Natalie Medhurst

About Natalie Medhurst

Natalie Medhurst (born 20 January 1984 in Warracknabeal, Australia) is an Australian netball player. Medhurst plays as a goal attack and goal shooter, and is a current member of the Australian national netball team.

Medhurst rose to prominence in 2004, when the then-twenty-year-old had a stunning debut for the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Replacing club stalwart Jacqui Delaney, Medhurst put many of the world's best defenders to task with her accuracy, speed, and elusive nature.

Medhurst went on to represent Australia at the 2005 World Youth Championships, where they finished in third place. She continued to develop as a player at open level, and in 2007 she finally made her debut, against Jamaica on 8 July 2007. Her shooting accuracy was 100% during the quarter she was on.

Medhurst continued her strong debut season for Australia during the 2007 Netball World Championships, where she ended the preliminary rounds as the third-most accurate shooter at the championships, with a strike rate of 91%. Her rise continued in the grand final against New Zealand, when she was brought on in the final quarter when Australia's senior shooters were struggling. She calmly converted all three of her attempts at goal, with Australia winning the final 42–38, making Medhurst a world champion.

Natalie Medhurst Achievements

2007: World Championship, Auckland NZ (1st)

2010: Commonwealth Games, Delhi India (2nd)

2011: ANZ Championship Premiers (QLD Firebirds)

2011: ANZ Championship Joint MVP

2011: World Championship, Singapore (1st)

2013: ANZ Championship Grand Finalist (QLD Firebirds)

Gold-2007 Auckland:

The 2007 World Netball Championships was the 12th staging of the World Netball Championships, a quadrennial international netball world championship co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA), inaugurated in 1963.

Sixteen nations competed from 10 to the 17 November. The event was hosted in the West part of Auckland, New Zealand. The competition comprised 48 matches over 8 days with all matches being played in the The Trusts Stadium, Waitakere. The event was broadcast in over half a dozen countries.

Gold-2011 Singapore:

The 2011 World Netball Championships was the 13th edition of the World Netball Championships, a quadrennial event first staged in 1963. The World Netball Championships is the premier event in international netball. The 2011 tournament was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Singapore was chosen as the host nation at the 2007 IFNA Congress in Auckland.

Medhurst's greatest strengths are her accuracy, elusiveness, speed, and cool demeanour while under pressure. With the start of the ANZ Championship, Medhurst re-signed with the Adelaide Thunderbirds for the inaugural season in 2008. But in September 2009, she signed with the Queensland Firebirds for the 2010 season. She won the ANZ Championship in 2011 with the Firebirds and was named the season's MVP

Bronze-2009 Manchester:

The 2009 World Netball Series was the inaugural tournament of the World Netball Series. The 2009 Series was held at MEN Arena in Manchester, England from 9–11 October, and was the first major trial of the new FastNet rules that were announced by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) in 2008. New Zealand won the 2009 tournament with a 32–27 victory over Jamaica in the gold medal playoff

In 2013, at the preseason tournament in Melbourne, Medhurst played many quarters at wing attack, but was only rarely seen there during the ANZ Championship season proper.

2014 Commonwealth Games:

The 2014 Commonwealth Games (officially the XX Commonwealth Games) were held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 3 August 2014.

In 2014, Medhurst moved to Perth to play for the West Coast Fever, reuniting with her former Australian coach Norma Plummer, shifting with Firebirds wing attack Chelsea Pitman, and forging stronger links with Australian goal shooter Caitlin Bassett. Later, she was announced as their Captain. Later that year Medhurst was named in the Australian Netball Diamonds to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games who went on to win gold.