Jury and Nweke share Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award

Bookending their respective domains of the netball court, rising young shooter Grace Nweke and rangy defender Kelly Jury have been crowned joint winners of the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award for 2022.

In being recognised as New Zealand’s best across all competitions and campaigns this year, the twin towers became the first joint winners of the sport’s highest accolade since the inception of the New Zealand Netball Awards in 2015.

As diverse as their playing positions, the pair has also navigated contrasting routes to this lofty mark of excellence and milestone moment in their careers.

As the last line of defence, the 1.92m Jury, 26, has flourished over the last couple of years after overcoming major shoulder surgery which had hampered her progress for long spells. Elevated to the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse co-captaincy this year, Jury relished the extra responsibility with a breakout season.

A constant threat with her disruptive lean and rebounding ability, Jury added greater consistency to her game and another dimension through her ball hunting skills to top the intercept and deflection counts across all players during the 2022 ANZ Premiership season while finishing second in the rebounding stakes.

An influential figure throughout the domestic season, Jury left a considerable imprint when she was also anointed ANZ Premiership Player of the Year for 2022.

“I am very honoured to share this award with Grace and it’s not a bad day when you get your name on a trophy underneath the likes of Laura Langman,” Jury said.

Just out of her teens, the 1.93m Nweke has made a meteoric rise in all aspects of her game, the sensational shooter proving that she’s a quick learner and well on the way to becoming the complete package.

With a sure shot, Nweke’s improved body strength and movement have added multiple dimensions to her attacking and defensive games while more game time has developed an increasingly productive wisdom.

A scoring machine for the MG Mystics under the hoop, Nweke’s commanding form in this year’s ANZ Premiership was dealt a blow at the business end when she missed several matches due to injury. But when on court, she was a pillar of strength with her 92 percent accuracy return and rebounding ability.

Injury-free, the 20-year-old had an immense international season which resulted in numerous highlights to mirror her growing stature.

Anchoring both ends of the court, Nweke and Jury were standouts in the Silver Ferns bronze medal win over England at the Commonwealth Games, in a fitting twist, the pair spending plenty of time together as room-mates during the Birmingham tournament.

After losing to the Roses in pool play, Nweke commanded the shooting circle with an imperious performance in the rematch while Jury was a menace at her end in winning crucial turnover ball.

Having played just one quarter against Australia ahead of the late season Constellation Cup series, Nweke opened the campaign with her first full match against the Diamonds and produced a sparkling outing.

While the series was drawn 2-all with Australia winning the trophy on goal percentage, Nweke’s continued growth shone out like a beacon and with it the promise of much more to come.

“It’s a massive honour to be recognised in this way,” Nweke said.

“Some great netball players have come before and received this award, so it’s very special and awesome to share this moment with Kelly.”

Nweke also won the Silver Ferns Player of the Year for 2022.