| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sheryl Scanlan(née Clarke) | ||
| Born | (1977-09-08)8 September 1977 (age 47) West Auckland, New Zealand[1] | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| School | Auckland Girls' Grammar School | ||
| Relatives | Eroni Clarke (brother) Caleb Clarke (nephew) | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playingposition(s): GD, WD | |||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |
| 1998–2007 | Northern Force | ||
| 2008 | Northern Mystics | ||
| 2009–2012 | Southern Steel | ||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
| 1997 | New Zealand | ||
| 1999 | Samoa | ||
| 2000 | Team Pasifika | ||
| 2000–2009 | New Zealand | ||
Medal record | |||
Sheryl Scanlan (born 8 September 1977), originally known asSheryl Clarke, is a former netball international who has played forSamoa andNew Zealand. She captained Samoa at the1999 World Netball Championships. She was subsequently a member of theNew Zealand teams that were gold medallists at the2003 World Netball Championships and silver medallists at the2002 Commonwealth Games and2007 World Netball Championships. During theCoca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup era, she played forNorthern Force. During theANZ Championship era, she played forNorthern Mystics andSouthern Steel. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature innetball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.
Sheryl Melevahoi Clarke[2] was born and raised inWest Auckland. She is the daughter of Iafeta and Tueipi Clarke. Her family areSamoan. She was the youngest of five children. Her father was a member of theSamoa national rugby union team that won the gold medal at the1963 South Pacific Games. He also played club rugby for Suburbs and was a member of their firstGallaher Shield winning team. Her brother,Eroni Clarke is a formerNew Zealand rugby union international. His son and Sheryl's nephew,Caleb Clarke has also playedrugby union for New Zealand.[1][3][4][5][6]Sheryl attendedAuckland Girls' Grammar School.[1][3][7] She is married to Malcolm Scanlan. Together they have a son. After retiring from netball, Sheryl and her family moved toBrisbane.[4][5][7][8][9][10]
In 1995, Clarke was a member of the Auckland team that won a National Provincial Championships title. In the same year she also won titles withAuckland Girls' Grammar School and with Collegiate in the Auckland premier club competition.[7] At NPC level, she later represented Wellington in 1999, Auckland in 2000, Waikato between 2001 and 2002 and North between 2003 and 2005.[11][12] While playing forSouthern Steel, she played for Southland in the NPC.[13][14]
Between 1998 and 2007, Clarke played forNorthern Force in theCoca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league.[11][15][16] She represented bothSamoa andNew Zealand while playing for Force.[3] In 2003, she was a member of the Force team that were grand finalists.[17][18] She missed the 2006 season due to pregnancy.[8][19] However she returned in 2007.[20][21][22]
During the2008 ANZ Championship season, Scanlan played forNorthern Mystics. She was a member of the inaugural Mystics team.[16][23][24][25][26]
Between2009 and2012, Scanlan played forSouthern Steel in theANZ Championship.[5][10][26] During the 2009 and2010 season, she suffered fromcalf injuries, limiting her court time.[14][27][28][29][30] After rupturing a tendon during the 2012 season, Scanlan subsequently announced she was retiring from elite netball.[10]
Clarke captainedSamoa at the1999 World Netball Championships.[1][2][3][5][31]
In June 2000, Clarke was vice captain of the Team Pasifika selection that playedNew Zealand in a two match series. The team was coached byTe Aroha Keenan and also featuredTeresa Tairi,Jenny-May Coffin,Frances Solia andVilimaina Davu.[32][33][34]
In December 1997, Clarke was included in a touringNew Zealand team that played away matches againstEngland andWales. On 17 December 1997, she made her debut for New Zealand, when they stopped off to playMalaysia on their way home. Clarke missed out on selection for the next two years before being recalled in 2000. In the meantime she played forSamoa.[1][35] On 25 November 2000, she returned to play for New Zealand in an away match againstSouth Africa.[3][11][15][36] She was subsequently a member of the New Zealand team that were silver medalists at the2002 Commonwealth Games.[1][37][38] She was a prominent member of the New Zealand team that won the2003 World Netball Championships. In the final she made a crucial intercept that proved a deciding factor in the match.[31][39][40][41][42][43] She missed the2006 Commonwealth Games due to pregnancy.[8] However, in January 2007 she was recalled byRuth Aitken.[11][15][20][44] and was included in the squad for the2007 World Netball Championships.[41][42][45] Scanlan continued to be included in New Zealand squads until 2009.[13] She finished her New Zealand career win 60 plus senior appearances.[10][35] In April 2022, she was one of 25New Zealand internationals included on a list of the best players to feature innetball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.[46][47]
