Bird flies high after stepping out of retirement
Happily retired, Ellie Bird was content playing social mixed netball and keeping busy with her day job visiting farms.
An SOS from Tactix coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek a week and a half before the ANZ Premiership season quickly altered her plans.
The 1.96m goal shoot looked to be done with elite netball in New Zealand, heading to England last year for a new experience. Bird linked with former Silver Ferns midcourter Liana Leota, who coaches the Leeds Rhinos, playing a season in Netball Super League.
The 31-year-old announced her retirement after the Rhinos season and shifted back home to take up a job as sustainability assistant for Dairy Holdings, a dairy farming company.
A pre-season knee injury to starting goal shoot Aliyah Dunn left the Tactix scrambling for replacement options.
Delaney-Hoshek knew that Bird had returned to Christchurch and did not waste any time sounding her out. The pair first worked together with the Wellington NPC side in 2013 – Delaney-Hoshek also promoted Bird to the Tactix main squad in 2017 after replacing Sue Hawkins as coach mid-season.
“As soon as I saw her name pop up on my phone I figured it was something like that [an injury call-up],” Bird said.
“I’m just going with the flow of things. If I can make it work with work, I’ll do it. I’m just really enjoying playing netball at the moment.”
Bird is continuing to work fulltime and juggle her job with training and games. After the first game of the season in Christchurch, she was on the road at 6am the next morning to Gore for work. She works a lot on farm environment plans, audits, compliance, and helping farmers with sustainability.
Bird has made quite the return. Stuck on 99 premiership matches, she brought up the century milestone in the Tactix win over the Steel in their opener in Christchurch. A group of family and friends was there to cheer her on, even embarrassing her with a surprise sign.
Bird has been brilliant for the unbeaten Tactix, who face fellow 4-0 side, the Central Pulse, in Palmerston North tomorrow in a top-of-the-table showdown.
She has looked revitalised after a season in England. Dunn is due back in six weeks, which will leave Delaney-Hoshek with a tricky selection decision. The goals have flowed for Bird, the most prolific shooter in the competition through four games (158 goals) and also the most accurate (91%).
In the side’s impressive away win over the defending champion Mystics in round three, she landed 51 from 52. Another strong showing followed in Monday’s tense 54-53 win over the Magic in Hamilton, converting 36 from 40.
Asked if she was playing the best netball of her career, Bird blushed.
“I do, and that makes me laugh a lot. Sometimes I’m just driving along and I think about it and it makes me laugh. I don’t know what you put it down to.”
Dig a bit deeper and Bird’s resurgence could be the result of several factors.
She sometimes put too much pressure on herself as the starting goal shoot early in her career. A season away had opened her eyes and made her realise she should enjoy every moment, after thinking her days with the Tactix were over.
Off-season rule changes where players can be instantly suspended for two minutes for dangerous play, especially to the head area, could be another reason. Defenders might have previously tussled with Bird every time she had the ball. They now had to be selective about which ball they went for and which pulled out of.
“Going overseas, a bit of life experience, and other pressures and things that actually affect your life [has been helpful].
“Netball is just a game and we play it because we love it. We’re here to have fun. Obviously there’s the level of professionalism and competition, but if you’re not enjoying it why are you doing it.”
Another injury for Nweke
Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke is facing an extended period on the sidelines with a familiar injury.
Nweke left the court with a knee injury after an awkward landing midway through the final quarter of the Mystics’ round three loss to the Tactix 11 days ago.
At last year’s World Cup, Nweke suffered a partial tear of her patella tendon in the same knee. An injury that ruled her out of the knockout stage.
“She [Nweke] is continuing to follow a graduated return to play programme with the view to being back out on court within four to six weeks,” a Mystics statement released yesterday said.