Manjimup teen’s delight with two State team call ups

A young Manjimup dual-code athlete had her name called for not one, but two, State squads last week. Abbey Hall, 17, was named as one of only two regional athletes in the 22-player Netball WA 2022 19-and-under State squad last week. Despite it being an outstanding achievement in its own right, Hall then followed up the big announcement by also being named in Basketball WA’s 20-and-under State squad on Sunday evening. Hall said she was “very excited” when she heard both sets of news. “It’s a great opportunity to train up there,” she said. “There’s lots of older and more experienced girls (to learn from). “For the netball I’m really excited because I haven’t got to play netball at that higher level yet so that will be a really good opportunity — especially if we get to go away, I would love to do that.” Hall, also a South West Academy of Sport athlete, has had a highly successful few years in both sports, being named in a number of State squads in the past. The Manjimup talent plays with the Blackwood Ravens in the South West Netball Football League. She has competed in their 18-and-under side since the age of 13 and now plays in their league side, winning multiple championships, including three in a row, during her time with the club. Hall said she was keen to see how far she could go with both netball and basketball into the future and had hopes of one day playing at the top level. “I definitely love it a lot,” she said. “I would love to play it professionally but don’t really know if I’ll be able to yet, but I would definitely love to keep playing for as long as I can.” Hall was named in last year’s squads but unfortunately her time with the teams was cut short due to a knee injury, with competition also limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. Hall’s mum Evelyn said she was looking forward to seeing her have a proper run at a high level. “It’s a good achievement because they’re all experienced athletes, especially netball because it’s just a State team, the basketball teams she’s made have been country State,” she said. “She’s had a bad run because she had an injury, so last year when she made the netball squad as a top-ager she couldn’t actually continue training. “When she made the (basketball) team, because COVID hit they didn’t actually travel so they didn’t have a national competition, so it will be interesting. (We’ll) see how she goes, she loves it — I’m really proud of her.” Hall also recently represented the South West in the 18-and-under team at the Netball WA 2021 State Cup in Perth.