LILLI Mooney is only just starting to come down from the high of winning a Under 23s Premier League Netball title as another achievement has come her way.
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Mooney has been named in the Netball NSW Emerging Talent Squad, which will be broken down into final metro and regional teams to take part in an inaugural intrastate competition next July.
The UTS Randwick club player was the only person west of the Blue Mountains to earn a place in the emerging talent squad, which was announced alongside the NSW under 17s and 19s squads on Thursday.
The selections were made on a mixture of match performances and trials, and Mooney counts herself lucky that she was able to take to the court in 2020 when a lot of other players her age weren't able to do so.
"It's judged on game play and trials, so fortunately for me I was able to play this year. We had phase one, in Orange, which was regional. Phase two with a mixture of the regional and metro girls and phase three cut it down to the emerging talent squad," Mooney said.
"I felt confident, especially in the first phase where there were a lot of girls who hadn't played all season and phase two was pretty nerve wreaking and phase three I had no idea about. I was with all the girls from Premier League so I was pretty nervous."
The teams will be decided in March to take part in the intrastate competition, which will be held at the Australian Institute of Sport from July 9 to 11.
In total, 70 athletes have been named in the combined squads.
- READ MORE: Lilli Mooney wins Netball NSW Under 23s Premier League title with UTS Randwick Sparks
- READ ALSO: Bathurst's Lilli Mooney enjoys thrilling win to start her Under 23s Premier League Netball campaign
- READ ALSO: Clancy Best and Lilli Mooney selected to play high-level netball in Sydney in 2020
The weekend's fitness trials were last activity for the players until the new year.
There's still opportunities for other players who missed out on selection in the state and emerging talent squads to earn a place via next year's trials.
Mooney's hopeful 2021 can be just as memorable as what she's achieved this year.
"Winning the Premier League was such an incredible experience," she said.
"I wouldn't have asked for the year to go any other way."
Orange's Alexandria Emerson and Ellie Mooney qualified for state squads.