Sharni Lambden admits she was “a bit bitter” after spending eight years waiting in the Super Netball wings, before a life-changing call came from NSW Swifts coach Briony Akle.
But after taking up the opportunity to uproot her life in Melbourne for her first full-time deal in the world’s best netball competition, Lambden has emerged as arguably the recruit of the year.
It hasn’t been an easy journey to the top for the 27-year-old, who signed her first training partner deal with the Collingwood Magpies at just 18.
But Lambden couldn’t crack a full-time deal as training partner for the next eight years, despite spending time at the Magpies and Melbourne Vixens, before opting to step away.
“I think my journey before here (at the Swifts) was lots of highs but lots of lows,” she said on Netball Australia’s Uncovered.
“I feel like my story was I had to be patient – I had to keep working hard.
“There was definitely frustration, there was definitely times where I’d break down, I’d break down crying.
“There was definitely times I wanted to give up.”
But all that changed when the Swifts reached out months after Lambden turned her focus to teaching.
“Initially at the start, yeah maybe I was a bit bitter. But then I was like, you know what? That’s a part of sport. It may be easy for some people. For some people it isn’t and I think that’s where I just got over it quickly,” she shared.
“I was like, you know what? It’s not my time.
“A few months later, I was actually at work teaching at the school and I got a text from my player manager saying ‘How tall are you?’ I was like, random! Oh 178. She goes, ‘Oh let’s round it to 180. I was like, sure, why are you asking? She was like, ‘Swifts have reached out’. I just remember throwing my phone going no way! This can not be real.
“Briony wanted to catch up with me over Zoom the next day and pretty much offered me the contract there and then.
“As soon as I got off that call I was in tears. Happy tears, mixed emotions … I had to keep pinching myself.”
Since arriving in Sydney, Lambden has gone from strength to strength with teammates and coaches alike stunned it’s taken this long for her first professional deal.
“It is a bit of a surprise it’s taken so long for Sharnz to get her first full-time contract,” assistant coach Dylan Nexhip said.
“She’s 27 with her first full time contract but you wouldn’t know it the way she goes about her business. She absolutely set the tone all pre-season.
“Her attitude is just incredible – the fact she is just so grateful for this opportunity, she’s not going to just sit in that. She’s more ‘Now that I’ve got this opportunity, I’m going to take it and give it everything I can’ and that’s what she’s doing.
“She doesn’t just do a job – she goes out there and absolutely nails it.”
Lambden admits the move away from her support network had been hard, but credited the Swifts for making her feel at home in Sydney.
“I knew it was going to be hard, it was going to be a bit scary,” she said.
“I’ve never moved from Melbourne.”
But Lambden’s partner Max Williams said the sacrifice had been worth it.
“Seeing her resolve and determination culminate in playing for the Swifts and having a full-time contract and owning it … her playing the way she is and carrying herself the way she is, it’s worth every cent,” he said.
And now that Lambden has cemented her spot in the league as a star wing defence, she has some lofty goals ahead for 2025 and beyond.
“To win a premiership my first year, honestly I’d be so stoked,” she said.
“Diamonds is obviously a future goal – I’d love to be there. This being my first year obviously I wanted to take each step as it comes.”
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