Kate Heffernan: Silver Ferns midcourter on her bid to move on to the Adelaide Thunderbirds

Silver Ferns are continuing to leave the ANZ Premiership and head across the ditch.

The latest being Kate Heffernan, with the Silver Ferns midcourter calling time on her career with the Southern Steel to sign with the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Super Netball competition. 

Fresh off the announcement of her move across the Tasman, Kate caught up with D'Arcy Waldegrave to discuss her reason for moving - and what makes playing over in Australia appealing.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildergrave
from News Talk Z'B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So let's keep coming. For New Zealand netball, they opened
up there eligibility rules and laws and a number of
players are making the most of that disappearing off over
to Australia to play some super netball. The latest is
Kate Heavn and she joins us now. Hello Kate, Hello,
how are you going? I'm going well, and you're going

(00:33):
to Australia. News has just come out that you are
often joined the Thunderbirds who are go as a So
how long has this process been going on for Kate?

Speaker 3 (00:45):
It's been a reason, I guess, a reasonably long process.
I have been talking to the club for a week
while now and I guess to to be able to
play for the Thunderbirds and also be eligible for selections
for the solar firms. Is it pretty cool? I guess tunity.

(01:06):
So I'm excited.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
So you were involved in talking before this got pushed through,
but you suspect that you would have been given or
granted the right to be eligible for the Black Dress
because this has been revolving as well. You kind of
had to hear it at the same time, didn't you.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, well, we were never I was always a little
bit hopeful, but I wasn't sure. I had Yeah, like
I said, been talking to the club for a wee
while and was definitely interested in potentially making the move eventually,
and was yeah, obviously hopeful when the word was out

(01:48):
that they might change the eligibility criteria slightly, and so yeah,
I was able to apply and yeah, get an exemption.
So that, Yeah, that's awesome because it's just a really
cool opportunity to be able to go over and play
in the Thunderbirds team and play in the e SECN,
which is a pretty awesome competition.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
I'm reading out of this that you would consider of
going even if you didn't get any form of eligibility,
you would have gone anyway, Would that be right?

Speaker 3 (02:16):
I don't know. I was waiting for that, I guess
to know whether that was whether it was accepted or
not to really see. Obviously, playing for the Silver Ferns
means a lot to me, and so I was I
was always really hopeful that if I was to make
the move that that would I'd have an exemption. And

(02:36):
if I didn't get an exemption, then I would have
to really consider, and I honestly don't know what I
really would would have done. So it was pre dependent
on getting the exemption over the line, to be honest,
as as as a big move for me, And so
I guess moving away from home and I love playing
for the Southern Steel and I think I needed to

(02:59):
also you know, be able to be eligible for the
Silver Ferns as well to probably make the move. But yeah,
that was always sort of on my mind, knowing that
it was always going to be up to that exemption.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Maybe Gordon flew the coop as well. They had to
come out today and she said, look, the Yeah, we
were unsure about what was happening around the premiership. So
that's why a lot of us went, hey, what are
our options? I had to keep them open. Is that
relevant in your case as well.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
Kate, Yeah, I guess so. I guess that was a
pretty unsettling time. We didn't know what the competition was
going to look like, and and we yeah, it kind
of made We've obviously been watching the SCN. It's been
just growing and it's been probably on a few of
the you know radars for a wee while as it's

(03:50):
getting you know, all the best players from all over
the world, and so I think there was a little
bit of that definitely like kind of opening up well
more considering those options due to it being a little
bit more unsettling here in New Zealand. But I think yeah,
either way, there was definitely probably going to be a
little bit of interest anyway more than.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Just a paycheck. What do you actually hope to achieve
with your time? And on how long have you signed for?
This is pretty fresh news you over there of this
for a year?

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well only yeah, only signed for a year. It's well,
I just want to I think it's just a little
bit while firstly training and playing against the players and
the Thunderbirds team. They've got an amazing defensive end and
so I'm really exciting young Australian netballers coming through in

(04:43):
the attack end. And I guess just just I want
to just keep rolling and I want to get myself
in the best best possible position to be at my
best at you know, obviously getting selected wanting to be
selected for a conwork games of World Cup and coming up.
So I think it's just a challenge for me and

(05:04):
something fresh and seeing what I can really where I
can take my game, and I think it's a pretty
when I looked at in that environment, and when I've
talked to them, looked like it was a pretty cool
place in somewhere that I think I can try and
you know, take that little step up and try and
be like the best that I can be.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
There's been talk about an exodus, about floodgates opening because
a number of players have moved just because of this
new ruling. Do you feel that it's the case. Do
you think the am Zed Premiership will be chopped down
to a second tier comp without some of the leading
players there.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
Well, to be honest, I don't know how many players
will be going. And while there's a you know, there's
obviously quite a few announcements happening at the moment, it
obviously depends on how many. And I still think that, yeah,
the Ange Premiership competition is still going to have silver
Ferns in it, and they're still going to have the
up and coming silver ferns and the future silver ferns

(06:04):
and you know in there. So it's still going to
be a really exciting competition. And there's I think that
it will potentially look a little bit different without you know,
a few Silver Ferns in it, But I think, yeah,
it's still going to be an exciting and a really
good competition, So I think while yeah, it's a little bit,

(06:24):
you know, they're losing a few ferns to it, it's not.
I think it's still going to be, you know, a.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
Good competition and finally last, but certainly not least heaven
and thinks so much for your time as per what's
more important to you The accessibility of Ferns playing at
the ain Z Premiership level, for the fans, for the
young girls who are playing coming through, or highly successful

(06:51):
silver Ferns and winning championships, winning World Cups. I don't
know if you can have both. And I'm kind of
angling at this, what do you think is more important
for the strength of.

Speaker 3 (07:03):
Netball out of all of those things.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, accessible ferns now and Z Premiership or a highly
successful Silver Ferns team that win things regularly.

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Well, I think there's They're all very important. I think
we still need to have. Obviously, this competition in New
Zealand is still crucial for developing Siward ferns. And yeah,
while I think it's going to be awesome, for this
all fans, and I think a really you know, great
step in the right direction for the soil fans to

(07:36):
be beating you know, the diamonds in Jamaica hopefully in
the future is getting more ferns into the s s N.
But I still think that the A and Z Premiership
is playing a massive role in you know, the future
of the Sulfur and success at those pinnacle events. So
I think there's there's yeah, probably not really an answer

(07:56):
to the question, but I think there's yeah. They both
have very high value.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
You've dealt with the media before. Well done, Kate Heffernan.
And that's the question which and I put out to
the listeners because of the way things are turning, they're
turning particularly fast and on that thanks so much for
giving us a call a good luck for your time
with the thunder Ferns, because they're calling the Firebirds the
fireferns now. So let's just carry on with it, right.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
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