.jpg) Pettitt (left) in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Susan Leanne Pettitt (Née: Pratley) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1984-03-23)23 March 1984 (age 41) Canberra, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bega High School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Sydney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netball career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Updated on 7 November 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Susan Leanne Pettitt (néePratley on 23 March 1984) is a former Australian internationalnetball player, who played goal attack or goal shooter. She was a member of theAustralian national team from 2006–2018, replacing the likes ofEloise Southby-Halbish,Megan Dehn, andCynna Kydd. Prior to this she was quite an experienced campaigner as captain of the Australian 21 and under team, and the national league teamAIS Canberra Darters.
She made her debut in 2002 withSydney Sandpipers.[1]
From 2003 to 2005 Pettitt was the cornerstone of Australia's development squads, with her notable leadership, composure, and shooting accuracy and reliable volume. Then in 2006 she joined theSydney Swifts national league team to suddenly become a partner to shooting dynamoCatherine Cox, and with both Cox andSharelle McMahon in the Australian team.[2]
She has captained the Australian 21U Team and was Vice-Captain of the Australian 21U Team which competed in the World Youth Cup in Fort Lauderdale where they finished third. Pettitt captained theAIS Canberra Darters in 2004 and 2005 and finished her netball scholarship at the AIS at the end of 2005. She moved to Sydney in early 2006 and made her debut for Australia at the Melbourne2006 Commonwealth Games at which she was a recipient of a silver medal.[3] Four months later Susan was named player of the match after an outstanding performance against theSilver Ferns in Australia.
She was the vice-captain of theNew South Wales Swifts in theANZ Championship, though since 2017 has been a member of theGiants Netball team in the newSuncorp Super Netball league. She announced her retirement from domestic and international netball at the end of the2018 season.[4]
From the small country town ofQuaama, 20 km from Bega on the far south coast ofNew South Wales, this Australian representative and world champion even has a grandstand in her name. “The Susan Pratley Stand” in Bega, stands proudly as testament to the south coast's first netball world champion.
Pettitt was identified in her early teens by selectors and rose through the junior representative ranks with speed and poise including AIS and NSWIS scholarships.[5]
Pettitt took the court for theSydney Swifts during their premiership-winningCommonwealth Bank Trophy season,[6] forming a partnership with fellow Australian representativeCatherine Cox. Pettitt put her name in the history books after executing a perfect shooting performance during the Commonwealth Bank Trophy Grand Final match and shot 26 goals without a miss. She was also a member of the Swifts' premiership-winning team in 2007.
Pettitt currently plays for theNew South Wales Swifts in theANZ Championship. In 2015, Pettitt is entering her 8th season with the club. She is the most capped player for the New South Wales Swifts with 97 ANZ Championship caps and the only player to have taken part in all 97 New South Wales Swifts matches since the first ANZ Championship match against theSouthern Steel in 2008 at which she made 28 goals out of 31 attempts.[7]
Pettitt was a member of the inaugural ANZ Championship winners theNew South Wales Swifts. In the Grand Final atAcer Arena on 28 July 2008 the New South Wales Swifts defeated theWaikato Bay of Plenty Magic 65 – 56. Pettitt played GA, shooting 24 goals out of 30 attempts at 80%.[8]
She is one of the five Australian netball players who is an ANZ ambassador.[9] Pettitt has been the vice-captain of the New South Wales Swifts since 2012.[10]
On 10 April 2010, Pettitt played her 100th senior game against theCentral Pulse scoring 27/31. Pettitt played her 75thANZ Championship game against theWest Coast Fever in Round 5 of the 2013 season at which she scored 32 goals out of 38 attempts,[11] and notched her 150th combined elite netball games in Round 13 of the same season against theQueensland Firebirds at theBrisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.[12]
In 2007, Pettitt played in the2007 World Netball Championships and played in either Goal Attack or Goal Shooter. In the grand final against theNew Zealand national netball team, Pettitt was called to play in the second half replacingSharelle McMahon, a surprise move byNorma Plummer to help improve on the team's accuracy. This went very well until Pettitt got a concussion which she was benched during the fourth quarter. Her contribution was enough for Australia to win the 2007 World Netball Championships. Pettitt was selected into the Diamonds squad in 2010 heading into theCommonwealth Games in India. She did not play in the Grand Final against theNew Zealand national netball team. However, she did get court time againstSamoa and shot 25/27 (93%),[13]India and shot 39/42 (93%), Malawi and shot 36/39 (92%)[14] andTrinidad and Tobago and shot 17/21 (81%). Pettitt did not get selected into the2011 World Netball Championships Squad, a huge blow for her with the likes ofErin Bell with her versatility in GS, GA and WA making it in front of Susan Pettitt. In November 2011, Pettitt entered theAustralian Fastnet Diamonds going into the 3rdFastnet Series in Liverpool, England and was announced co-captain alongsideBianca Chatfield.[15]
In 2012, Pettitt regained her place in theAustralian Diamonds team for the2012 Constellation Cup against theSilver Ferns and the Quad Series against the Silver Ferns, England and the South Africa SPAR Proteas in all of which she played along withCatherine Cox.[16] Pettitt was also selected in theAustralian Diamonds team to tour England in January 2013. Later in 2013, Pettitt was completely dropped from the Australian Diamonds not even being selected in the extended squad.[17] After improving her fitness throughout 2014, Pettitt was again selected in the Australian Diamonds squad, but failed to make the final team.[18]
In 2017, after being gone for three years, Susan Pettitt had returned to the Australian Diamonds and had a 57–50 victory overSilver Ferns and redeemed her MVP title.[19] During the same game, Susan Pettitt was instrumental during her time on court for the first half, finishing with 10 goals out of 14 attempts, along with eight feeds before making way forStephanie Wood at half-time.[20] The same year she also participated in theConstellation Cup[21] and was auditioned for a gold medal shot at the2018 Commonwealth Games.[22] In the middle of 2017 she had switched toGiants Netball, and participated in a game againstMelbourne Vixens.[23]
In 2018, after playing for over 12 years, Pettitt had announced retirement.[24]
Susan Pettitt have two brothers (Graeme and Mark) and sister (Joanne) who also are sportspeople.[25]
Pettitt is a resident of theAlbion Park. where she lives on a farm with her husband Brad and animals.[26] Together with Brad, she likes to drive a coffee truck and watchCronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[27]
On 1 December 2013, Pettitt announced her engagement to Brad Pettitt. They were married on 7 November 2014 at Terrara House nearNowra on the South Coast ofNew South Wales.
Prior to the wedding, Pettitt was featured twice in theSwifts Insider issue, a magazine by theNew South Wales Swifts[28][29] and in 2015 was featured again in the same magazine.[30]
