MATCH MAG ROUND 5 V MELBOURNE VIXENS SUNDAY 27 MAY 2018 QUAYCENTRE
KRISTIANA MANU'A COMMUNITY FOCUSED + JO HARTEN HEART FOR THE HARTENS + JAMIE-LEE PRICE PRICELESS MEMORIES
Playing sport builds confidence for life. Start playing, keep playing. suncorp.com.au/teamgirls
IN THIS ISSUE 04 2018 ROSTER 05 SPOTLIGHT 06 COMMUNITY FOCUSED 09 PLAYER MATCH UP 11 HEART FOR THE HARTENS 13 GIANTS IN THE CROWD 14 PRICELESS MEMORIES 17 GIA'S GIANTS
HERE COME THE GIANTS Welcome to Round 5, GIANTS Netball members and fans. The season is now well underway and the competition is heating up as teams start to find their feet and we begin to see the impact of the new points system. Each quarter is now a mini-game, with an intensity to match, and it has been exhilarating to watch. With the bonus points on the line, your GIANTS have been up to the task - playing hard and coming together as a strong group to battle for the win every quarter. There is a maturity and perseverance to the GIANTS that makes them a formidable team to face and a joy to coach. I have watched their play develop over the season and, while they have taken some hits and had some misses, they have been impressive with their tenacity and passion and I am very proud of the way they have risen to the occasion. Already they have been delivering world-class netball for everyone to enjoy and I highly anticipate the rest of the season ahead – starting with today’s game against the powerful Melbourne Vixens.
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It’s wonderful to once again be playing in front of a home crowd at the fantastic Quaycentre, which has played host to some of the best elite netball in the world. We can’t wait to hear everyone cheering us on as we take on the Vixens today. Netball brings us all together and we celebrate the diverse backgrounds, experiences and journeys of our players, staff, volunteers, members and fans in NSW and beyond. From those who come to the games through to everyone who barracks for us from home, we have felt your support on our journey as a team and we could not do what we do without you.
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We hope that you enjoy today’s game and the elite netball action on display.
PHOTOGRAPHY: NARELLE SPANGHER
Julie Fitzgerald Head Coach
2018 ROSTER GA/GS
GS
GD/GK
WA/C
LEADERSHIP TEAM
WD/C
KIERA AUSTIN
KRISTINA BRICE
BEC BULLEY
KIM GREEN CAPTAIN
SERENA GUTHRIE
26/08/97 @KIERA_AUSTIN
09/07/94 @KRISTINA_BRICE
18/08/82 @BECBULLEY
05/03/86 @KIMMYGEE8
05/01/90 @SERENABOB
GS/GA
LEADERSHIP TEAM
GA/GS
GK/GD/WD
GK/GD
LEADERSHIP TEAM
WD/C
JO HARTEN VICE-CAPTAIN
KRISTIANA MANU'A
SUSAN PETTITT
SAM POOLMAN
JAMIE-LEE PRICE
21/03/89 @JOHARTEN
03/09/95 @KRISTIANAMANUA
23/03/84 @SUSANPETTITT
04/03/91 @SPOOLMAN
10/01/96 @JAMIELEE_PRICE
WA/C
TRAINING PARTNER
TRAINING PARTNER
GD/GK
TRAINING PARTNER
GS/GA
TRAINING PARTNER
GK/GD
WD/C
TRAINING PARTNER
TAYLAH DAVIES
STEPH MACGOUGAN
GEORGIA MARSHALL
TEIGAN O'SHANNASSY
AMY PARMENTER
03/10/94 @TAYLAHD4
26/05/95 @STEPHMACGOUGAN
24/07/96 @G_MARSH_
14/04/99 @TEIGAN_OSHANNASSY
01/08/97 @AMYPARMENTERR
MELBOURNE VIXENS KATE MOLONEY CAPTAIN
TEGAN PHILIP
VICE-CAPTAIN
LIZ WATSON
VICE-CAPTAIN
KADIE-ANN DEHANEY
SAM GOODEN
MWAI EMILY KUMWENDA MANNIX
EMMA RYDE
CHLOE WATSON
KHAO WATTS
JO WESTON
SPOTLIGHT GIANTS V VIXENS GIANTS Netball last faced the Melbourne Vixens during Round 12 of the Suncorp Super Netball 2017 season, at AIS Arena in Canberra, in a match that saw them deliver a disciplined and dominant performance with a 56-52 win over the Vixens. In their other Round 6 meeting of the 2017 season at Hisense Arena in Melbourne, the Vixens were victorious and ended the GIANTS winning streak, with a final result of 59-51. While there were moments of magic from the GIANTS, they struggled to capitalise on opportunities and were unable to regain lost ground once the Vixens opened up a lead. This split in wins is a likely indication of the game to come today at Quaycentre in Sydney. Both sides have the ability to put pressure on in the moments that count and can quickly turn the tides of a game with foresight and timely intercepts in mid court. The Vixens’ line up boasts experienced players such as Mwai Kumwenda and Tegan Philip in goal, with Jo Weston and Emily Mannix on defence. The GIANTS will need to work hard to keep control down their end, and keep the ball out of the hands of the Vixens.
