McMahon and Phoenix lick plates clean

Sharelle McMahon and her Melbourne teammates had a girls’ night out, cleaning up at Netball Australia’s Annual Awards last night.

The 2005 premiers won seven of the 13 individual trophies on offer at a reception held fittingly in Melbourne’s Southbank precinct.

McMahon received her third CBT MVP award and was picked at Goal Attack in the Team of the Year for the fourth year running.

Melbourne’s Julie Hoornweg was named coach of the year while Johannah Curran (goal defence), Bianca Chatfield (goal keeper) and Natasha Chokljat (wing defence) all made the Team of the Year. Chokljat also won the Players’ Player of the Year.

The MVP award is the icing on the cake for the Phoenix co-captain who notched up an impressive list of records this season with a premiership to boot.

2005 saw McMahon play her 140th CBT game, score her 4000th domestic goal and retain an impressive 29.9 goals per game at 83 per cent. The league’s second most prolific goal scorer behind Sydney’s Catherine Cox, McMahon previously picked up the MVP award in 2000 and 2003.

Her performances in the CBT show that McMahon is in the best form of her career, timely given that the 2006 Commonwealth Games are knocking on her hometown’s doorstep.

The other big winner for the night was Swifts goal shooter Catherine Cox, winning the Australian Team Player of the Year award. Cox was also named as the Team of Year’s goal shooter, after taking her goal career tally to 4079 with an average of 37.1.

Best New Talent went to the AIS Canberra Darters Clare McMeniman, a 20-year-old from Queensland who made her debut in 2005.

On Monday the Australian squad leaves for Auckland to play New Zealand next week and a three Test Series against Jamaica in November.

CAN I HAVE SOME MORE...

The players and officials who came for firsts, seconds and licked their plates clean at the Netball Australia Awards Dinner in Melbourne.

Commonwealth Bank Trophy Most Valued Player
– Sharelle McMahon, Melbourne Phoenix

Australian Team Player of the Year
– Catherine Cox, Sydney Swifts

Players’ Player of the Year
– Natasha Chokljat, Melbourne Phoenix

Commonwealth Bank Trophy Best New Talent
– Clare McMeniman, AIS Canberra Darters

Domestic Coach of the Year
– Julie Hoornweg, Melbourne Phoenix

Umpire of the Year
– Sharon Kelly & Nikki Boyd

World Youth Netball Championships Australian Player of Series
– Kirby Mutton, Adelaide Thunderbirds

Margaret Pewtress Team of the Year
- Goal Shooter – Catherine Cox, Sydney Swifts
- Goal Attack – Sharelle McMahon, Melbourne Phoenix
- Wing Attack – Laura von Bertouch, Adelaide Thunderbirds
- Centre – Natalie von Bertouch, Adelaide Thunderbirds
- Wing Defence – Natasha Chokljat, Melbourne Phoenix
- Goal Defence – Johannah Curran, Melbourne Phoenix
- Goal Keeper – Bianca Chatfield, Melbourne Phoenix

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!