Manchester Thunder signed Shadine van der Merwe for the 2022- 2023 season.
Shadine van der Merwe (born 25 November 1992) is a South African netball player. She plays for Manchester Thunder and the South Africa national netball team.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she was in the South African squad that finished in fifth place. She represented South Africa at two Commonwealth Games, at the Gold Coast in 2018 and Birmingham in 2022.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Australian Super Netball league signed her in May 2019. She has joined the Manchester Thunder for the 2022- 2023 season.
| Shadine van der Merwe | |
|---|---|
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| Short Profile | |
| Full Name: | Shadine van der Merwe |
| Born: | 25 November 1992 (age 30 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Pretoria |
| Nationality: | South African |
| High school: | Hoërskool Akasia |
| Alma mater: | University of Pretoria |
| Occupation: | Netball Player |
| Height: | 179 cm |
| Positions: | Wing Defence, Goal Defence, Goal Keeper |
| Team: | Manchester Thunder (since 2022), South Africa national netball team |
Early Life
Shadine van der Merwe was born on 25 November 1992 in Pretoria, South Africa. She started playing netball in school and got Gauteng colors in Grade 11.
The head of the program at TuksNetball at the University of Pretoria, Jenny van Dyk, scouted Van der Merwe at one of the high school matches. Jenny offered Shadine a bursary to study and play at the university.
Education
Shadine van der Merwe studied for high school at Hoërskool Akasia. She attended the University of Pretoria. She played as captain of the Tuks team.
Career
Van der Merwe played for the South African under-21 team and competed at the Junior World Cup. She made her senior debut in 2015. She wasn’t selected to play for the World Cup that same year.
Surrey Storm in the UK Super League signed Shadine in 2018. She made it in South Africa’s national senior squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup.
In 2019, she made her debut with the Adelaide Thunderbirds partway. She moved to the team as a permeant replacement player. She performed well and received a place on the 2020 roster and other 2021 roster, along with the leadership team.
Shadine has also played for South Africa at international level. She joined the Adelaide Thunderbirds from Surrey Storm in the UK Vitality Super League.
The valuable defensive talent received the 2019 Best and Fairest. She was the Player of the Series in the 2019 SPAR Challenge International Netball Series.
Injury
Proteas netball defender Shadine van der Merwe wanted to switch to sevens rugby. She was not able to secure her place in the national squad.
Van der Merwe had struggled to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. She suffered a season-ending ACL injury in her first match during the Varsity Cup season.
In December 2017, she gave netball a last shot, which changed everything for her. She now has over 66 national team caps and is among the five players selected for the 2023 World Cup who played for the country in the previous edition in England in 2019.
Positions
Since her debut, Shadine van der Merwe has played in Wing Defence, Goal Defence, and Goal Keeper for Surrey Storm (2018-2019), Adelaide Thunderbirds (2019-2021), and Manchester Thunder (since 2022). She has also played for the South African national team since 2018.