The Silver Ferns’ success in the Constellation Cup against the Australian Diamonds came down to a lot of hard and dedication, according to defender Phoenix Karaka. The team clinched the series after game three of four, returning home last week with the cup and a renewed belief in what they can achieve.
While the defender spent most of the time on the bench during the series, Karaka was happy to have played a part.
"I’m just proud to be a part of the team, whatever way I can contribute to the team. I’m really content in the space I’m in and the way I provide for the team," she said.
"I might not have gotten the minutes that I wanted but I’m just happy to be a part of the team."
Karaka made her return to the team in time for the Constellation Cup, after suffering an illness that ruled her out of the Taini Jamison series against the England Roses in early October. The Ferns would end up losing the tournament, resulting in a drop in world rankings, heading into the Cup at third.
It makes the win against the number one Diamonds such a triumph – if not an emotional one for Karaka.
"It’s the team I knew we could be and I think we showed that, and I think it’s just been a lot of hard work, really, to get to how we did in this series.
"'Cause I knew that, and I believe that, we were better than what we have been putting out in the past few years and I think that just a lot of different things changed for us.
"We were really open to the change and to be vulnerable as a team and I think that really showed in the results that we had for this series."
The defender told Te Karere she was "just proud to be a part of the team". (Source: Te Karere)
For Karaka, this year marks a decade since debuting in the black dress in 2014, making her one of the most experienced players in the team.
"At the start of this year I was able to captain the team, and that was my 10 years of being in the team so being able to add this to my resume of being a netballer is amazing," she said.
Her international career includes a silver and gold medal from the Netball World Cups of 2015 and 2019 respectively. She also has a bronze medal from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and she’s looking forward to adding to the collection.
"I’m just ready for Comm Games and I wanna get really stuck in the prep for that. The next thing on my list is to get a gold medal there. I’ve been able to be a part of the World Cup in 2019 and then to be a part of this Constellation Cup team so for me, it's that Comm Games."
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