Nothing but net: Sophie's UK triumph on and off the netball court

"If I stopped playing netball, then I'll lose that connection to my mum. So for me, it was something I didn't want to give up."

Published on the 24 September 2026

Learn about the UNSW Elite Athlete program

'Student Spotlight' is where we hear directly from UNSW students.

We'd love to hear about your uni experience and your stories of growth and resilience, so we can share it with the wider student community.

Submit story

From Sydney to the UK

Since moving to Sydney to study a Bachelor of Science at UNSW and making a huge splash on the Australian professional netball scene in 2022, Sophie Fawns' journey has been something of a rollercoaster.

After taking Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) by storm with the NSW Swifts, she played with the team for a total of four seasons before departing at the end of 2025. While there were some sky-high achievements with the Swifts over the years, Sophie admitted that she wasn't at the top of her game by the end and that a new opportunity came at the right time.

"When the opportunity came up in 2025, I wasn't having my best season with the club and I was struggling to get back into the team or get on court," she recalls. "So, for me, it was about looking at other opportunities and where I could progress my netball but also add value to the team [from] playing my role."

That opportunity in question? An offer to join Manchester Thunder in the Netball Super League (NSL) over in the United Kingdom.

It was midway through the 2025 season and Sophie remembers when Manchester Thunder Head Coach Karen Greig first reached out to her: "Karen emailed me and [asked], 'It's a long shot, but would you ever consider moving to England, playing for a team here?'"

While leaving Australia for England is a massive change, Sophie says Karen's no-nonsense approach to coaching was really appealing, especially for improving her game: "She told me straight on that she knows what my strengths and weaknesses are, and what we can do to fix [them]. She was straightforward [laughs], which I really appreciated, and I knew that I would get a lot out of her as a coach."

"There's always been a bit of a stigma about the NSL. So for me, it was not really something I wanted to do [or had] ever considered. But I thought, you never say no to an opportunity!

"I had that conversation with [Karen] and I did end up having some offers from back home as well. But for me, what she put on the table for me drew me in and the off-court aspects as well."

She notes that there was a bit of a 'stigma' about the NSL and was initially hesitant to say yes. But the opportunity to go overseas was exciting as it's something she had never done before. Combine that with not having to deal with the prospect of playing against her former NSW Swifts teammates - whom she's still friends with - the decision soon became pretty clear for Sophie.

Rediscovering her love of netball and adjusting to a new environment

The move from Australia to England was a massive change for Sophie, who had never been that far from home before. Unsurprisingly, there was a bit of an adjustment period - as well as helping her friends wrap their heads around it.

"When I first told my housemates that I was moving to England, they were like, 'Sophie, you've never ever been to Europe or England before'. I'm a bit nervous for you!'" she laughs. "The first day was overwhelming [as] I was just so excited the whole time that I didn't really think about how much actually changes.

"I remember just being like, 'Where the heck is even just a grocery store?' [laughs]. There were so many options [so] I felt very confused and overwhelmed."

Call it culture shock or an adjustment period, but Sophie admits it took some time to get used to her new environment before it began to feel a bit like a home away from home.

"Nothing was the same, but living your life is actually the same," she explains. "It kind of shocked me how underprepared I guess I was for that kind of change, and in terms of netball.

Between training, focusing on the game and travelling, she still fit in her UNSW studies where possible. But one thing Sophie noted was how different the style of netball played in England was compared to Australia.

"I remember when I first came over, there were a few Aussie girls in this league who had just left, and they told me, 'There's going to be a lot of pressure on you, everyone's hyping you up coming from SSN into this league so just make sure that you're just here to play netball.

"For me, one of the first things [the coach wanted me to focus on] was, 'Don't run around like a headless chook,' [laughs].

"I studied the first term [and] did an online course. The second term I just did two months of [travelling] as I felt like it wasn't going to work being able to do uni [and travel] at the same time.

"But I have now picked up another subject to start when I get back home [in September]."

"We'll develop your game to learn a bit more because, for me, it was about going as hard as I can for 5 minutes, but to sustain that for 60 minutes was not possible. So, it was a real learning curve on how to play a little bit smarter instead of just running around."

The change in environment and focus ultimately helped Sophie rediscover her love for the game and it helped propel her to a fantastic first season with Manchester Thunder (more on this in a bit).

