College netball stars Ainsley Carey, Rebecca Symons, Shaylah Pershouse and Tenille Cotter will fly the flag for Mackay at this year’s Queensland School Sport Netball State Championships in Brisbane.
The talented quartet impressed selectors with skilful performances at last week’s Capricornia representative trials at the Mackay Multi Sports Stadium to force their way into the respective 16-19yrs and 13-15yrs squads.
Outstanding wing attack Carey, shooter Symons, goalkeeper Pershouse and centre Cotter will be joined by Mackay State High School’s promising shooter Christa Nissen in powerful Capricornia representative line ups.
The State Netball Championship – to be held at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena from April 27 to 30 – is one of the highlight events on the Queensland School Sports calendar.
Carey, who will represent the Australian Indigenous team during this year’s Pacific Netball series, will spearhead the Capricornia 16-19yrs side alongside fellow Mackay natives Symons and Nissen.
All three produced dominant displays throughout the trials with Symons and Nissen confirming their status as two of the finest netball shooters in the region.
Emerging St Patrick’s centre Lillian Newland and goalkeeper Kaycee Ziegeler were named in the Possibles v Probables 16-19yrs squad but narrowly missed Capricornia selection.
Rising stars Pershouse and Cotter are two players to watch in the Capricornia 13-15yrs team.
The formidable duo are fierce competitors that thrive in pressure-cooker situations and show a maturity on court that far belies their years.
Unlucky omissions were Holy Spirit College duo Mia Slater, a dynamic wing attack and Alysse Atherton, a tyro goal defender/wing defence, who missed the cut despite figuring prominently in the Possibles v Probables selection trial.
By Chris Karas
Outstanding Mackay netballers Shayla Pershouse (holding ball) and Tenille Cotter (fourth left) will represent Capricornia at this year’s Queensland School Sport Netball 13-15yrs State Championships in Brisbane. Also pictured are Mackay Schools reps Ava Symons, Addison Dee, Lacie Clark, Mia Slater, Tahlia Anderson, Kiana Dunn, Alysse Atherton and Rhyanna Ape
