Historic debut for Namoi Netball Club at Koori Tournament as five teams showcase talent and pride

It was a historic weekend for Namoi Netball Club as five teams travelled to Charlestown to compete in the 2024 Koori Netball Tournament.

The club, which was formed earlier this year, donned their new uniforms proudly as they took on some of the state’s best, and they well and truly held their own.

The Namoi teams predominantly included players from Narrabri and Wee Waa, and they lined up across four of the six divisions.

Namoi Mii Mii Memorial played in open women’s B-division, Magic Mob played in the open mixed division, Namoi Waruu and Namoi Songbirds played alongside one another in the 13-15-years mixed division, and the Namoi Queen Bees competed in the 10-12-years division.

One of the founding members of Namoi Netball Club, Sharlee Bruce, told The Courier that she was proud of the way they conducted themselves across the weekend and said that the carnival was an enjoyable one.

“I formed the club with one of my friends Janelle Young, my sister-in-law Angie Knox and our friends Molly Welsh and Rebecca Gibbs, and we are just organisers at the moment until we are ready to put it out there to have an AGM and anyone can come on board, probably next year,” Bruce said.

“We started Namoi Netball Club to encourage more Aboriginal youth and women to participate in netball, because there is not a lot that do, and we wanted to see more Aboriginal representation in netball.

“It gives the boys a chance to play too. They are more into their footy and some other sports, but it’s been good to see them come on board too.

“It was mind-blowing to get five teams on the weekend. We really didn’t expect that. We were very proud and it was so good to watch, especially the young ones who are new to netball.

“It was a really good weekend.”

Bruce said that the club uniforms, as pictured above worn by the Namoi Mii Mii Memorial open ladies’ team, represented the region’s land and the people on it.

“One of the mothers in the under-12s, Bernadette Melton, helped me design it,” Bruce said.

“The three circles represent the three thirds of the netball court, the lines in between them represent the Namoi River, and each of the pictures represent the teams – the Songbirds, Mii Mii Memorial and Queen Bees – and then the Southern Cross on the back represents the non-Indigenous people who play for us as well. I just wanted everyone to be included in the design.

“The colours also represent Narrabri. Narrabri teams wear blue.

“I just want to say we couldn’t have done it without our amazing sponsors too.”

Namoi Netball Club’s Mii Mii Memorial open women’s team that went within one win of a semi-final spot in the open women’s B division at last weekend’s Koori Netball Tournament at Charlestown - Whitney Skuthorpe, Mackenzie Knox, Asher Kelly, Cassie Skuthorpe, Summer Fernance, Angie Knox, Molly Welsh, Rya Knox, Callie Lawler and Alyssa Toomey. Namoi Netball Club’s Mii Mii Memorial open women’s team that went within one win of a semi-final spot in the open women’s B division at last weekend’s Koori Netball Tournament at Charlestown - Whitney Skuthorpe, Mackenzie Knox, Asher Kelly, Cassie Skuthorpe, Summer Fernance, Angie Knox, Molly Welsh, Rya Knox, Callie Lawler and Alyssa Toomey.

The Magic Mob open mixed team - back, Zac Simpson, Shakaye Walker, Taneika Cochrane, Clifford Toomey Junior, Lorraine Leonard, Allyssa Toomey, Thelma Leonard, Chris Clark, front, Amber Simpson, Emmjay Baker, Kristy Fuller, Menzie Baker and Tialas Croaker. The Magic Mob open mixed team - back, Zac Simpson, Shakaye Walker, Taneika Cochrane, Clifford Toomey Junior, Lorraine Leonard, Allyssa Toomey, Thelma Leonard, Chris Clark, front, Amber Simpson, Emmjay Baker, Kristy Fuller, Menzie Baker and Tialas Croaker.

The Namoi Waruu 13-15-years mixed team - back, coach Amber Simpson, Armanii Ramirez, Levi French, Rianna Gibbs, Kishaya Gibbs-Eulo, Michael Stanford, Jazaria Duncan, referee Kristie Toomey, front, Lucas Summers-Lawler, Laycee Lawler, Mia Harvey and Nullah Clarke. Absent from photo: Jarrad Lawler The Namoi Waruu 13-15-years mixed team - back, coach Amber Simpson, Armanii Ramirez, Levi French, Rianna Gibbs, Kishaya Gibbs-Eulo, Michael Stanford, Jazaria Duncan, referee Kristie Toomey, front, Lucas Summers-Lawler, Laycee Lawler, Mia Harvey and Nullah Clarke. Absent from photo: Jarrad Lawler

Namoi Queen Bees under-12 team - back, Angel Stanford, Florence Melton, Mya Mason, Phoebe Willis, Narla Toomey, front, Aria Jory, Makaylie Mason, Casey Lamb, Savannah Lawler and Addison Lamb. Namoi Queen Bees under-12 team - back, Angel Stanford, Florence Melton, Mya Mason, Phoebe Willis, Narla Toomey, front, Aria Jory, Makaylie Mason, Casey Lamb, Savannah Lawler and Addison Lamb.

