medal icon.svg
2022 Netball Quad Series Gold medal icon.svg
2022 Commonwealth Games Gold medal icon.svg
2023 Netball Quad Series Gold medal icon.svg
2023 Netball World Cup Gold medal icon.svg

Honours

Australia
Sunshine Coast Lightning
New South Wales Swifts
Queensland Fusion
Queensland

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References

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