Former Australian netball star Sharni Layton is switching codes to play in the AFLW, her club Collingwood have confirmed.
Layton,30, one of the best known netballers in the country, announced her retirement from netball in August. Her team, the Collingwood Magpies, underperformed all season, with Layton’s form fading over the final matches.
With a trademark booming voice that often directed play from her position as goal keeper, Layton’s can-do attitude on and off court earned her a following of netball players and fans across the country, known as the Sharni-army.
She played 46 Tests for Australia.
Welcome (back) to Collingwood, @Sharni_Layton! https://t.co/h0h0LeEG4o Sharni has officially joined our @aflwomens team for 2019 #FOREVER pic.twitter.com/dgFqE1mBcR
— Collingwood Women's (@CollingwoodFCW) September 13, 2018
“I have a lot to learn. I know that,” said Layton, who has a background in junior football. “I left netball at the highest levels and come to football as a rookie with a lot to take in, a lot to develop and prove. It’s almost as if I am starting over, which is tremendously exciting.
“I’ve always loved football and I like to compete. Anyone who knows me knows that. I’m also hoping that a lot of the elite habits netball developed in me I can transfer across to football.”
In 2017 Layton took six months out from the game to overcome mental health challenges. She was widely praised for her honesty about the issues she faced and in encouraging players to seek help.
“There is this perception in society that we are meant to be happy but if you’re not, it’s OK,” Layton said at her retirement announcement in Melbourne.
“I think for me once I went through it, it made me realise how normal it is. I wondered why more people don’t talk about it. I have had no judgement or criticism about talking about it. Only praise.”
Collingwood performance and strategy manager Marcus Wagner said the 188cm defender will have to become a “sponge” to learn new skills if she is to reach the heights of her netball career in Australian rules football.
“While she’s got a lot to learn, we think Sharni can share her experience with the team of what it means to train in a professional environment and prepare yourself to compete at the highest level,” Wagner said.
Layton won two gold medals at the Netball World Cup as part of the Australian Diamonds team and a Commonwealth Games gold medal.
She follows her former Magpies netball teammate Ashleigh Brazill, who also plays AFLW for Collingwood.
“My old Magpies Netball and Diamonds teammate, Ash Brazill, has been able to make the transition and has really enjoyed the change and the challenge,” Layton said. “I can’t wait to join her and the rest of the squad.”
