Donnell Wallam facts for kids

Donnell Wallam (born 23 January 1994) is an Australian netball player. She plays as a goal shooter for the Queensland Firebirds. In October 2022, Donnell made history. She became only the third Indigenous netballer to play for the Australian Diamonds. The Diamonds are Australia's national netball team.

Donnell is a Noongar woman. She grew up in Korijekup, a small country town in Western Australia. Before netball, she played basketball. A netball coach, Daniel Cools, encouraged her to try out for the West Australian Netball League (WANL) in late 2018.

Donnell's Netball Journey

Starting Strong in Western Australia

In 2019, Donnell joined the West Coast Warriors. This was her first year in the Western Australia Netball League. She quickly showed her talent. Donnell won the Jill McIntosh Medal, which is a top award. She also won the League Player's Player of the Year.

In 2020, Donnell continued to shine. She was chosen for the WANL All-Stars team. This team played against the professional West Coast Fever team. She also won the Jill McIntosh Medal and the Player's Player award again. Donnell was set to play for the Western Sting in the Australian Netball League. However, the 2020 season was cancelled because of COVID-19. Her amazing progress led her to get a training partner contract with the West Coast Fever for 2021.

Playing in England

In 2021, Donnell moved to England. She joined the Leeds Rhinos team. They play in the Netball Superleague. Sadly, she broke her arm in her second game. After seven weeks, she returned to play. She was known as the most accurate shooter in the league. She scored goals with 95 per cent accuracy! Her season ended early when she returned home after her grandmother passed away.

Joining the Queensland Firebirds

In 2022, Donnell came back to Australia. She joined the Queensland Firebirds in the Suncorp Super Netball League. She took the place of another great goal shooter, Romelda Aiken. In her first season, Donnell scored 519 goals. She was also in the top 20 players for Nissan Net Points. These strong performances helped her get selected for the Australian Diamonds Squad. She went to the 2022 Commonwealth Games as one of the three travelling reserves.

Playing for the Australian Diamonds

Standing Up for Her Beliefs

Before her first game for the Australian Diamonds, Donnell faced a challenge. She had concerns about wearing a sponsor's logo on her uniform. The company, Hancock Prospecting, had a founder with a controversial past. This founder had made comments that were hurtful to Indigenous people. Donnell, being an Indigenous woman, felt strongly about this.

She asked if she could be excused from wearing the logo. This led to many discussions. Netball Australia, the Diamonds players, and Hancock Prospecting talked about it. The news media also covered the story widely. In the end, Hancock Prospecting decided to stop sponsoring Netball Australia. Donnell showed great courage by standing up for what she believed in.

A Winning Debut

Despite the discussions, Donnell played her first game for the Australian Diamonds. It was on 26 October 2022 against the England Roses. The game was in Newcastle. Donnell came into the game when there were only ten minutes left. She shot eight goals out of eight attempts. She even scored the winning goal with only seconds left to play! Her Australian Diamonds number is 189.

Awards and Recognition

• 2022 - Australian Institute of Sport Emerging Athlete of the Year