Long road back to Silver Ferns
Dumped by the Pulse in 2015, the midcourter had reached a crossroads. Now, she’s a key cog in the Silver Ferns engine room. Brendon Egan reports.
Claire Kersten could have easily given up on the professional netball dream years ago.
The 31-year-old is poised to start at centre for the Silver Ferns in the first Constellation Cup test against Australia in Christchurch on Tuesday – a position she has specialised in only since 2018.
Kersten’s netball journey is a tale of resilience, characterised by setbacks, then success.
A key member of the Silver Ferns’ midcourt, who can play centre or wing defence, it has been a long and rocky ride to the top.
Toiling away in the defunct provincial competition from 2007 for Western, Otago and Canterbury, she was repeatedly overlooked by New Zealand teams in the former trans-Tasman league.
Not even the then-woeful Tactix wanted her in 2011 when she trialled for the side while living in Christchurch.
Raised in Havelock North and schooled in Palmerston North, Kersten finally got her break with the Central Pulse in 2013 under coach Robyn Broughton.
Then strictly a wing defence, she never got on court in her first season and the next year played two games. She was tossed on the scrap heap and not offered a contract for 2015.
‘‘Those first years I went from being really excited about being there, then it kind of came crashing down pretty quickly,’’ Kersten said.
Unwanted again in 2016, Kersten was resigned to the fact that Wellington club netball was her lot, while working as a science and biology teacher at Newlands College.
A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament to now Silver Ferns team-mate Whitney Souness opened the door for her to be involved with the Pulse again as an injury replacement player.
She deliberated whether playing in the final year of the trans-Tasman competition was the right move.
‘‘I really thought long and hard about whether I wanted to sign up for that emotional rollercoaster for another year, because that’s what it ends up being when you’re not playing and doing all that training.
‘‘It can get a bit demoralising. I really had to think about if that’s what I wanted to do.’’
Battling for court-time and snubbed for contracts, the 2008-09
New Zealand under-21 international wondered whether she would crack it in elite netball.
The advent of the New Zealand premiership in 2017 came at an opportune time.
Gaining regular court-time and playing in a successful Pulse side, who made the grand final, she grew in confidence and it was reflected in her play.
She earned her first national trial that year and then ‘‘out of the blue’’ became Silver Fern No 168, debuting in a 49-46 loss to England in Napier.
Kersten was selected in the Ferns’ 12 for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, but the event descended into a horror show for the side. In the darkest chapter in New Zealand netball history, they suffered a stunning upset loss to Malawi and failed to medal for the first time.
When Dame Noeline Taurua replaced Janine Southby as coach, Kersten wasn’t picked in any of her initial squads and not required for the 2019 World Cup.
Her time in the black dress seemed over.
‘‘Those thoughts definitely ran through my mind. It almost
mirrored what happened in the Pulse. I had a little taste and then was out of it.
‘‘I’d had that Commonwealth Games experience and then when that new squad was named later that year, I missed out.’’
Kersten came to a realisation. She vowed to continue to give everything at training and in games, but not put unnecessary pressure on herself about national selection. If a Ferns recall happened it was a bonus.
‘‘Potentially it was occupying too much space in my head because missing out on that and other squads along the way I found really difficult and then I got to a point where I think I talked to myself about being OK with where things were at.’’
The morning after helping lead the Pulse to a second straight premiership title against the Tactix last August, she was packing her bag at the team hotel in Invercargill.
She missed a phone call from Ferns assistant Debbie Fuller, who had left a message. Kersten had been named in the Silver Ferns 2020-21 national squad. ‘‘I had to listen to it again. I really didn’t think I heard it correctly.’’
In October’s three-test series against England in Hamilton, Kersten delivered her finest performances for New Zealand. Handed the starting centre bib for the third test, a position she had played in the elite ranks only since 2018, she was outstanding.
Kersten has gradually grown into the centre role at the Pulse over the past three years. So much so, she barely plays wing defence any more.
Regarded as a tenacious defensive-minded centre, Kersten has made major progress with her attacking play, especially feeding into the shooters.
‘‘It’s been a big learning curve and there’s so much for me to get
‘‘When I look at all our athletes, everybody has got a story about them, whether the struggles or what precluded them to not be consistently selected and Claire is among that group.’’ Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua
right there, but I’ve really enjoyed it and I still like playing wing defence. It’s nice to feel like I have two genuine positions. Something I was lacking earlier on.’’
In a professional sports landscape where clubs quickly identify talented young athletes at high school, Kersten had taken the path less travelled.
‘‘When I look at all our athletes, everybody has got a story about them, whether the struggles or what precluded them to not be consistently selected and Claire is among that group,’’ Taurua said. ‘‘She’s a great story for us to show to other athletes that irrelevant of your age, whether you’re old or young, there’s always improvement to be had in performance.’’
With netball great Laura Langman retiring last year, the Ferns’ centre position is set to be fiercely contested.
Kersten, who has played 12 tests, will likely get first crack against Australia, given how well she ended last year. The experienced Shannon Saunders, Sam Winders, Kimiora Poi, Maddy Gordon and Souness can all play there too and will get opportunities in this series.
After getting a brief taste
against Australia in the semifinal of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Kersten is eager to prove herself against the Diamonds’ classy midcourt.
‘‘They’ve got amazing depth in their midcourt and we know it’s going to be a step up. They’ve got firepower everywhere don’t they and I think real versatility as well.’’