THE esteem with which Bendigo's Caitlin Thwaites is held within Australian netball was evident on Saturday night when she claimed one of the sport's top awards.
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Thwaites was named a joint winner of the Player's Player Award at the Netball Australia annual awards dinner.
Thwaites, who plays for the Melbourne Kestrels in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, tied with Perth's Caitlin Bassett for the award, which is voted on by all the players in the league.
Both Thwaites, 19, and Bassett showed exemplary displays of goal shooting and sportsmanship this year, which was recognised by winning the coveted award.
'‘I consider it one of the best awards to win because it's voted on by the rest of the players,'' Thwaites said yesterday.
‘‘To have the respect of all your peers, it's a great award to win.
‘‘I feel as though I've had a really good season and I have enjoyed my time training and playing with the Kestrels this year.
‘‘I have worked fairly hard with the coach (Jane Searle) and I have been able to get some good results personally and show some improvement.'' Among the criteria set out in the guidelines for the Players' Player award is: ‘‘The recipient must show respect for all players and officials, while portraying good sportsmanship on and off the court.
‘‘This player will also show great encouragement to their fellow team members, while always congratulating opponents on good play.'' Thwaites, a 189 cm goalshooter, also won the Kestrels' MVP award, which she said was unexpected as well.
The Kestrels missed out on a spot in the CBT finals this year, finishing fifth with a 6-8 record. The Netball Australia and Kestrels' awards cap what has been a big year for Thwaites, who is also a talented volleyball player.
In July, she was selected in the Australian under-21 team to play a two-match series against New Zealand.
Less then three months later, Thwaites led Victoria to a gold medal at the Australian under-21 netball championships, earning her a fourth monthly nomination in The Advertiser Southern Cross Ten Sports Star of the Year award.
Victoria beat Western Australia in the grand final, with Thwaites shooting 47 goals as the Vics comfortably won by 22.