QUEENSLAND’S next generation of netball leaders have been revealed with ACU Cougars’ Losa Niumata and Sunshine Coast Thunder’s Ellie Brice named as captains of the 19 and Under and 17 and Under State Teams for 2023.
Niumata and Brice were confirmed as the leaders for this year’s National Netball Championships in Darwin in a special ceremony involving Queensland Firebirds players on the weekend.
Niumata will be aided by 19U vice-captain and Aerospace Ipswich Jet Elsa Sif Sandholt while Brice’s vice-captain in the 17U team is Cougars player Gemma Hutchings.
Firebirds and Queensland pathway products Remi Kamo, Ruby Bakewell-Doran, Macy Gardner and Mia Stower revealed the leaders at Nissan Arena during the Suncorp Super Netball club’s dress presentation function.
“The opportunity to lead my state at Nationals alongside Elsa is like no other feeling,” Niumata said.
“Nothing compares to the feeling of representing my family and the rest of the state, let alone leading.”
19U Head Coach Simone Nalatu said the process to determine the leadership group followed that of the Firebirds earlier in the year, with prospective leaders applying formally for the role and undergoing interviews.
“The underage process aligned with the Firebirds to give the underage athletes a similar experience and prepare them for similar processes in the future,” Nalatu said.
“All applicants did a great job to put forward their leadership qualities via a written application, interview and coach and management observations over the last few weeks.
“I’m really looking forward to how Losa and Elsa will lead the group in Darwin and continue to develop their leadership skills.”
17U Head Coach Rebecca Stower said Brice was a standout choice to lead her team on court.
“We had a fantastic number of applications through the new process, very succinctly aligning with both NQ and our team values,” Stower said.
“Appointing Ellie was a very easy decision with her proven leadership track record, her ability to lead by example in everything she does and her positive relationships across the board with players and staff.
“Gemma returns to 17U with an extra year of experience and maturity under her belt and she has worked hard to continue developing her high-performance behaviours to the point she is ready to share that within the team environment in a leadership role.”
This year’s National Netball Championships will be contested from 11-16 April at CDU Stadium in Marrara, Darwin.
