Melbourne Vixens shooting duo Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip have announced that they will be retiring from the sport at season's end.
The pair shared the news as they prepare for one last Finals Series with the Vixens, after finishing the home and away season as minor premiers.
Thwaites will finish her career as one of the most capped athletes of all time, taking to the court 230 times so far and becoming only the fifth person to do so. She has also scored an enormous 6,801 goals over her 18 year long career.
She began her career with the Melbourne Kestrels in 2002 at only 15 years of age and stayed with the Melbourne side as they became the Melbourne Vixens in 2008, before winning a premiership with them in 2009.
She then made her way to New Zealand in 2011 to play three seasons with the Central Pulse in the ANZ Championship, where she won the team’s MVP in her first season and then, in 2014, Thwaites returned home to Australia to join the NSW Swifts for three years, winning the club’s MVP in 2015.
With the launch of the Suncorp Super Netball league in 2017, Thwaites became one of the inaugural players for the Collingwood Magpies and won the club’s MVP in its first year. She then played two seasons with the Magpies before fittingly making her way back to the Melbourne Vixens where she has played out the final two seasons of her career.
Thwaites, who retired from international duties at the end of 2019, played 55 games for the Origin Diamonds over 13 years, scoring 1106 goals at 92%. She also won seven Constellation Cup titles, gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 Netball World Cup, and silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 Netball World Cup.
A Melbourne Vixen for her entire professional career, Tegan Philip joined the team in 2010 and has represented them 131 times, becoming the club’s most capped player and one of only four to have played 100 games for the club.
She has scored 2,729 goals for the Vixens over her 11 seasons, was named Rookie of the Year in her debut season and won a premiership with the club in 2014, where she was named Grand Final Player of the Match.
Philip overcame an ACL injury in 2016 to return to the court in 2017 for the start of the Suncorp Super Netball era, becoming Co-Vice Captain of the Vixens and being named the best goal attack in the league that year.
Diamond #162, Philip has also been a part of the Origin Diamonds program for the past seven years, playing 14 test matches and scoring 130 goals.
Philip was a part of the gold medal-winning 2014 Commonwealth Games team in the same year she debuted for the Diamonds, she won a Constellation Cup title in 2019 and a bronze medal with the 2017 Australian Fast5 team.
Netball Australia CEO Marne Fechner reflected on Thwaites’ and Philip’s careers.
“Both Caitlin and Tegan have been exemplary ambassadors for netball over their long and illustrious careers and I thank them for their respective contributions to the sport, both on and off the court. Everyone from Netball Australia and the broader netball community wishes both Caitlin and Tegan the very best with what comes next,” she said.
Thwaites thanked everyone that has assisted her over the years.
“The opportunities that netball has given to me have been incredible and I look forward to giving back to the sport that has given me so much. A huge thanks to everybody who has been a part of my journey and supported me along the way – I wouldn’t have been able to do it for this long without the support. I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family and looking towards what’s next,” Thwaites said.
Philip reflected on what it meant to her to have worn the gold dress.
“I feel very privileged to have been able to represent Australia in the sport that I love. It’s such an enjoyable but hard working environment and one that I am grateful to have been a part of. I have so many great memories that I will certainly cherish. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my time at this level,” she said.
Thwaites and Philip will now prepare for the Vixens’ major semi-final against the Sunshine Coast Lightning being played this Saturday at 1pm AEST. The match will be broadcast live on Nine and the Netball Live Official App.
