Why Layton can now bow out with no regrets
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YOU couldn’t have wiped the smile from netballer Sharni Layton’s face yesterday.
The same could not be said of the famously feisty Australian Diamonds defender – who yesterday announced her retirement from professional netball – less than 12 months ago.
The two-time world champion and international player of the year almost walked away from the sport then as she battled mental demons brought on by a relentless workload on and off the court.
Layton, 30, used the time away to seek professional help, get better, take stock and focus on those who matter most – her family and friends.
She returned to the Magpies this season refreshed and desperate to go out on her terms.
“I guess if I had’ve given the game away I wouldn’t have known if it was thing,” Layton said.
“I probably haven’t had the season that I would’ve liked to have had … but it’s the best decision that I could have made.”
Layton captained her country in England and South Africa in early 2017 but those would be her last Test match appearances, with a sabbatical due to exhaustion after her first season with the Magpies stretching to six months. the right
While her form has been sketchy this season, Layton said she had nothing left to prove.
“I’ve really shifted as a person; I’ve almost gone from being ambition-driven to more meaning-driven,” she said.
“In that time off I realised how much that meant to me … as an athlete you have to be selfish.
“I don’t want to be selfish any more. I want to be a good friend, a great aunty, I want to be an awesome daughter, a great girlfriend.”
The Magpies’ foundation star debuted for Australia in 2011 and won world titles with the Diamonds in 2011 and 2015 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2014. Layton is the fourth decorated Diamond to retire in the past 10 days.
She will farewell Magpies fans over the next fortnight in Melbourne with games against the Swifts and Giants.