Northern Stars Captain announcement
NORTHERN STARS CAPTAIN CONFIRMEDLeana de
Bruin will lead the Northern Stars for the inaugural season
of the ANZ Premiership, named as the first captain of New
Zealand’s newest professional sports team.
While de
Bruin says the news may not come as a huge surprise for
some, coach Julie Hoornweg involved the rest of the team
before making the decision. “Although it may be expected,
you don’t know for sure how the other players feel” she
said, “obviously I’m not getting any younger and Julie
may have wanted to look to the future, so it’s a real
privilege.”
Senior midcourter Courtney Tairi will support de Bruin as vice captain.
The Silver Ferns centurion, who has now retired from international netball, is relishing the chance to lend her experience, tactical nous and professional attitude to the Stars, and is excited by the young talent in the team. “It’s great to see how they take on board what you tell them” de Bruin said, “I’m looking forward to seeing how they continue to grow.”
de Bruin is eager to see how it all comes together on court when the Stars join the other five ANZ Premiership teams for the pre-season tournament at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Otaki. “We haven’t played together at all, so I have no idea what to expect, but every week we’ve become fitter, more agile and used to the way Julie trains. She’s really open and honest, and there are no shortcuts”, de Bruin said of Hoornweg’s style. “It’s a bit of old-school.”
The pre-season tournament will be played on March 10-12 and the ANZ Premiership begins on March 26.