COMMUNITY FOCUSED Community and family are the focus for Kristiana Manu’a. She shares why these important links are what drives her. Kristiana Manu’a was born in Wellington, New Zealand but moved over to Australia with her family when she was just three months old. She grew up in the suburb of Liverpool in Sydney and played with Liverpool City as a netball junior. “It is a very diverse community, so I was actually raised with a whole lot of different cultures, but mainly my own - there's a lot of Pacific Islanders around that community as well,” says Manu’a of the area. Her culture and heritage are very important to her, as are those who have always been there for her along the way as she progressed through the Netball NSW participation pathways to elite play. “It's all about family,” Manu’a states. “Being a Pacific Islander, Samoan in particular, it means a lot. Both of my parents are Samoan, so we kind of like do stuff differently like family prayer, eating together, family gatherings and all of the Islander food.” Manu’a is particularly appreciative of the sacrifices that her family have made for her throughout her journey. “My family helped me a lot,” she says as she reflects on the path she has taken over the years. Both of her parents worked full-time jobs and Manu’a is well aware of what they have done for her to be able to be where she is today. She lists taking her to training, buying her athletic shoes, paying for away game accommodation, driving her to games, prepping her food and staying up late waiting for her games to finish as just some of the things that they did for her while she was growing up. “That’s pretty much why I do it,” she says of where she is today. “It's to reward them or give back to them”. Since she joined the GIANTS Netball team, Manu’a has become a member of another supportive community and she has found it one that is empowering, caring and motivating. “I love the GIANTS family,” she states. “Obviously my first year didn't go the way I expected it,” Manu’a shares, referencing the unfortunate incident where she tore her Achilles tendon in the 2017 pre-season and was unable to play that year. It was a tough time and a long road to recovery. “It was a big learning curve for me,” she says.
The road from injury to recovery was made easier with the care of her GIANTS family. “I've got the best support from them - from our trainers, from our physio and Julie (Fitzgerald) especially. They really helped me to get back out on court and week-in-week-out they always checked up on me, and also the girls as well,” says Manu’a. While it was hard to be out there playing with her teammates, the success that they had in the 2017 season was a huge driving force behind her as she worked through the often trying rehabilitation and recovery process. “Seeing how well they did kind of give me that motivation just to keep going and get back on court,” she shares. Manu’a has a unique relationship with some teammates in particular. As one of the Terror Squad – the self-named housemate team of Serena Guthrie, Jo Harten, Jamie-Lee Price and Manu’a – Manu’a appreciates the often lively nature of her living arrangements and the benefits it affords her to have the support of her teammates at home. “I'm probably the mature one out of us four”, she laughs. “They love a good joke or a good practical joke or prank in the house, so that's always fun. There's always something going on,” she says. “It's really fun. It gives us a chance to hang out away from netball and really just confide in each other - if it’s netball related or not.” Looking ahead to how she herself can support and encourage others, there is one area that Manu’a is keen to spend more time exploring and that’s mentoring young people from Pacific Islander backgrounds. Already she is proud to be an ambassador for the Oceania Netball Cup and soon she will undertake an exciting venture with Westfields Sports High School in Liverpool. The relationship will see her regularly visit the school to help guide and mentor young Pacific Islander students. “Just to give back to the Pacific Community with Oceania and Westfields, it means a lot,” she shares. “I just want to give them that passion and to give them that motivation that you can make it. And even though it's a tough journey, and some families don't get the support as well as what I did, that there is help out there,” Manu’a explains. “I hopefully want to see that and see more Pacific Islander kids up here in the netball community and elsewhere”. ¼
I JUST WANT TO GIVE THEM THAT PASSION AND TO GIVE THEM THAT MOTIVATION...
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PLAYER MATCH UP
V GIANTS NETBALL
WATCH THESE PLAYERS ON COURT AS THEY GO HEAD TO HEAD IN ROUND 5.
