Malawi National Netball Team shooter Mwawi Kumwenda will remain in the Suncorp Super Netball League in Australia after joining West Coast Fever for the 2025 season.
Mwawi has replaced legendary Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who has gone on maternity break.
The Malawian was due to feature for Peninsula Waves in the lower-tier league but Fever coaxed her back to the elite league to fill the gap left by Jhaniele.
“Kumwenda will replace Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who is unavailable for the season after announcing she is expecting her second child,” westcoastfever.com.au reported.
“The former Melbourne Vixen will be no stranger to the Green Army from her 135 National League Games and 4,598 goals following her debut in 2014. She was also the Grand Final MVP for the Vixens in their 2020 Grand Final win over Fever in Brisbane,” it added.
West Coast Fever Head Coach Dan Ryan told the website that it was a great result to secure an athlete of Kumwenda’s calibre at this point in time.
“We, as a club, are thrilled to be able to provide her with this opportunity and support her as she returns to professional netball after the birth of her first child. She is a fierce competitor and I know she is up for the challenge to get back to her best,” Ryan told the online publication.
However, Ryan admitted that they needed to be open-minded about what they would look like in 2025 following the announcement from Fowler-Nembhard.
“Jhaniele is irreplaceable in so many ways; so, in filling this position, we needed to think differently about how we could play the game and most importantly really embrace the challenge of change together.
“Mwawi provides us with a strong target in our shooting circle, which is familiar for us, but her movement and variety allows us to really evolve our game and do things differently, which is going to be a great challenge for everyone,” she said.
Mwawi told the publication that she was thrilled to join West Coast Fever.
“I am looking forward to this new chapter of my career and moving over to Perth to join West Coast Fever.
“I am going to embrace the challenge of covering for the best shooter in the world. Jhaniele has set the standards at SSN-level for a long time and I am looking forward to being able to work with her and my new teammates and Dan Ryan in the Fever environment,” Mwawi told the publication.
“I cannot wait to step out on the court in front of my new family, the Green Army, at RAC Arena in our Round One game against the Swifts,” she said.
Mwawi moved to Australia in 2011 after joining Waves.
She then played for Victory Fury before playing for Mainland Tactix in Australia.
She later joined Waves.
She was expected to return to Waves next year but will feature for Fever.
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