Eaton Boomers’ Kasey Joy caps off brilliant season with SWNFL Testrow Medal

A local netball player was “overjoyed” at being part of the recognition of the tireless work by defenders in the South West Netball Football League. Eaton Boomers’ Kasey Joy was recently named the league’s best and fairest player, taking home the Dawn Testrow medal for the 2021 season. The defender amassed 38 votes to win the medal, 13 votes ahead of South Bunbury’s Kirsty Baum who achieved 25 votes followed by Busselton’s Jenelle Pagan on 22 votes. Joy said it felt surreal to have won the award. “It doesn’t feel real just yet so I’m waiting for it to really sink in,” she said. “It also feels pretty great to have won the medal as a defender as well as see other defensive players in the competition win a few awards. “A lot of the time we get overlooked with a lot of the focus on the mid-court players and the shooters, but it’s good to get that recognition for what we do on the court.” In her acceptance speech, Joy attributed her success to head coach Aroha Tamatea as well as her teammates for having such a successful season. “For the past three years Aroha has coached me and really our whole team has just excelled so much since her coaching,” she said. “To us, she isn’t just a coach, she’s family and she does everything for us.” Prior to presenting Joy with her namesake medal, former SWNFL co-ordinator Dawn Testrow reflected on watching her grow as a netball player during her coaching stint with the Boomers. “When I had my training sessions with Eaton back in 2015, Kasey would just hang around wanting to fill in,” she said. “If we were short, she was always keen to have a go. She was amazing then and you could see that she’s on the road to success.” Testrow also said she was “in awe” that a goalkeeper managed to take out the highest individual achievement in the SWNFL for the 2021 season. The achievement capped off a blitz of awards for the young star which also included the Rising Star award and being named in the 2021 Team of the Year. Joy’s teammates Mickashia Watts and Myfawny Evans medallist Eleanor Yates were named in the Team of the Year along with Baum, Bunbury’s Hailey Burrows, Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault’s Kate Baker and Khea Borkowski, Busselton’s Lisa Millman and Blackwood’s Abbey Hall. The accolades for the Boomers did not stop there, with the club achieving the most points throughout the season to take home the Champion Club award. In the other grades, Bunbury’s Tracey Di Giuseppe and Charmain Slater took out the reserves and masters MVP awards while South Bunbury’s Shanti Riches and Tanika Dunlop won the 18 and under and 16 and under MVP awards. Dunlop was also awarded Junior Umpire of the Year. Umpires were also given a moment in the spotlight with Dana Gibaut taking home the Teresa Halligan Umpire of the Year award, while Rebekka Troode, Ava Simpson and Maizie Brown won encouragement awards.