Blaze’s success at the Mixed & Men’s Nationals 2024
The 2024 Mixed and Men’s Nationals took place in Brisbane earlier this month with multiple Blaze athletes selected across four different teams to represent NSW.
Blaze Opens player Kristina Brice alongside Blaze training partners Stephen Brice, Danien Makeham and Lachlan Arbuckle were each selected into the Mixed Opens, Men’s Opens, Men’s Open Reserve and U17/U NSW state teams, with three of those teams placing in the top three at the end of the week.
Blaze training partner Lachlan Arbuckle brought home the bronze medal after the 17/U Men’s side placed third overall, Stephen Brice and Danien Makeham brought home the silver medal after the Open’s Men’s and Open’s Reserve teams placed second, and Kristina Brice brought home the gold medal after winning their grand-final leading the NSW Mixed side to place first overall at the National Championships.
It was a long but rewarding week for these Blaze athletes and one that Lachlan Arbuckle said was worth every bit.
“Competing at Nationals against top athletes from across the nation, it was a truly phenomenal experience and I learned so much,” Arbuckle said.
“I really enjoyed the experience and witnessing the emergence of new talent. It’s a significant boost for the Men’s Netball scene and it excites me for the future.”
Kristina Brice added to this saying that the growth in this sector of netball has been awesome to see as the netball community continues to expand.
“To see the growth of Men’s and Mixed netball over the last few years has been outstanding,” Brice said.
“Not many get the chance to represent their state and to take part in one of the most tightly contested competitions to date, and come out with the gold at the end of the week is truly an outstanding achievement. It’s something I’ll take with me for the rest of my netball journey.”
The conclusion of the Mixed and Men’s National Championships will see each of these Blaze athletes return to their netball routines at Blaze as the Netball NSW premier league season continues.
