NETBALL: Sulu Fitzpatrick adamant she won’t be back

Sulu Fitzpatrick of Northern Mystics.
Photo: Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz

Sulu Fitzpatrick is adamant she won’t be back.

The Mystics captain will play her final game of domestic netball in the ANZ Premiership final on Sunday against the Stars in Hamilton and says there will be no way she will be lured out of retirement next season.

After picking up her first professional contract as a 17-year-old schoolgirl Fitzpatrick’s career has taken a winding road that has seen her turn out for five different franchises and end up where it all began.

“It’s unbelievable that, despite everywhere I’ve had to go to keep playing that every milestone I’ve been able to experience at the Mystics debut, 50, 100 and 150th and final game in a weird way, I guess it truly was meant to be and my heart is here with the Mystics. It’s where I was given the first opportunity and where I’ll bow out as well and make space for the next players coming through,” the 30-year-old says.

Playing in a grand final as her last game is a script that she says couldn’t have been written better.

In her time Fitzpatrick has seen the competition change and those who play it be offered more opportunities.

“The dynamics within teams are very different. Back when I first started, you’d probably spend a few years on the bench before you even got any real court time and that was just the way it was.

“There were players that had cemented their positions for years and were stalwarts of New Zealand netball but what you’re seeing now or as we’ve transitioned into our own domestic comp again, is players are making debuts, you can make a debut as a training partner.

“What it means is there are a lot of opportunities for players but it’s probably also more difficult to cement a spot in the seven because there is so much competition and a more even spread of talent as opposed to those stalwarts like Maria [Folau] and Cathrine [Latu] and Bubby [Temepara Bailey] that was their position and no one could argue with it.

“So I’m hoping that the depth continues to grow across the country so that we’re not needing to call on players that have retired including me next year – that will definitely be a hard no – but I am looking forward to seeing how netball continues to change and evolve.”

Fitzpatrick says some things in netball haven’t changed: “It’s always been about independent strong women getting things done with next to nothing.”

But she has changed her perspective thanks to those who have been part of her netball journey.

“What I’ve learned from people along the way is resilience, respect, an understanding that leadership is through service. That’s something I’ve learned through coaches that have stood by me through the years and given me countless opportunities as I went to different teams trying to stay playing and through players and leadership that supported me and helped me to grow and learn. I know that there’s a lot of lessons that I’ve learned that I’m able to share my learnings with players coming through.”

Fitzpatrick is grateful to her husband and family “who were there for every high and every very low, low, low” during her time as a netballer and a mum.

In her early 20s Fitzpatrick took a break from the game when she had twins. She didn’t know if she would return but she did and her children will be in Hamilton on Sunday for the grand final and a chance for the Mystics to win a second title.

“I’m not so much focused on the title. The biggest thing that I want to make sure is that what I put up there on court is something a bit they can be proud of, and that’s where my heart sits. I would never want to win, knowing that I wasn’t playing with the right values or doing it the right way.

“So if I can play a good brand of netball that I’m proud of and that I know in my heart I had courage and I was brave as a leader and as a player then I will be happy to make my kids proud.

“To be honest they probably don’t care. They love being at netball. But in terms of watching the game, all they care is win or lose and that’s probably about as far as their attention spans go which is good, very grounding keeps you down to earth, and they probably care more that mum is going to be more in their lives from next year.”