Tutaia: I nearly joined Langman in Australia
Silver Ferns centurion Maria Tutaia has revealed she almost followed in Laura Langman’s footsteps and signed in Australia.
Midcourt maestro Langman, New Zealand’s second most capped player in history with 137 tests, will be ineligible for the national side next year after signing with the new Sunshine Coast Lightning club.
With the split of the transTasman league, Netball New Zealand (NNZ) have adopted a hardline stance, refusing to pick Kiwis players featuring in the inaugural Australian domestic competition.
Tutaia came agonisingly close to signing in Australia, where partner, Wallabies rugby player Israel Folau, is based.
The lure of the black dress, which Tutaia has not worn in over a year due to injury and unavailability, and family, kept her in Auckland, however.
‘‘It did play on my mind,’’ Tutaia said of potentially forfeiting the right to represent the Silver Ferns.
‘‘I’m not going to lie. It was [a hard decision]. My mum and dad come first.
‘‘As much as they wanted me to go over to Aussie, I couldn’t do it.’’
Tutaia supported close friend and longtime team-mate Langman’s decision. She declined to comment when asked if she agreed with NNZ’s ruling.
Langman, 30, was granted an exemption to play for the New South Wales Swifts in the final season of the trans-Tasman league this year, but NNZ were reluctant to be so lenient after the competition break-up.
‘‘At the end of the day, you’ve got to go where you’re happy,’’ Tutaia said.
‘‘Lauz [Langman] felt like there was unfinished business in Australia.
‘‘Lauz is such a determined person. When she feels like she hasn’t achieved something she’s got to go back and finish things off,’’ she said.
Tutaia, who has played 102 tests for the Silver Ferns, admitted it would be unusual not seeing Langman in the midcourt and delivering pinpoint passes into her, if she was there.
‘‘She’s a freak. It’s going to be tough.’’