by Brittany Carter
For Marji Parr, netball is so much more than just a game.
The sport has helped the South Coast Blaze head coach connect with her Fijian roots, represent the culture on her mother’s side of the family, and offered an opportunity to give back to the Pacific community that helped shape her values as a person.
In 2003 and 2007, the defender took the court at the World Championships for the Pearls. Twenty years on, it now feels like Parr has come full circle; coaching some of their upcoming superstars.
As the Illawarra-based Premier League franchise – spearheaded by Parr and co-head-coach Merryn Connolly in the Opens, and Heather Smith in the U23s – has been a key participant of the Pacific Aus Sports immersion program over the past 12 months.
Facilitated by the Australian Government (DFAT) and Netball Australia, the program aims to build people-to-people connections with our Pacific neighbours, support sporting excellence in the region and create pathways for athletes to benefit from high performance coaching and training.
“It’s the second year that we’ve had athletes with us as part of the immersion,” Parr said.
“I never got an opportunity like that myself, so it’s really important to see the impact this can have for Fijian athletes and the things they can learn from this level of exposure.
“For that reason, I’m really thankful for the program’s existence and to be involved, because it’s important they know how to adapt when they're on court in world tournaments.”
For a three-to-four-week stint, the Blaze took on three Fijian training partners around the same time they started their 2024 Premier League season: Pearls player Kalesi Tawake, and U21s representatives Yvonne Nalewbau and Susana Rasaubale.
These athletes got to experience what it was like to take the court at the elite state level and managed to fit in seamlessly with their Blaze teammates when coming off the bench in the opening two rounds.
Parr said it was no surprise the Fijian athletes were up for the challenge, as they’d already done about 11-13 training sessions during their stay before hitting the court.
“In 20 days, that's a lot of netball to put under your belt, but a credit to them, they took every opportunity to learn as much as they could and slotted into the sisters in red perfectly,” Parr said.
“They did the performance training, the conditioning, the recovery process and nutrition with us.
“There was a lot of fun and laughter at training, and they learnt valuable skills about adapting to a different style of play than they’re used to, so I was very excited for all three of them to be here and I think it's been a really nice experience for us as a club as well.”
The South Coast Blaze also kept Tawake, Nalewbau and Rasaubale very busy off the court, taking them through a vast variety of cultural experiences and adventures.
“Importantly, they learned things about our First Nations people, the Indigenous people in our particular region on the South Coast,” Parr said.
“Before going down to Kangaroo Valley, where they spent some time on an adventure wildlife experience, learning about Australian nature and being out in the bush.”
“They also went to Junee in the Riverina region to get a feel for country life, where they watched some AFL and met with some like-minded netball / AFL players connected to our Blaze family.”
The Blaze’s links with Fiji through the Pacific Aus Sports initiative has been a win-win situation for the franchise, who also got a chance to play overseas during the offseason.
Last October, South Coast players headed to Suva to participate in a round-robin Quad Series against two different Fijian sides, as well as Queensland Sapphire Series team the Sunshine Coast Thunder.
The series was held in order to help the Pearls prepare for their Pacific Games campaign, but the experiences the South Coast athletes got out of that tournament will also put their young netball careers in good stead.
Three rounds in, the Blaze U23s side is looking good, sitting in the top four with two wins on the board, while the Opens have a bit of work to do – currently none from three to start the season.
They will, however, be bolstered by the inclusion of former Giants star Kristina Brice in round four, after the shooter was part of the team that won the mixed division at the AMMNA Championships.
Netball NSW Premier League take place every Wednesday Night at Netball Central and every centre pass, intercept and goal will be streamed live and on demand via netballnsw.tv. Round 4 tickets available here
