Australia-based Mwawi Kumwenda has missed out on the Suncorp Super Netball Player of the Year Award after being shortlisted among the top five.
The Malawian netball export was shortlisted alongside her Melbourne Vixens team-mate Liz Watson, Queensland Firebirds’ Mahalia Cassidy, Geva Mentor of Collingwood Magpies and West Coast Fever Jhaniele Fowler.
Jamaican shooter Fowler won her third consecutive Suncorp Super Netball Player of the Year Award after an outstanding 2020 season.
An article on Suncorp website, www.supernetball.com.au, stated that the Kumwenda was shortlisted for her outstanding performance.
Reads the letter in part: “What a year MJ had! Her 376 regular season points were the eighth most in the league and her 17 offensive rebounds were good for ninth. Pretty good stats but, much like Geva Mentor, it’s not just the numbers that make Kumwenda a legit MVP candidate.
“The way she worked with her fellow shooters, Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip, was a massive factor in the Vixens premiership winning run and her performances in the Major Semi Final and Grand Final were stunning. Can the Grand Final MVP take the league title too.”
Kukoma Diamonds assistant coach Noel Mussa applauded Kumwenda for making it into the last five.
“The Australian league is the best league in the world. The fact that she was shortlisted means that Mwawi is a world-class player and she is a pride to Malawi,” he said.
The Malawian, who inspired her club to win the first grand final title, also failed to make the best team of the season.
Last week, Kumwenda was also listed among the best four world player alongside Watson, Fowler and the only player outside the Australian league New Zealand’s Central Pulse’s Ammeliaranne Ekenesio.
