Kopua prepares to bow out
Silver Ferns veteran Casey Kopua is hoping to wrap up her 17-year career in perfect fashion, with a World Cup triumph in England after coming out of international retirement late last year.
After playing more than 100 games for the Silver Ferns and captaining them from 2009 to 2015, the 33-year-old defender yesterday confirmed she will retire from all netball at the end of the 2019 season.
Should the stars align for Kopua, her last game would be the 2019 World Cup final in Liverpool on July 21, providing the Silver Ferns get there, and if she’s included in New Zealand’s squad.
‘‘If it works out as I want it to, then that’s definitely the last game,’’ she said.
Kopua acknowledged she was fighting for her World Cup place while playing for her beloved Waikato-bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Premiership, but feels she’s been ‘‘tracking well’’ in what will be her final domestic campaign with the Hamilton-based franchise.
Her Magic debut came in 2003 while still at high school and she’s been a mainstay with her hometown team ever since, with her first Silver Ferns outing coming against Jamaica in 2005.
Kopua said her retirement felt ‘‘like the right time to step back from netball’’ and her target of signing off in style, at what would be her fourth World Cup, ‘‘would be a dream come true’’.
‘‘I know I still have stuff to do to get better all the time. Personally, I think I am tracking well but I know I still need to step things up,’’ she said.
‘‘I still really love getting out on the court, and as soon as I take the court, there’s an instant fire in my belly, so that’s something I’m really looking forward to for the next five months.’’
On the international stage, Kopua won gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, but she rated the ANZ Championship title the Magic won in 2012 among her career highlights. The competition was then contested by Australian and Kiwi teams, so it stands above the two national titles Magic won in 2005 and 2006.
‘‘Every journey with every team is always a good time, even when you don’t win all the time,’’ Kopua said.
‘‘Winning in 2012 with the Magic was the highlight, as well as the gold medals at the Commonwealth
Games.’’
Kopua came out of international retirement last year once it was clear long-time mentor Noeline Taurua would be made the Silver Ferns coach following the team’s failure at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
She had previously walked away from the international game in early 2017, shortly after returning to the Magic following the birth of her daughter, Maia.
Kopua said Taurua knew 2019 would be her last year after she returned to the Silver Ferns side for all four games in the Quad Series in England in January.
Winning the World Cup is undoubtedly a tall order for the Silver Ferns after an awful 2018 but Kopua, who was awarded an ONZM (Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit) for her services to netball in 2011, has eyes on that prize for a perfect finish to her career.
‘‘I know I still have stuff to do to get better all the time.’’