Ashleigh Brazill

Born and raised in NSW, Ash commenced her professional Netball career with the Sydney Swifts in 2010, before taking her sporting prowess across the Nullarbor to the West Coast Fever in 2012. It was after her move to the Fever where her career really took off, winning the clubs MVP Award in her first season, before captaining the team in 2015 & 2016.

Ash has also represented Australia in both the Diamonds and Fast 5 Team, proving her versatility and athleticism. Whilst there have been many achievements of her International career which is ongoing, being named the Player of the Series in the 2011 World Netball Series would be amongst one of the highlights to date. 

At the beginning of 2017, Ash made the tough decision to leave the Fever and embark on a new era of Australian Netball as the Suncorp Super Netball League saw a breakaway from the ANZ Championship and the New Zealand teams. This resulted in new teams entering the competition, including Collingwood which assembled a star studded line up of which Ash was one of those players targeted. Whilst the first two seasons have not exactly gone to plan for the team, Ash has been the most consistent performer, placing 2nd in the 2017 Best & Fairest, before winning it in 2018.

Upon transitioning to Collingwood, other opportunities opened up for Ash, including the chance to play in the AFLW Competition for the club. Ash seized the opportunity and commenced training in the Football program post the 2017 Netball season where she quickly picked up the skills and game tactics. Unfortunately a hamstring injury limited Ash's output during the season, however she showed her ability in the games she did play which gave her confidence leading into the 2019 season which she well and truly proved. One of Collingwood’s best players for the year, Ash was one of the competitions best defenders and arguably could have won the Collingwood Best & Fairest if it wasn’t for a heavy concussion she received against Fremantle which led to her sitting out the majority of the game and missing the following week.

Ash took this momentum into the 2019 Suncorp Super Netball season where she had an outstanding year, finishing Runner Up in the Best & Fairest, being named in the Team of the Year, and representing Australia in their Trans Tasman series win against New Zealand. Ash was also named as the player of the match in the final game of the series.

Unfortunately Ash couldn’t continue this form across both Netball and Football in 2020 as she was struck down with an ACL injury after an incident at Marvel Stadium early in the season. Whilst the injury occurred under the weight of her own body as she changed direction, the damage she did was incredible. Taking the full 12 months to recover, Ash returned in the last few rounds of the 2021 AFLW season showing she had hardly missed a beat.

In 2022, Ash reached her childhood dream of winning Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham whereby the Diamonds overcame a resilient Jamaica in the Final, a team they had lost too earlier in the tournament. This capped off a remarkable journey in Netball for Ash where she had been consistently overlooked for a Diamonds spot earlier in her career, to then overcoming the ACL injury in 2020/21. Ash has now returned to football playing in the last two seasons of AFLW, being a consistent part of the team by playing 8 games in both season 7 and season 8.

Away from her sporting career, Ash married her lovely partner, Brooke in 2016 after meeting one another in Perth during her time at the Fever. The couple welcomed their first child Louis in 2020, before having their daughter, Frankie, in 2022. Together, they enjoy getting back to NSW to see Ash’s family on the farm and enjoying the country vibe. Ash works in the Media Department at the Collingwood Football Club of which she enjoys by showing her creative side and getting an understanding of the running of a professional sporting club.

Playing Honours:

·         West Coast Fever Runner Up B&F 2015

·         West Coast Fever Players Player 2015

·         West Coast Fever Captain 2015, 16

·         Australian Fast 5 Representative 2015, 16, 17

·         Australian Diamonds Squad 2015, 16, 19

·         Australian Diamond Debut #166

·         West Coast Fever Runner Up B&F 2016

·         Collingwood Netball Runner Up B&F 2017 & 19

·         Collingwood Netball player of the final series 2017

·         AFLW Draft pick 35 2017

·         Collingwood Netball B&F 2018

·         Collingwood Members Vote 2018

·         AFLW All Australian 2019

·         Collingwood FC Runner Up B&F 2019

·         Collingwood Netball Runner Up B&F 2019

·         Suncorp Super Netball Team of the Year 2019

·         Commonwealth Gold Medallist 2022