MELBOURNE VIXENS
SUSAN PETTITT
JO WESTON
Position: GA, GS Age: 34 Height: 180cm Debut: 2003 National League Games: 220 Test Caps: 64
Position: GD, GK, WD Age: 24 Height: 188cm Debut: 2014 National League Games: 45 Test Caps: 10
2018 FIXTURE 1
DOUBLE HEADER
Sunday, 29 April 1PM Qudos Bank Arena Sydney
3
DERBY
SWIFTS V GIANTS
Sunday, 13 May 1PM Qudos Bank Arena Sydney
4
GIANTS V FIREBIRDS
Saturday, 19 May 3PM Quaycentre, Sydney
5
GIANTS V VIXENS
Sunday, 27 May 5PM Quaycentre, Sydney
7
DOUBLE HEADER
Sunday, 17 June 1PM Qudos Bank Arena Sydney
9
ACT
Sunday, 1 July 3PM AIS Arena, Canberra
10
DERBY
GIANTS V SWIFTS
Sunday, 8 July 5PM International Convention Centre, Sydney
14
GIANTS V FEVER
Saturday, 4 August 7PM International Convention Centre, Sydney
GIANTS V LIGHTNING
GIANTS V MAGPIES GIANTS V THUNDERBIRDS
Times are AEST. Fixture is subject to change. Quaycentre previously Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre. Full fixture at GIANTSNetball.com.au.
SYDNEY AND CANBERRA GAMES BE A PART OF THE GIANTS NETBALL 2018 SEASON.
MEMBERS POST MATCH ROUND 7 DOUBLE HEADER SUNDAY 17 JUNE 1PM QUDOS BANK ARENA 2018 GIANTS Netball Member Benefit! Following the Round 7 Double Header, 2018 GIANTS Netball Members are invited to join the team at an exclusive Post Match Meet & Greet. 1PM GIANTS Netball v Collingwood Magpies 3PM NSW Swifts v Sunshine Coast Lightning 4:30PM GIANTS Netball Post-Match Function commences Come along and meet your favourite players, don’t forget to bring your GIANTS Netball gear to be signed! Find out more at GIANTSNETBALL.COM.AU.
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HEART FOR THE HARTENS Families, both born and made, are central to Jo Harten’s journey to elite netballer and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist. Jo Harten may have been living away from home for quite a few years, but family will always be near and dear to her heart. The GIANTS Netball shooter was born and raised in Harlow, a local government district in Essex, England and lived there for her whole life until she had to depart for distant shores and an elite netball career. She is now in her seventh year playing on this side of the world, with five years spent in New Zealand and coming on two years in Australia. While Harten says that she has now adapted to life down under and the lifestyle here, the presence of her family and friends is one thing that she misses. “They are like my support network and obviously they're kind of my home comforts as well,” she shares. “But other than that I've kind of grown accustomed to life this side of the world. I do love living in Australia and before that I loved living in New Zealand.”
The pathways that Harten came up through in England were county based and she first played for East Essex, which was her local county team. Every year there'd be a tournament – the Under 16s - which was the big thing to win. Harten’s team won that in their second year of trying, which Harten calls “an awesome achievement”. After that, she was selected to play for England’s Under 17s and continued on that path through Under 19s, Under 21s and then moved to senior level competitions. “My family have been with me every step of the way. My dad used to drive me two hours to every training session kind of mid-week, just so I could train with the England girls when I was about 14-15,” Harten says as she talks about the journey that her family took with her over that time. Beyond that support, the impact of her family has also been felt in other ways. “I was very competitive with my dad growing up,” Harten explains. “We used to always kind of have one up on each other and everything was a contest and I think that's probably where I get my competitiveness from”. The physical distance between them hasn’t stopped her family from continuing to lend their support and cheering Harten
on. “My parents have been there for every major thing in my life. They came to my first Cap, which was in New Zealand. And they came out for the World Champs in 2007 to watch me. My parents both visited last year and they witnessed our win against the Magpies, in our prelim final, which was pretty awesome for them to see. And they are coming out again this year,” Harten reveals. There was one big moment that they were also a part of earlier this year, even though they weren’t able to be there in person and that was Harten’s Gold Medal win as part of the England Roses at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. “My family were watching every minute of that back home in the UK. They were up all hours trying to tune into the TV,” Harten says with a smile. “My mum and dad rang me straight after the final. They were just crying on the phone, which was really sweet”. Some may have missed it, but Harten had another family member on her mind during the Games, and she was sending them a special message throughout. “When I stepped up onto the podium I had a little heart sign, which was for my nephew,” Harten explains as she makes a heart with her hands. “I did that in a couple of games after I scored some goals to let him know that ‘heart for the Heartens’ I'm watching and I'm really proud to represent him.” Harten has assembled another family within netball, as she currently lives with teammates Serena Guthrie, Kristiana
