The South African made her debut into the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Round 6 of the 2019 season. The 26-year old, who was born and raised in Pretoria, joined the team as a permanent replacement player for Beth Cobden, who sadly torn her ACL in Round 3.
On being named as a permanent contracted player in the 2020 squad, Shadine says she is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to be part of the full season.
“I feel absolutely overwhelmed! I look forward to the 2020 season and to be part of the Adelaide Thunderbirds from the beginning, and feel I have much more to offer,” said Shadine.
2019 was a huge year of netball for Shadine who also played with the Surrey Strom in the UK Vitality Netball Superleague (where she was awarded Best and Fairest) and represented South Africa, playing with the SPAR Proteas in the 2019 World Cup.
Shadine’s ability to join Suncorp Super Netball partway through the 2019 season and perform well helped her earn the spot, and she loved the opportunity to play in the best netball competition in the world.
“2019 felt like a very long year regarding all the netball happening and all the seasons I played! A highlight was coming into the team and the warm welcoming I’ve received from the girls and all the staff members. But the best highlight for me was the level of competitive and elite netball being played! That it is the best in the world.”
The club also named fellow South African superstar Lenize Potgieter as the new recruit for the 2020 team. Shadine says she’s looking forward to the chance to play with Lenize again and being able to share her first language with a fellow teammate here in Australia.
“I always enjoy playing with Lenize and the last time we played club together was in 2014 back in Pretoria, so I am looking forward playing club with her at this elite level and definitely to be able to speak a bit of Afrikaans (which is both our languages back home).”
Playing with the SPAR Proteas, the duo also took out the 2019 African Netball Cup and competed in the Netball Nations Cup.
Despite being a world away from home, Shadine has loved her experience in Adelaide.
“I just love Adelaide! It is such a nice and warm city and is not too overcrowded, I love all the gourmet coffee shops and definitely the beach. I just had to get use to all the roads, so I made use of my GPS all the time.”
Despite being a latecomer in the 2019 season, Shadine took every opportunity to embrace the surrounding local netball community and her kindness is infectious.
When Aldinga Netball Club suffered a heartbreaking fire, Shadine was the first to put her hand up to lend her support during the challenging time.
“Kindness costs nothing! And when I heard what happened I was sad because it’s never easy losing so much, and all that from a fire. Because we support our communities back home as well, I felt it is necessary for me to be supportive in the South Australian community.
Something Adelaide Thunderbirds fans may not know, is that Shadine’s love of children extends off the netball courts, with Shadine also holding an Honours in Education after studying for six years at the University of Pretoria. And if she didn’t already have enough to keep her busy, the all-round sports lover has also played U19 World Cup Softball for South Africa.
We look forward to seeing more of Shadine in the 2020 season.
