Former North Gambier star Molly Watson has the chance to represent her country at the Netball Youth World Cup in Fiji later this year after she was recently selected in Australia’s 21 and Under squad.

The 19-year-old is one of six South Australians in the 22-player squad which embarks on a training camp next month, where Watson hopes to impress and book a flight to Fiji.

In her short career, Watson has already represented her state and completed training camps at the Australian Institute of Sport, but said this selection is her biggest achievement.

“When the list came out I was a little bit surprised,” she said. “There are a lot of amazing players around Australia, so it is a big honour to be selected in these sorts of squads and I am just going to take every moment as it comes.”

Watson’s journey to a national call up was probably less conventional to many others.

She said there was a time when netball was not part of her life and it took a while for the sport to capture her imagination.

“When I was younger, I was not really into sport and I only started playing because my older sister went to Nangwarry when I was around 12,” Watson said. “I did not really take it seriously and only played because I had to.

“Then I moved to North Gambier and got picked in the A Grade when I was 14. “That is when I actually really enjoyed netball and grew to love it. “I started to gain a competitive edge, especially playing against older and bigger women.”

After impressing at the Tigers for two seasons, Watson decided to take the next step and challenge herself in Adelaide.

Her first campaign for Garville in 2017 was a hectic one as she juggled her sporting commitments, while still being based in the Limestone Coast.

Each Thursday Watson made the near five-hour road trip to Adelaide to train and play for Garville during the weekend before heading back home.

Watson said her first foray into the Netball South Australia Premier League confirmed her desire to pursue the sport into the future.

“When I got picked up by Garville, that was when I thought this is what I really want to do,” she said. “I just loved learning off their experienced players.”

Watson’s stint at Garville only lasted for two years before she switched to Contax.

During this period she permanently moved to Adelaide and was looking to take her game to the next level.

Watson said Contax’s wealth of knowledge has helped her skills on and off the court rise immensely. “Contax has some impressive coaches and Adelaide Thunderbirds retirees, so I just thought it was an amazing opportunity to learn from those sorts of people,” she said.

“I have learnt so much not just as a netball player, but also as a person and how to balance everything in life.”

Watson had already made an impression at Contax during her first full season in the Reserves team, but unfortunately her momentum was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But she said the unexpected break gave her the chance to enhance her game even further and was rewarded with an extended run in the Premier Division team.

“COVID obviously stopped everything, but it was actually the best thing for me,” Watson said. “I got to put in a lot of extra running and training, so it was better for me. “When we came back, we played three games each fortnight in a condensed season, which was full on, but we played well and made it to the grand final.”

Although Contax was not successful in the decider, Watson’s efforts in goal defence did not go unnoticed and she has been training with South Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball side the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

However, Watson missed out on initial selection for the national training squad and used it as motivation to be reconsidered.

Eventually her hard work could not be overlooked and she earnt selection in the final squad for next month’s training camp.

Watson said she cannot wait to embark on the opportunity and press her claim for the possibility of playing against the world’s best young talent in Fiji.

“If I do get to go to Fiji, it would be incredible to play against all of the different teams from around the world,” she said. “But even if I do not get to Fiji, the experience I have had so far has been amazing.”