Netball NSW is pleased to announce the coaching appointments for the 2026 NSW State Teams, with Wyong District\u2019s Amber Cross named Head Coach of the 19U side and Baulkham Hills Shire\u2019s Nardia Trevor reappointed as Head Coach of the 17U team following this year\u2019s silver-medal finish at Nationals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross returns to the helm with an impressive record, having previously guided both 17U and 19U NSW teams to championship success and named as the Premier League Coach of the Decade for her outstanding leadership of the Central Coast Heart. Most recently, she stepped into a mentoring role and served as an observer on Netball Australia\u2019s National Selection Panel for 2025, but will once again take charge of the 19U program in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always a privilege to coach for New South Wales \u2013 there\u2019s such a proud legacy of coaches and athletes who\u2019ve come through this pathway. I know how competitive these roles are, so I feel humbled to be selected again. After a year away, I\u2019m really looking forward to getting back out on court, shaking off the rust and doing what I love,\u201d the newly appointed Head Coach, Amber Cross said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross is supported in her coaching role by Sarah Bowen (Manly Warringah) as Assistant Coach and Georgia Fuller (Barellan & District) as Apprentice Coach. Both bring strong development experience, with Fuller also highlighting Netball NSW\u2019s commitment to fostering regional coaching talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to working with Sarah and Georgia. Both bring so much passion and energy. Sarah is incredibly organised with strong tactical knowledge, while Georgia, like me, comes from a regional background and has a natural gift for coaching. Their strengths will definitely add to what we can deliver as a team,\u201d Cross concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 17U program, familiar faces return following their silver-medal performance at Nationals this year. Head Coach Trevor, now with South Coast Blaze and Apprentice Coach Diana Benioni (Eastwood Ryde), both coached the GWS Fury Premier League franchise to the 23U Premiership in 2025. They will be joined by Assistant Coach Jordan Bedingfield (Sutherland Shire).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Trevor, the reappointment is both an honour and an opportunity to continue building on her team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an honour to be reappointed. For me, it\u2019s about continuing the work we began last year \u2014 learning from that campaign, building on those foundations, and elevating our performance as we head toward 2026. The talent emerging in this age group is incredibly exciting, and I\u2019m looking forward to working with the selected team and seeing what each individual can contribute to the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netball NSW General Manager of Performance and Pathways, Mardi Aplin, said the appointments reflect the strength of the state\u2019s coaching landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Netball NSW is fortunate to have such a highly experienced panel overseeing the appointment of our coaching team. With Jill McIntosh, former Australian Diamonds Head Coach; Anita Keelan, Netball Australia\u2019s Head of Pathways; and Maria Lynch, a respected High Performance Coach with deep insight into our coaching landscape \u2014 we\u2019re guided by exceptional expertise and a strong understanding of what\u2019s required to succeed in this space.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NSW 17U and 19U State Teams will be finalised later this year ahead of the 2026 National Netball Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Netball NSW is pleased to announce the coaching appointments for the 2026 NSW State Teams, with Wyong District\u2019s Amber Cross named Head Coach of the 19U side and Baulkham Hills Shire\u2019s Nardia Trevor reappointed as Head Coach of the 17U team following this year\u2019s silver-medal finish at Nationals. Cross returns to the helm with an … Continue reading “Netball NSW Announces State Team Head Coaches”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35105,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35104\/revisions\/35105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}