Jones 'hurt' as Feathers and Dragons career ends

Nia Jones has won 69 Test caps

Nia Jones says her chapter as a "high-performance netballer" has "come to an end".

Jones - who has represented Wales in both netball and football - is not included in the Welsh Feathers' 18-player squad for the 2024-25 campaign.

The 32-year-old was left "hurt" after stating she was not offered a contract by Cardiff Dragons for the upcoming season.

Jones subsequently opted against attending trials for the Feathers, resulting in her missing out on the squad.

"My chapter as a high-performance netballer as I've known it has come to an end," she said on Instagram.

"I didn't really see it coming, I still feel full of beans."

Cardiff have been awarded one of eight franchises in a revamped fully professional Netball Super League (NSL) for 2025. A reduction from 10 to eight teams has seen a drop in the number of contracted players in the competition.

"Cutting to the chase, the decision from my franchise last year, Cardiff Dragons, not to offer me a contract for next season really hurt, however I do understand it’s a part of sport," said Jones who captained the side in 2024.

"But in particular the way this was communicated to me and handled left me feeling too upset.

"It was my decision, last minute, not to attend the recent Feathers trials which as you can imagine was ridiculously hard. As separate as they are, there are still many areas that carry over as you can imagine.

"With those feelings being very much raw and me really listening to my core values, it just didn't feel right and it certainly wouldn't have been fair on the girls, the other trialists or the coaches either."

Jones had spells with Cardiff City, Reading and Yeovil Town as a footballer, in addition to representing Wales.

The Wrexham-born netball international - who plays goal defence or wing defence - played her first of seven seasons with Cardiff Dragons in 2013 and also had spells with Severn Stars and Leeds Rhinos in the NSL.

Discussing the Welsh Feathers squad announcement, Sara Moore, head of performance, said: “I am looking forward to seeing the athletes and the squad as a whole develop as they begin their preparations for this season's international competitions.

"The focus for this group of athletes is the Netball World Cup in 2027, and the preparations for that starts now."

Welsh Feathers squad for 2024-25: Victoria Booth, Abigail Caple, Millie Carter, Bethan Dyke, Celyn Emanuel, Lucy Howells, Charlotte Jennings-Evans, Alex Johnson, Nansi Kuti, Zoe Matthewman, Leah Middleton, Caris Morgan, Ellen Morgan, Shona O'Dwyer, Megan Pilkington, Georgia Rowe, Poppy Tydeman and Phillipa Yarranton.