Diamonds name Donnell Wallam in Commonwealth Games squad, aiming to become first Indigenous player in 22 years

It has been 32 years since an Indigenous Australian represented the Diamonds at a Commonwealth Games, and 22 since an Indigenous player has taken the court for the national team.

But that may change in Birmingham come July, after Noongar woman Donnell Wallam was named as a member of an 18-player Diamonds squad, competing for one of the final 12 spots in the team.

The selection is a remarkable feat for 28-year-old Wallam, who has managed to squeeze her way into the Australian set-up just four years after being discovered in the West Australian pathways and five rounds into her debut Super Netball season.

As it stands, Wallam is ranked second in the 2022 Super Netball competition for goals (210) and in the top five for offensive rebounds (10) and super shots (15), while her Queensland Firebirds sit third on the ladder.

This early dominance has seen Wallam heralded as one of the signings of the season, despite being a late call-up as a pregnancy replacement for long-standing goal shooter Romelda George.

Her selection is just another step in her meteoric rise, after growing up playing basketball and Aussie rules before making the switch to netball in her 20s.

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Wallam only made her first representative team in 2019, securing a position with the West Coast Warriors in the West Australian Netball League (WANL) under coach Lorraine Ward.

Affectionately referring to each other as 'Wardie' and 'Nelly', the pair have been close ever since, winning WANL titles together in 2019 and 2020, where Wallam was named as the back-to-back grand final MVP.

«She really didn't love the game when she first came to us and she certainly wasn't fit, I actually thought she was going to pass out at trials,» Ward said.

«But after her