Manu’a and Jamie-Lee Price. The group call themselves the Terror Squad, Harten shares with a smile, but hastens to clarify that the name comes from the American hip hop music group. As to what traditions she may have with her housemates, Harten says, “I think we just like to have fun. So that's our tradition. Every pre-game we will pump up the jams on the way in the car - we will have a little boogie, a little dance and we'll get amongst it.” The bonds that she has built within the GIANTS team are truly valued by Harten. “I think my teammates here at GIANTS are amazing. When you have down days or really really good days, they are always there to support you. We try and back each other up,” she says. Beyond that, Harten also appreciates community that the GIANTS organisation represents and the sense of family that is an integral part of the culture. “We're all part of that unique orange family, not just the netball but the AFL as well,” she adds. In the end though, there are some very important things from home that just can’t be replicated. “I think the main thing I miss back home would be the tomato sauce. I'm a big ketchup person,” she confesses with a laugh. “But here the tomato sauce varies. You go to restaurants, it's scary - you never know what you are going to get”. In a country where we also take our tomato sauce very seriously, we’re sure that no one will hold that against her. ¼
GIANTS IN THE CROWD
THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE TO CHEER US ON AT ROUND 4! #HERECOMETHEGIANTS
Aussie apples ready for the picking Sweet and crisp, Australian apples are a family favourite. From the rosy blush of a Royal Gala to the classic green Granny Smith – get inspired to use freshly picked apples in cakes and crumbles, sliced in salads or simply a snack on their own. Discover delightful recipes at woolworths.com.au/now-in-season
PRICELESS MEMORIES Family has always been a big influence on Jamie-Lee Price and she shares what they have taught her about life both on and off the court. GIANTS Netball Wing Defence Jamie-Lee Price credits her parents and siblings with being a huge support to her as she progressed through the pathways from playing at a club level through to professional leagues. “My family have been a big part of my journey. My dad (was) playing when I was growing up, so I got to watch and learn from him,” she says of her father, Steve Price, who played professional Rugby League for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and New Zealand Warriors and was also a member of the Queensland State of Origin team and Australian Kangaroos squad. “My mum, she would always take me, drop me off, do pretty much everything,” Price continues as she talks of her time as a junior netballer, “dad would be there when he could, obviously, because he was travelling a fair bit.” The support of her family has continued through to her being on the GIANTS Netball team. “My mum and dad come over to every home game, they're living in the Sunshine Coast, so it's very nice,” Price says, “my brother and sister, they try to come to a lot of games”. “We're quite a tight family, we share probably a bit too much information with each other, but that's always good and it's always fun,” Price says light-heartedly, “We celebrate
birthdays. We always spend Christmas together. I see my family as much as I can”. Price explains that she has learnt a lot from both of her parents and has taken that on board as an elite athlete. “Growing up watching dad, it was cool watching him, but obviously there were a lots of ups and then there were also a lot of downs, but I guess that's just life anyway,” she reflects. “It definitely drove me, especially because I had such a big passion for netball and it was always something that I wanted to do. I think it was just a lot easier obviously watching my dad do it, knowing that I could do it as well.” It’s what her parents have taught her about life beyond the game that Price values the most. “My dad, when he was playing, he was studying,” says Price, going on to explain that her father was always cautious to have something in his life beyond football, “I think that's important as an athlete to always have something, in case something happens, because you never know”. “My mum, she is very important to me and she's influenced me a lot,” Price shares. Her mother completed university as a mature age student and Price admires how much she loves her career as a teacher. Price says that her mother has shown her that there isn’t a need to put so much pressure on herself to have her own path determined at a young age and instead she can take her time learning or doing what that she enjoys. “There's a lot of pressure as a young girl that you have to have to go to uni or you have to do this, when really you don't, you can start a career at whatever age. It's OK,” she declares.
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CLUB SONG LEARN THE GIANTS SONG WITH GIA. SING ALONG AT OUR HOME GAMES. "WELL THERE'S A BIG, BIG SOUND FROM THE WEST OF THE TOWN IT'S THE SOUND OF THE MIGHTY GIANTS YOU FEEL THE GROUND A-SHAKING THE OTHER TEAMS ARE QUAKING IN THEIR BOOTS BEFORE THE GIANTS WE TAKE THE LONGEST STRIDES AND THE HIGHEST LEAP WE'RE STRONGER THAN THE REST WE'RE THE GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY GIANTS WE'RE THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST AND WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER WE'LL FIGHT UNTIL THE END WE'RE GREATER THAN THE REST"
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CORRECT AS OF 30 APRIL 2018