Tears as Grant grabs baton
New coach Southby makes a raft of changes to the team, including three new caps
An emotional handover from former Silver Ferns skipper Casey Kopua has marked the beginning of Katrina Grant’s reign as captain of the national netball side.
Grant was yesterday confirmed as they 26th captain of the Silver Ferns, succeeding her close friend and former defensive partner Kopua, who has taken time away from the sport following the birth of her first child in May.
Grant had known for a couple of weeks she would be taking over the captaincy, but it wasn’t until Kopua joined the team in camp following this week’s trials to officially pass on the baton that it really hit home.
“That was really special for me, because we’re such good friends. It was a pretty emotional experience,” Grant said following the announcement of the Silver Ferns line-up for the Quad Series. “There were a few jokes as well, [Casey] did try to keep it quite light, but she teared up as well, which made it really tough not to get emotional about it.”
The Pulse defender will lead a vastly different Ferns side from last season, with new coach Janine Southby making a raft of changes to the team, including three new caps — Maia Wilson, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Storm Purvis.
Grant was a surprise pick for captaincy role, with veteran midcourter Laura Langman, who served as Kopua’s deputy, expected to be promoted to skipper. Langman will continue on as vice captain of the team.
Southby said Grant may be a leftfield selection, but it was a wellconsidered one.
“I’ve been pretty thorough with the process with the management group and the players. They’ve all had input at different stages over this time,” she said. “I set a wee activity for [Grant] during the ANZ season and she showed that she is prepared to do that, and I think as a leader that is Katrina Grant’s leadership qualities are set for a thorough examination in the upcoming international season. a really amazing quality. The other thing is she does connect really well with all the players. She’s got a really good sense of humour and is downto-earth and has an ability to get along with everyone.”
With the Ferns having lost a solid bank of experience since last year’s World Cup, Grant and Langman’s leadership qualities are set for a thorough examination in the upcoming international season.
The shooting end is looking especially light on experience with Jodi Brown stepping down from international netball at the end of last season, while Maria Tutaia has been sidelined with a foot complaint. That saw SelbyRickit and Wilson promoted straight into the Ferns line-up, as Cathrine Tuivaiti was once again overlooked due to her fitness not being up to scratch.
Another major gap opened up in the defensive end yesterday with Leana de Bruin announcing her retirement from international netball.
“Leana and I have been talking on and off over the season, it’s been a really tough decision for Leana to make, but she decided after the season she has had and the first couple of days of trials that her body was telling her it was time and I really respect that decision,” said Southby.
De Bruin’s retirement was offset by the return of Mystics defender Anna Harrison after taking time away to start her family.
The Silver Ferns will open their season against England in Auckland next weekend. Australia will take on South Africa