A professional multi-sport athlete, Sharni’s tenacious defensiveness on the netball court coupled with her courage on the footy field; makes her a truly unique athlete.
Touted as one of the best netballers in the world in the modern era, Sharni’s professional sporting career saw her reach the heights of the netball world, before challenging herself to make the switch to the AFLW.
Starting her career playing for the Melbourne Kestrels in 2004, Sharni she received a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport for the 2007 season.
Signing for the Melbourne Vixens for the first two seasons of the ANZ Championships, Sharni made the switch to the Adelaide Thunderbirds in 2010. Sharni immediately made an impression in Adelaide, winning the competition’s Young Player of the Year award and was a key member of Thunderbirds 2010 premiership success.
Sharni’s impressive form earned her selection to debut for the Australian Diamonds in the 2011 World Netball Championships where she won her first of two World Championships and the Holden Netball Test Series.
She was elevated to Vice-Captain in 2011 for the Thunderbirds and then once again in 2012 to co-captain.
Her time at the Thunderbirds culminated with stellar defensive performances in their 2010 & 2013 Premierships. In a move that would challenge her in an effort to grow as a person, Sharni relocated to Sydney to play for the NSW Swifts ahead of the 2014 season.
Having moved to a bigger city, Sharni was able to build her brand, and lift the profile of netball by appearing on regularly on various sport TV & Radio shows.
Continuing her winning streak, Sharni was named in Australia’s squad for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, winning the gold medal in Delhi before being a part of the World Championship Diamonds team that triumphed in Sydney in 2015.
In her last season with the Swifts before the inaugural Suncorp Super Netball league season, Sharni was awarded the Australian ANZ Championship Player of the Year & International Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017.
Sharni joined the Collingwood Magpies for the 2017 season and in that year was also named as the Australia Diamonds Captain.
Still at the peak of her career in 2018, and after achieving over a decade of international accolades including 46 Diamonds caps, Sharni made the ultimate decision to move away from netball and pursue a career in the AFLW with the Collingwood Football Club.
A part of the Pie’s VFLW Premiership winning team in 2019, Sharni’s growth in the game of Australian Football was recognised, named the AFLW All Australian ruck in 2020.
Away from the sporting arena, Sharni has strong family values and is an avid animal lover and supporter of climate change.
Having grown up in Bonbeach, Sharni loves to hang out at the beach and spends many days riding her horses.
Having completed a life coaching course & personal training course, Sharni’s passion is to help others and to prove that with a little hard work, that anything is possible.
A hard-nosed athlete, Sharni’s work ethic coupled with her fun-loving personality has enabled her to grow her media profile in which she provides national and international netball commentary services to Channel 9 and Sky Sport, whilst also appearing regularly on Fox Sports.
Away from the screen, Sharni loves appearing on the radio & podcasts and over the years has hosted her own shows.
A woman of many talents, Sharni is a very positive female role model and has held numerous ambassador roles supporting various sectors including; grassroots & elite sport, mental health, health & wellbeing, animals and the environment.
Make sure you take action and never point the blame. Only focus on what you can control & accept what has happened, never regret. Try to be someone that people c turn to for advice, because you would have been through it and you can then pay it forward to make that path easier for someone else.
