Superleague Speedster Shona O’Dwyer to Stay with Dragons

Celtic Dragons’ latest 2021 player reveal is mid-courter Shona O’Dwyer who will remain with the franchise having signed from Severn Stars last season.

O’Dwyer has made a big impact in both Superleague and international netball in recent seasons.

As well as making her Superleague debut at Severn Stars, she has represented Wales in three age group Netball Europe competitions. Most recently, she led Wales U21 at the 2019 Netball Europe tournament in Worcester, captaining the team to emphatic wins over Scotland and Northern Ireland to achieve a silver medal finish.

O’Dwyer continues to play for Hucclecote Netball Club in the English Premier 1 divison and when she is not playing or in training, she is studying for a PGCE with the aim of becoming a secondary school maths teacher.

O’Dwyer enjoyed the experience of the truncated 2020 season and is looking forward to what lies ahead in 2021. She said: “Even though the 2020 season was cut short, it was an enjoyable and positive experience. The environment created by the coaching team and players promoted progression and development and we began to build some strong strategies and put them onto court.

“As a result, I was extremely keen to re-sign for Dragons this season and continue the work we had started last year.”

Tania Hoffman, Celtic Dragons Director of Netball, was pleased to see the return of the ambitious young wing-attack/centre. She said: “Shona is a fantastic young player and brings an amazing work ethic and dynamism to the squad.

“Shona exemplifies the kind of netball we want to play. Fast, decisive and assertive.

“With a great club career at Hucclecote, and having been around the Superleague for a few seasons and breaking into the Welsh senior set-up, Shona has experience beyond her years. She will be a big part of our plans for the coming year.”

Celtic Dragons will be revealing further signings and re-signings during the month of October as the road towards the 2021 Vitality Netball Superleague continues.