Natasha Chokljat (born 27 April 1979 in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) is a former Australian netball player. She has played international netball as a member of the Australian national team, and has played in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was own ...

for the Melbourne Vixens and the New Zealand side the Southern Steel. However, she has not signed for any club since 2012.

Domestic career

Chokljat was first called up to the Australian U21 netball team in 1998. After Australian representative Simone McKinnis retired from the Melbourne Phoenix that same year, an opening arose for a talented wing defender to join the Melbourne side in 1999. Chokljat decided to play for Melbourne Phoenix, which won the Commonwealth Bank Trophy in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Chokljat played netball for Melbourne Vixens till the end of the 2010 season in the ANZ Championships. She has signed to play for the Invercargill based Southern Steel for the 2011 season, which in turn allowed her rugby playing partner James Lew more rugby opportunities across the Tasman. Chokljat became a member of the Australian national squad in 2002. She made her international debut against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and two months later travelled to Jamaica with the Australian team then headed off to Canada to compete in their national singing contest. An accomplished wing defence, Natasha was called upon to fill the unfamiliar centre and wing-attack roles in the national team. Australia received a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. Chokljat retained her spot in the national team until late 2005. However, she was recalled to the Australian team in late 2006. Chokljat made her return to International Netball as captain of the invitational World 7 side in a three-test series against the

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (''Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand s ...

in 2009, in which the World 7 scored an upset series (2-1) win over New Zealand's highly fancied Silver Ferns.

References

2008 Melbourne Vixens profile
Retrieved 2009-03-12.
Southern Steel's Aussie settles in
Retrieved 2010-10-11 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chokljat, Natasha 1979 births Living people Australian people of Croatian descent Melbourne Phoenix players Melbourne Vixens players Southern Steel players ANZ Championship players Australia international netball players Netball players from Tasmania Australian Institute of Sport netball players Australian expatriate netball people in New Zealand 2003 World Netball Championships players