Elizabeth Watson (born 30 March 1994), commonly known as Liz Watson, is an Australia netball international. Watson was a member of the Australia teams that won the silver medals at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, ...

and at the

2019 Netball World Cup The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with match ...

. In 2018 and 2022 she received the Liz Ellis Diamond award. She captained Australia during the

2021 Constellation Cup The 2021 Constellation Cup, also known as the Cadbury Netball Series, was the 11th Constellation Cup series between New Zealand and Australia. The series featured four netball test matches, played in March 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

. Since

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, Watson has played for

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 ...

, initially in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was own ...

and later in

Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...

. She was a member of the Vixens' teams that won premierships in

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

Early life, family and education

Watson is originally from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. She was born in Carlton and raised in

Pascoe Vale South Pascoe Vale South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek local government area. Pascoe Vale South recorded a population of 10,534 at the 2021 cens ...

. She is the daughter of Manuela and Neil Watson. Her mother's family are

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. Her two uncles, Anthony and

Steven Alessio Steven Alessio (born 8 November 1971), is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club. He played 184 games for Essendon between 1992 and 2003. Of Italian descent and named in the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century in ...

, and her older brother, Matthew Watson, are all former Australian rules footballers. She attended

Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School Penleigh: la, Ad Altiora , motto_translation = Essendon: Strength through knowledge;Penleigh: To higher things , location = Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Keilor Park & Keilor East, Victoria , country = Au ...

and

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 196 ...

, studying health science at the latter. As of 2022, Watson is currently studying for a Bachelor of Education (Primary) at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn P ...

Playing career

Netball Victoria

Watson began playing netball seriously from the age of 12. Her mother was a netball player and Watson credits her for teaching her how to play. She subsequently went on to represent Victoria at under-12, under-15, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. In 2012 she was a member of the Victoria under-19 team that won the

Australian National Netball Championships The Australian National Netball Championships are a series of annual netball tournaments, organised by Netball Australia and featuring representative teams from the states and territories of Australia. The earliest tournaments took place during ...

. In 2013 she was a member of the Victoria under-21 team that were runners-up.

City West Falcons

In 2013, Watson played for

City West Falcons The Victorian Netball League is a state netball league featuring teams from Victoria, Australia. The league is organised by Netball Victoria. The modern league was first played for during the 2009 season. It replaced an earlier state league as t ...

in the Victorian Netball League, where she was coached by Nicole Richardson. She helped Falcons win the 2013 VNL title and was named Player of the Grand Final.

Victorian Flames

In 2013, Watson also captained

Victorian Flames Netball Victoria is the governing body for netball in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organising and managing the elite level team, Melbourne Vixens, who compete in the Suncorp Super Netball. It i ...

in the

Australian Netball League The Australian Netball Championships, formerly the Australian Netball League, is an Australian netball competition. Since 2008 it has served as a second level competition, initially below the ANZ Championship and later below Suncorp Super Ne ...

. She was the Flames MVP for the season, helping them finish third in the ANL.

Melbourne Vixens

Since

, Watson has played for

, initially in the

and later in

. She was called up for the Vixens team after Elissa Kent had to dropout due to pregnancy. Watson was a member of the Vixens' teams that won the 2014 ANZ Championship and was subsequently named Vixens' Rookie of the Year. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, Watson was a member of the Vixens team that finished the inaugural Suncorp Super Netball regular season as minor premiers. She was also named the 2017 Young Star. Between 2017 and

, Watson was named as the wing attack in the Suncorp Super Netball Team of the Year on four successive occasions. In 2017 and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

she was also named the Vixens' MVP, winning the Sharelle McMahon Medal. In

, Watson, alongside

Kate Moloney Kate Moloney is an Australian netballer who plays for the Melbourne Vixens in the Suncorp Super Netball league. As of April 2017, she is the captain of the Vixens. Moloney made her domestic league netball debut for the Vixens in 2013 and was appo ...

, co-captained Vixens when they finished the season as both minor premiers and overall champions. Watson missed the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

season due to a long-standing foot injury that needed surgery.

Australia

Watson made her senior debut for Australia on 20 January 2016 during an away series against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Watson was a member of the Australia teams that won the silver medals at the

and at the

. In 2018 she was awarded the Liz Ellis Diamond award and was named

Australian International Player of the Year The Australian International Player of the Year (or Gaze Medal) is an award for the best player of the Australia men's national basketball team, given annually between 1988 and 2012 and then sporadically during the rest of the 2010s. The voting for ...

. Watson captained Australia during the

. In September 2021 she was confirmed as Australia's captain.

Honours

; Australia *

Netball World Cup The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and t ...

**''Runners up'':

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

**''Winners'':

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

**''Runners Up'':

Constellation Cup The Constellation Cup is an international netball competition contested by Australia and New Zealand. The competition features a series of test matches. The two teams have competed for the trophy since 2010. Australia won the inaugural series a ...

**''Winners'': 2016, 2017, 2018,

**''Runners Up'':

Netball Quad Series The Netball Quad Series is an annual international netball series contested by the national teams of Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. Background In December 2015, the governing bodies of netball in Australia, New Zealand, E ...

**''Winners'': 2016, 2018 (September), 2018 (January),

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

**''Runners Up'': 2017 (August/September) ;

**''Winners'':

**''Minor Premierships'':

**''Winners'':

**''Minor Premierships'':

;

* Victorian Netball League **''Winners'': 2013 ; Victoria *

**''Winners'': Under-19 (2012) **''Runners-up'': Under-21 (2013) ;Individual Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Liz Living people 1994 births Australian netball players Australia international netball players Melbourne Vixens players Netball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in netball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Netball players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia 2019 Netball World Cup players ANZ Championship players Suncorp Super Netball players Victorian Netball League players Australian Netball League players People educated at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School La Trobe University alumni Deakin University alumni Australian people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Netball players from Melbourne People from Pascoe Vale, Victoria Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games