Namoi Songbirds 13-15-years mixed team - back, coach Rebecca Gibbs, Ceanna Toomey, Callum Lawler, Nakayshia Power, Rodney Gibbs-Eulo, coach Julie Summers, front, Leilani Smith, Emily Clarke, Leairah Smith, Levi French, Tyran Lawler, Tyreake Dixon and umpire Tori Gibbs. Absent from photo: Lexie Fernance Namoi Songbirds 13-15-years mixed team - back, coach Rebecca Gibbs, Ceanna Toomey, Callum Lawler, Nakayshia Power, Rodney Gibbs-Eulo, coach Julie Summers, front, Leilani Smith, Emily Clarke, Leairah Smith, Levi French, Tyran Lawler, Tyreake Dixon and umpire Tori Gibbs. Absent from photo: Lexie Fernance

Kristie Toomey and Fiona Redfern umpired for the Namoi Netball Club teams across the weekend. Kristie Toomey and Fiona Redfern umpired for the Namoi Netball Club teams across the weekend.

The 2024 Koori Netball Tournament was delivered by Charlestown Netball Association and was supported by the Office of Sport and Netball NSW. It attracted Aboriginal communities from right across NSW with an aim of increasing participation of Aboriginal women in sport in a fun, competitive and inclusive environment.

Netball NSW’s North West regional manager, Narrabri’s Lauren Smart, attended the tournament and helped run the event across the weekend.

Smart told The Courier that there was plenty of talent on show and that the Namoi teams made up half of the North West region teams that were in attendance.

“There were over 100 teams that played at the tournament. From the North West alone, we had 10 of those teams and five of them were from Narrabri,” Smart said.

“Overall, I think it was a really good showcase of our Aboriginal talent.

“We run local Koori gala days in our regions and they are always really successful, especially the further west you go.

“We had a lot of our teams who were in gala days play in the tournament, which was really good.”

The matches across the weekend were 24 minutes in length and were played across 12-minute halves.

The Namoi Mii Mii Memorial open women’s B-division team impressed all weekend and ended the event just one victory away from securing a spot in the semi-finals.

They were placed into Pool B with eight other sides, and there were also nine teams in Pool A.

The Namoi side went through Saturday’s play undefeated following 24-11, 25-10, 16-3, 19-8 and 15-14 victories, and they then met the other undefeated side, WMPD Gaahdis, first up on Sunday morning and went down 20-13 in a tough match before bouncing back to score an 11-6 victory in their second game.

Their third and final pool match of the day saw them come up against Sistas, who were also sitting on 14 points following six wins and one loss.

With the WMPD Gaahdis already having locked up a semi-finals spot, that match was a must-win game for both sides, and it was Sistas who got the job done as they edged out Namoi 14-13 to finish second in the pool.

The WMPD Gaahdis went through the pool rounds undefeated and then went on to win it all as they got up 21-10 in their semi-final and 15-9 in the grand final. The decider was played against the pool A winners Di-Dis after they beat Sistas 19-16 in the other semi-final.

The open women’s A-division final went down to the wire and it was the Karingal Magpies Black team that was crowned champions after defeating Kinkii Opens 21-20. Kinkii Opens had won all 11 of their games prior to the decider.

Namoi’s open mixed team, the Magic Mob, were one of 32 teams in that division.

They were placed in Pool A with 16 other teams and played nine games, two of which they won, and they ended up ranked 14th on their ladder.

The eventual winners of the division were Malikas A, which included Narrabri’s Kasey Hilderson. Malikas A topped Pool B after they won all nine of their matches before they outscored the Gamilaroi Black Snakes 25-10 in their semi-final and the Anaiwan Matriarchs Mixed Opens 22-14 in the decider.

There were only five teams in the 13-15-years mixed division, and two of those were Namoi Netball Club teams. They included Namoi Waruu, which placed fourth, and Namoi Songbirds, which finished fifth.

Waruu won two of their eight games before losing 22-0 against Di-Dis in the semi, and the Songbirds won one of their eight games.

DiDis ended up going down 17-13 in the final against Sand Goannas.

There were 26 teams in the under-12 mixed division, which were split into two pools of 13.

The Namoi Queen Bees all-girls side was placed in Pool B and won two of their nine matches to finish ranked 12th. It was an enjoyable weekend for them, with many new players taking the court for the first time.

The eventual champions of their division were Dunghutti, who edged out Yama Girls 14-13 in the final and ended the weekend undefeated after winning all 10 of their pool matches.

Namoi Netball Club had no teams in the 13-15-years girls’ division. It was won by La Pa Lovelies after they won all 10 of their pool matches and then prevailed 22-15 in their semi-final and 18-14 in the final against Yarrundaali.