"Being in Sydney and having it full-time [while] not being able to play my best season, I lost a lot of love for the sport," she reflects. "For me, it was getting to that point of [thinking], 'Do I not play anymore,' and [to] think about what life looks like outside of [netball]. This kind of opportunity was like a lifeline to bring back that passion and love for the game, and I just had so much fun this year."

Unexpected learnings on and off the court

After those years spent playing for the NSW Swifts, Sophie has since reframed her netball goals (literally and figuratively) to be less target-driven and more focused on improving her game. If the results come from that, then so be it.

"I really want to improve my game as a whole, defensively and attacking-wise. I just wanted to learn how to be smarter with the ball and have lower error rates."

The result of this approach? Manchester Thunder claimed the 2026 Netball Super League Premiership title and earned Player of the Match honours in the final.

Meeting and gradually gelling with her Manchester Thunder teammates not only helped Sophie and the team achieve incredible success during the 2026 season, but it was a springboard in helping her become comfortable with the uncomfortable.

"Back home, I was getting quite comfortable with who I was with and I tended to keep to myself during social situations, especially because I knew people and didn't feel like I needed to expand my social circle. But when I moved, I found that I was very extroverted! So I ended up travelling a lot and going to events solo, just to meet people.

I [also] learnt a lot about myself in terms of not being able to work. How do I sit with myself and not constantly be doing something? I learned how to relax and not be busy [laughs]."

A big aspect of Sophie rediscovering her passion for netball and a new side of herself while overseas was reaffirming the connection she had with her mother, who had passed away from cancer in 2021.

"It's always quite scary moving into a team where you know no one and they've been together for quite some time. [Manchester Thunder] made it such an inclusive and exciting space to be a part of.

From day one, it was straight into it, which is almost nicer because you feel comfortable. I think everyone really made an effort, which was really nice!"

"Losing my mum was something that really changed me. It forced me to grow up quickly, and having it happen right before I had my breakthrough in professional netball... Netball was a 'mum and I' thing, so for me, it was a space I wanted to be in after losing her," she remembers. "[in 2025], I struggled a lot because I'm not playing anymore, not being selected in the team and asking myself 'do I even like netball?'

"[But] if I stopped playing netball, then I'll lose that connection to my mum. So for me, it was something I didn't want to give up. I never really thought about it because I'd always been so busy. This year really forced me to sit with that, to try and not be busy, and to think about my massive move and what drew me to it.

"It was so hard to leave [the NSW Swifts] because my mum had met all of them, so for me it was like losing another piece. Would she be happy with my decision? What would she say? You question that stuff a lot, and I'm someone who [thinks] that you have every right to feel how you feel.

'So yeah! I think [the move] definitely shaped me to be more resilient. I do think that everything I went through [in 2025], it made me more stronger."

New season goals with Manchester Thunder and a post-netball future

Having performed as well as one could perform in their first season with a new team, Sophie is keeping her goals for her second season with Manchester Thunder modest. Less 'let's win again' and more 'let's keep improving and learning'.

"One of my big focuses is to keep improving my performance and consistency. I don't want it to be a case of, 'You just played well because no one knew who you were and we didn't know how to defend you'," she laughs.

The other big focus is finishing her studies and Sophie says having the Elite Athletes Program backing her this whole time has made a world of difference in terms of logistics, financial support and just having a team to lean on for support.

"They're always ready whenever I message them with anything and always just so helpful and informative. I was so focused on finishing last season and literally the day I finished, I started my travels. There was no time to even think about uni. I remember [the team] emailing me [about enrolling] and it was so helpful [laughs]."

In the short-term, Sophie is aiming to get closer to finishing her degree as it's taken a slight backseat to netball: "It's very sad seeing all my friends graduate and I'm so close. So close [laughs]."

But with another season on the cards with Manchester Thunder, she's looking into doing an exchange program at the University of Manchester as UNSW is in partnership with them. As the thought of graduation inches ever closer (relatively speaking), Sophie is already thinking long-term and eyeing a career in female health and education in schools once her netball career winds down.

"It's something I've hummed and hawed about with my degree for quite some time. Having a science background is super helpful and being an athlete [means] I can use that platform to get through [to people], so I'm quite lucky in that sense," she says.

"I've become passionate about it after everything that my mum went through and what we went through as a family. Speaking to people has highlighted to me the gap in education and misinformation, and how there's a lack of research in [female health]. This is something that I want to use my platform to bridge. So yeah, I'm lucky that I know what I want to do and now it's just finding how I can do it."

All interview quotes have been edited for length and clarity.

Last edited on 24 September 2026