Garbin crowned Australia’s best at gala awards night in Melbourne

Kambalda netball product Sophie Garbin’s stunning rise to become one of the nation’s best in the sport peaked last Saturday night when she was crowned International Player of the Year.

On a remarkable evening for the 27-year-old goal shooter at the Australian Netball Awards in Melbourne, she was also honoured with the prestigious 2024 Liz Ellis Diamond.

Garbin became the seventh player from the Origin Australian Diamonds in the past decade to sweep both awards.

In her first season with the Melbourne Vixens, Garbin scored 517 goals in the qualifying series that included a record 54 points in round eight, and 54 offensive rebounds for the season.

She carried over that form to the international stage for the Diamonds — racking up 306 goals at 95 per cent accuracy across 11 Test matches in 2024.

In the Diamonds’ final Test, Garbin converted at 100 per cent and she was also this week named in the Suncorp Super Netball Team of the Year.

Garbin’s ability to win Australia netball’s top individual prize followed an uncertain 12 months after her previous club, Collingwood Magpies, pulled the pin on Super Netball before she this year joined the Vixens.

Born in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and raised in Kambalda before moving to Perth aged 13, Garbin represented Australia at under-17, under-19, under-20, and under-21 levels, and debuted in the senior team in 2021 against New Zealand at the Constellation Cup.

Her decorated career includes the 2017 Australian Netball League title with the Western Sting and the 2019 and 2021 Suncorp Super Netball titles with the NSW Swifts.