Ferns stick with Folau
Silver Ferns shooter Maria Folau is quitting the Northern Mystics to move across the Tasman, but has an exemption to still play for New Zealand.
One of the best shooters ever to wear the black dress, Folau is to move permanently to Sydney, where her rugby star husband Israel Folau lives. She has been commuting to play for the Mystics.
Netball New Zealand told Stuff Folau had a 12-month exemption, so was eligible to play for the Silver Ferns in 2019. In the past players have had to be contracted to a New Zealand team if they wanted to wear the black dress.
Folau has played 128 tests since 2007 and was last week picked in the Silver Ferns side for next month’s Quad Series. She had been rewarded for long and loyal service to New Zealand, Netball NZ said.
The treatment of Folau is a notable about-face by Netball NZ, which essentially exiled longserving midcourt player Laura Langman when she moved to Australia to play for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in 2017.
As a result Langman was not considered for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where the Silver Ferns slumped to their worst-ever Games result – fourth. An independent review panel in July recommended Netball NZ revisit its Silver Ferns selection policies following the Games failure.
Eligibility rules were one of four key areas highlighted as part of the next steps to rebuild the beleaguered national programme.
Langman this month said she was hopeful NNZ would change its eligibility rules, allowing Kiwi players to play overseas.
After taking a break from netball, Langman has been selected alongside Folau in the 17-strong Silver Ferns squad, ending a two-year absence.
After one season across the Tasman, she returned to New Zealand but did not play in the
‘‘This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.’’ Maria Folau on her move to Sydney
recently completed national premiership because she wanted to start building a career away from netball.
Noted for her long-range shooting, Folau said trying to balance sporting life in New Zealand and marriage in Australia had been tough.
With her family now based in Australia, she felt she could no longer commit to the full training schedule required for the ANZ Premiership, a statement issued by NNZ said.
Now 31, Folau has been involved at national level since she was 17. She was an integral part of the Commonwealth Games gold medal win in 2010.
She said she she had now made a decision to move forward with other aspects of her life, so could no longer play for the Northern Mystics.
‘‘This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, I consider the Northern Mystics my netball family and this club will always hold a special place in my heart, but I feel the time is right for me to make a fulltime move to my new home in Sydney. My life and my family are now based outside of New Zealand, so my support networks have also shifted across the Tasman.’’
This season Folau played just eight of a possible 15 games for the Mystics.