Shannon Saunders (, born 12 October 1990) is a New Zealand

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

player, who is currently contracted to the

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball South in the ANZ Premiership. Netball South is the governing body that ...

in the trans-Tasman

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 ...

. Saunders, who is a predominantly a midcourter has played for Otago in the National Provincial Championships since 2010. She made the New Zealand under 21 squad in 2011 and played against Australia in three tests. She was later named in the FastNet Ferns squad to compete the

World Netball Series The Fast5 Netball World Series is an international Fast5 netball competition that was contested for the first time in October 2009. The new competition features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The ...

, in Liverpool in late November. Saunders joined

Silver Fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term f ...

players Irene van Dyk,

Maria Tutaia Solonaima Maria Folau (née Tuta'ia; born 18 February 1987 in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. She played regularly for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Early life Folau was born Solonaima M ...

and

Katrina Grant Katrina Rore (née Grant; born 6 May 1987 in Papakura, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand international netball player. Rore is the current vice-captain of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and plays for the Cent ...

in the side. She was named in the

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (''Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand s ...

for the Australian leg of the 2012 Quad Series, although she was not capped. While playing international netball, Saunders completed a

Bachelor of Pharmacy A Bachelor of Pharmacy (abbreviated B Pharm or PharmB or BS Pharm) is a graduate academic degree in the field of pharmacy. In many countries, this degree is a prerequisite for registration to practice as a pharmacist. Since both PharmB and Pha ...

degree at the University of Otago graduating in 2012. Shannon was also an exceptional sprinter while at school.

Netball career

Saunders started with the

in 2012 as a midcourter and was captain in the

2021 ANZ Premiership season The 2021 ANZ Premiership season is the fifth season of the ANZ Premiership, the premier domestic netball league in New Zealand. The league will be contested by six teams from around New Zealand, with a total of 45 matches to be played between April ...

. Saunders played her 150th game for Steel in the 2022 ANZ Premiership season, this marked only the third time a player had done this behind

Casey Williams Casey May Kopua (née Williams; born 19 June 1985) is a retired New Zealand international netball player and former captain of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Kopua became a member ...

and Wendy Frew.

Personal life

Saunders was selected for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and announced her pregnancy shortly after in August 2022.

References

1990 births Living people New Zealand netball players Southern Steel players ANZ Championship players Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Netball players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in netball People educated at Motueka High School Netball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 2019 Netball World Cup players 2015 Netball World Cup players New Zealand international Fast5 players New Zealand international netball players Netball players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games {{NewZealand-netball-bio-stub