Five Victorian athletes have been selected into the 2024 Australian 21/Under squad to tour Fiji in August, including Melbourne Vixens goaler Lily Graham, and Victorian pathway athletes Harriet Gall, Charlotte Sexton, Ruby Shannon and Olivia Wilkinson.
The 24-player squad will complete a three-day camp in Sydney, before travelling to Fiji for the week-long tour from 17-24 August.
At 18 years old Lily Graham has excelled in her five games in Suncorp Super Netball after signing as a permanent replacement player for the Vixens’ 2024 season. The dynamic goaler hails from south-east Melbourne and debuted for the Victorian Fury at the 2023 Australian Netball Championships after playing in the Victorian Netball League (VNL) since 2021. Graham has also represented Victoria at the 17/Under and 19/Under level at the National Netball Championships in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Shepparton product Harriet Gall is a versatile attacker that can play all three midcourt positions, progressing through the pathway from the Goulburn Valley Football Netball League to the Bendigo Strikers in the VNL, and now national selection. The regional talent represented Victoria in the 17/U and 19/U State teams in 2023 and 2024 respectively, while also earning selection into the 2023-24 Australian 17/U squad.
Gall’s Bendigo Strikers teammate Charlotte Sexton burst onto the scene in 2023, earning selection in the Victorian Fury and 19/Under Victorian and national teams, after just one season in the VNL’s 19&U division. The 191cm defender has now asserted herself as an imposing figure in the circle for the 2024 Victorian Fury team that competed in the Super Netball Reserves competition. At club level, Sexton plays for Sandhurst in the Bendigo Football Netball League.
Explosive midcourter Ruby Shannon also had a breakout season in 2023, being named in the VNL 19&U Team of the Year and selected for both the Victorian Fury and the 19/U State team that competed at the National Netball Championships. In 2024, the north-east Melbourne local retained her selection for the Fury team that competed in the Super Netball Reserves competition and was a key signing for the Western Warriors in the VNL.
A Victorian pathway product, Olivia Wilkinson secured a contract with West Coast Fever in 2024, making her Suncorp Super Netball debut in Round 1. The 190cm tall goaler from south-east Melbourne plays a mobile game in both goal shooter and goal attack, with supreme long-range accuracy that saw her earn a training partner contract at Collingwood Magpies in 2023 and grand final MVP honours for the Magpies’ Australian Netball Championship winning side in the same year. She was also an underage invitee to Australia’s 21/U squad last year and competed for Victoria’s 19/U team in the National Netball Championships in 2022 and 2023.
“Congratulations to the five Victorian athletes named in the squad. It’s fantastic to see their hard work and dedication rewarded with recognition from national selectors,” said Netball Victoria General Manager High Performance & Pathways, Megan Simpson.
“It’s particularly pleasing to see a mix of regional and metro athletes selected, showing the depth of the Victorian pathway. We’re looking forward to seeing them thrive on the international stage.”
Australian 21/U squad:
Harriet Gall – Victoria (Bendigo Strikers)
Lily Graham – Victoria (Melbourne Vixens/Wilson Storage Southern Saints)
Charlotte Sexton – Victoria (Bendigo Strikers)
Ruby Shannon – Victoria (Western Warriors)
Olivia Wilkinson – Victoria (West Coast Fever)
Ruth Aryang – Western Australia
Nicola Barge – New South Wales
Sophie Casey – South Australia
Georgie Cleaver – Western Australia
Kayla Graham – South Australia
Scarlet Jauncey – Western Australia
Nevaeh Matenga – New South Wales
Paige O'Neill – Tasmania
Monika ‘Otai – New South Wales
Tabitha Packer – South Australia
Lillyana Rennie – Queensland
Charisse Rond – Western Australia
Frederika Schneideman – New South Wales
Elsa Sif Sandholt – Queensland
Lucy Voyvodic – South Australia
Charlotte Walker – Tasmania
Hope White – New South Wales
Grace Whyte – New South Wales
Clara Wigley – Western Australia
