Nweke thrives after ‘steep learning curve’
GRACE Nweke is only 14 tests into her international netball career with the Silver Ferns, but she has already shown she is a quick learner.
The towering goal shoot made her debut as a 19-year-old last September against the England Roses and it was against the same opponent at the Commonwealth Games in August that she had her first significant performance on the world stage.
On Wednesday, when the Silver Ferns began the Constellation Cup against the Australian Diamonds with an eight-goal win in Auckland, she was strong once again, making 40 of her 42 attempts in her first full match against world netball’s pacesetters.
Today she will go again in Mount Maunganui, as the Ferns look for a second win that will leave them with one hand on the silverware, as the two teams head across the Tasman to complete the four-test series.
Nweke went into Spark Arena having played just 17 minutes against Australia previously – in the middle of a heavy loss in the Quad Series in England this year.
Up against Diamonds’ defenders Courtney Bruce and Sarah Klau, who paid her close attention, she thrived and came out on top in the physical battle as the Ferns went up 20-9 in the first quarter and ultimately won 56-48.
‘‘I think we kind of surprised ourselves at the start,’’ Nweke said on Friday, after the team trained in Auckland ahead of their shift to the Bay of Plenty.
‘‘Aussie did come back and they got within five at one point, so it was really cool to know that we were able to get that lead, and
then fight through that pressure and draw it out again.
‘‘I’m really happy to have contributed to that win, as well as everyone else’s individual strong performances.’’
Nweke has now started four tests in a row and appears to have the edge over Maia Wilson for the goal shoot bib, nine months out from the Netball World Cup in South Africa next July.
But before she starred in the first of those tests – the bronze medal match against the Roses in Birmingham, where she made 44 of her 48 attempts as the Ferns beat the hosts of the Games – she had been dropped for the Ferns semifinal loss to Jamaica.
Head coach Noeline Taurua said at the time that she had done that because Nweke had ‘‘got the willies’’ in her first outing against England goal keep Geva Mentor,
and that she wanted ‘‘to be careful with her’’.
Nweke thrived against Mentor in the rematch, prompting
Taurua to say she was ‘‘going to be massive for us in the coming years’’ and after her strong outing against the Bruce-Klau combo, the 1.93m shooter said it was great to be getting experience against ‘‘some of the best in the world’’.
‘‘I think it only makes you better,’’ Nweke added.
‘‘Whether they expose gaps in my game or I can prove my dominance against them, it’s really awesome.
‘‘The other day playing against Courtney and Sarah, they’re such a strong combination, so to really hold my own, it’s good to see, but it also exposed gaps in where I need to grow — so that’s really awesome.’’
Nweke has been a dominant force at domestic level in the ANZ Premiership since her debut as a 17-year-old in early 2019. She helped the Northern Mystics win their first title in 2021 and her importance was clear to see when she suffered an ankle injury that derailed their title defence this year.
International netball is a different beast, however, throwing up all sorts of fresh challenges – chief amongst them
Australia’s full-on approach to defending, which the Ferns call a ‘‘koala backpack’’.
‘‘It’s like you’ve got someone there breathing down your neck,’’ Nweke said.
‘‘You’ve just got to be aware and revving the whole 60min – you never know what’s coming.’’
Nweke rose to the challenge on Wednesday, but she said it had been a ‘‘steep learning curve’’ getting to grips with how teams would try to defend her during her early years as a professional.
‘‘You’re going to get bashed the whole game and they’ll throw whatever they can at you,’’ was how she described it.
‘‘I’ve learned to deal with that and not take it personally – really rise above.
‘‘The calls will come and if they don’t come, you’ve got to move on – that’s the name of the game these days.
‘‘I think I have definitely had to adjust my mental toughness – just being able to leave things on the court and keep going.’’
It will be a surprise if Nweke isn’t handed a fifth consecutive start today by Taurua, who has challenged her players to back up from Wednesday’s win and show some much-needed consistency, but Wilson is likely to get a run at some stage in the series.