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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n 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 owned ...

for the

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 ...

and the New Zealand side the

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 ANZ Premiership seas ...

. 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 Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 and 2007, together with Melbourne Kestrels, they were one of two teams to represent Netball Victoria in the Comm ...

that same year, an opening arose for a talented wing defender to join the Melbourne side in 1999. Chokljat decided to play for

, which won the

Commonwealth Bank Trophy The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Ba ...

in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Chokljat played netball for

till the end of the 2010 season in the ANZ Championships. She has signed to play for the

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

based

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 countri ...

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 ...

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