Star player rediscovers love for TN
DANEKA Tuineau admitted she would jump at the chance to rejoin Team Northumbria, despite watching her adopted side fall at the first hurdle in the inaugural Fast 5s All-Stars netball event.
The former Silver Fern returned to France yesterday, where she will pick up her professional basketball career with NF1 side Orthez.
But after TN were knocked out of the Fast 5s at London’s O2 Arena prior to the semi-final stage, Global All-Star pick Tuineau admitted: “It feels like I’m already part of the family.
“I’ve been out of netball for seven years but spending time with Te Aroha Keenan and a young and hungry squad, reminded me how much I’d missed it.
“Who knows what the future may hold? My husband plays rugby in France right now and I’ve just started to play basketball but I’ll be keeping a close eye on TN.
“Everyone made me feel so welcome and I’m just disappointed that I wasn’t able to help a talented team reach its full potential.”
Tuineau and Sophie Hankin struggled to find their range against eventual finalists Team Bath and TN’s second opponents Surrey Storm.
The dual shooters saw plenty of the ball against Bath and a 19-18 defeat should have been a comfortable victory for the Tynesiders.
A 35-22 loss against Surrey meant TN were the first side eliminated from the Fast 5s but Tuineau added: “With a format like this, it’s often just the luck of the draw and how the ball drops.
“In the first game, it was tough to settle. If we’d made the most of our powerplay, we could have blown Bath away but we just didn’t take our chances.
“It’s a first taste of Fast 5s netball for everybody but TN has a young group of players who will learn from the experience.
“Results aside, I thought the tournament was a fantastic advert for netball and it would be great to think I could come back again.”
Tuineau’s fellow Kiwi Erena Mikaere emerged as one of the stars of the show during her brief time on the O2 court.
And the Suncorp Super Netball winner echoed her teammate’s desire to reprise her role with TN in the future.
Mikaere’s said: “I’ve loved every minute.
“I’d never say never. Working with Te and the girls has been a fantastic experience. I’ll be watching their results with interest next season.”