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 that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

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 matche ...

. In 2018 and 2022 she received the

Liz Ellis Diamond The following is a list notable Australian netball international players who have represented the national team in international tournaments such as the Commonwealth Games, the Netball World Cup, the World Games, the Constellation Cup, the Net ...

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, initially in the ANZ Championship and later in Suncorp Super Netball. 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 impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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 met ...

. She was born in

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

and raised in Pascoe Vale South. She is the daughter of Manuela and Neil Watson. Her mother's family are Italian. 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 2 ...

, and her older brother, Matthew Watson, are all former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

ers. She attended Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School and

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

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

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 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 th ...

, where she was coached by

Nicole Richardson Nicole Richardson (born 26 June 1970 in Melbourne) is a softball player from Australia, who won a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She also represented Australia in netball, winning gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Richards ...

. 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 Netb ...

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

Melbourne Vixens

Since

, Watson has played for Melbourne Vixens, initially in the ANZ Championship and later in Suncorp Super Netball. 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 The Suncorp Super Netball Team of the Year is an All-Star team consisting of the best players from the Suncorp Super Netball competition in Australia. The inaugural team was selected in 2017, at the conclusion of the season. Teams 2017-22 Re ...

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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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

Australia

Watson made her senior debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 b ...

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

and at the

. In 2018 she was awarded the

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

;

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 th ...

**''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, and, with the exce ...

**''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; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

**''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 ...

**''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, Eng ...

**''Winners'':

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, 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) ; Melbourne Vixens * Suncorp Super Netball **''Winners'':

**''Minor Premierships'':

* ANZ Championship **''Winners'':

**''Minor Premierships'':

;

**''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