Australian goal attack and former national captain, twice a World Championship winner who famously scored the title-winning goal in the 1999 World Netball Cup final.
Sharelle Jane McMahon was born on 12 August 1977 in Bamawm, Victoria. Scouted by the Victorian Institute of Sport at 16, she debuted for the Australian Diamonds in 1998 as the youngest member of the Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning squad in Kuala Lumpur. McMahon went on to play 118 Test matches for Australia — the second-most caps in Diamonds history — captaining the side 12 times and scoring 2,520 international goals at over 21 per Test. She is most famous for taking the winning shot in the dying seconds of the 1999 World Netball Cup final against New Zealand, and added a second World Championship gold in 2007. She also won Commonwealth Games gold in 1998 and 2002. Domestically, McMahon spent 11 seasons with the Melbourne Phoenix (1997–2007), winning five premierships, before becoming inaugural captain of the newly formed Melbourne Vixens in 2008 and leading them to their first ANZ Championship title in 2009, earning Grand Final MVP. Her career, spanning over 200 national league games and six domestic titles, was interrupted by a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2011 and the births of her two children before she retired in 2013. Considered by many the greatest netballer of all time, McMahon was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2016 and immortalised in bronze at Melbourne's John Cain Arena in 2023.
Scoring the title-winning goal in the 1999 World Netball Cup final against New Zealand
How They Played
Elite athleticism and natural talent in the goal circle, equally dangerous at goal attack or goal shooter
Lasting Impact
Widely regarded as one of the greatest netballers of all time, celebrated for both her attacking brilliance and her leadership building the Melbourne Vixens
Career Honours
- World Championship Gold 1999, 2007
- Commonwealth Games Gold 1998, 2002
- Australian captain
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame 2016
| Club | Period | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Phoenix | 1997–2007 | — |
| Melbourne Vixens | 2008–2013 | — |