By Iliesa Tora, Senior Sports Journalist at rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission
The Tonga Tala netball team is wary of the challenge they will receive at the upcoming PacificAUS Netball series in Brisbane.
Captain Hulita Veve (C – left on front row) with her Tala team after winning their third PacificAus Netball Series title in 2023. She returns to lead the side in Brisbane in February. Photo: Netball Australia Photo: Netball Australia
The series is scheduled to take place from 17 to 22 February at the Nissan Arena.
Head coach Jaqua Pori Makea-Simpson said although they have won the past four series titles, they expect the next series to be tougher than the last four.
She said all competing teams have improved, which will make their goal of winning their fifth consecutive title difficult.
“The Australian First Nation side are back in their the second year. They’re our first match up and they were really tough for us to play against last year, just with different styles of netball,” she said.
“They’re quite exciting. Fiji have been getting closer and closer to us every single time we’ve played. And Samoa have recruited really well.
“The last time we faced Papua New Guinea was at the Pacific Games in 2023 and the gap between us and other nations are starting to close, so we’re going to have to bring our A game.
“And the difficulty in these tournaments is that it’s day after day, having to back up on those performances. But we’re up for the challenge, and we’ll see how we go, it’s going to be an incredible series.”
Defending their PacificAUS Netball Series title will be tough for the Tongan Tala, who have won the last four titles. Photo: Netball Australia Photo: Netball Australia
Makea-Simpson said they aim to go and play “the best netball” they can and reclaim their title but believes they still have a lot of work to do before the event.
“We want to get out some new players and debut and give them opportunity to thrive in the environment. The ultimate goal is to have that fifth title, but we have a lot of work to do before we get there to that grand final day,” she said.
“This is probably going to be the toughest of all of the Pacific series that we’ve played.”
Veve returns to squad
Tonga Netball has announced the squad to represent Tonga at the event.
One of the notable names is long-time captain Hulita Veve, who makes a return after missing out of last year’s series because of club contract.
She plays for the Queensland Firebirds in the Australia Super Netball competition.
Makea-Simpson said the captain’s return means a lot for the team.
“Hulita has been an important part of our program. For the past three years, she has captained Tala,” she said.
“We are really grateful to have her back for the next series. She brings strength and confidence to our group, just in the way she leads.
“She leads by an example, with an incredible work ethic, and there’s no doubt, she’s obviously a bit of a game changer at times, and we’re excited to have her back.”
Veve will lead aside that includes experienced hands like the Palavi sisters of Beyonce and top goalshotter Uneeq, with a number of Under-21 players called up for premier team duties.
Makea-Simpson said having that mix was important for the team and the future of Tonga Netball.
“Look, we are quite deliberate in the way that we create opportunities for our younger players,” she said.
“We have debuted new players every time that Tala has competed, you know, we’re fortunate that we actually have a lot of depth in our team.
“The important thing for us, particularly with these young under 21s, is they have the Youth World Cup towards the end of the year in Gibraltar and sometimes the only place to learn how to play under pressure and to thrive in that competitive environment is actually to be in one so that wasthe purpose of us being deliberate in these selections.”
Tonga youth netball team playing at the Oceania Youth Netball qualifiers last year in Rarotonga. Some of the players are in the Tala squad for the PacificAUS Netball Series to be played in Brisbane in February. Photo: Tonga Netball Photo: Tonga Netball
Under-21s learning
Makea-Simpson said the youth players will learn a lot from the series and hopes that can help their team at the youth world meet.
The Youth World Cup is still eight months away and adds there is so much excitement that the youth team has qualified for their world meet for the first time.
“It’s super exciting for Tonga to have qualified a team for the first time and I think that probably a little bit of a point of difference for us is that we have used these Pacific netball series to provide our under 21 players with a platform to get experience, which is probably a unique situation,” she said.
“Some of them will go into that program as ready as they can be, I think, and as ready as we could have made them.
“We hope that they are going to do Tonga really, really proud. They are an exciting bunch of young women, and we are excited to be taking them there and wearing the red dress.”
She said the Tala coaching team and Tonga Netball have done a lot in the past three years to ensure that the team is consistent.
That has seen them win the past four PacAUS series titles, the Oceania Championship and the Pacific Games titles.
She points to building players to build their own self-discipline and their accountability outside of their program and having a Kingdom supporting them.
“We’re really, really lucky that our players have great support networks in their home and local spaces and for the most part, they come to us ready to play, so half the work is actually done for us,” she said.
“And you know, it’s that old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. It’s much the same with a net baller who you don’t have in a full-time program. We rely on the people around them, but also the discipline from them as athletes to make sure that they’re ready to put their best foot forward.”
She said the Tala coaches and management are clear on “what our purpose is and what our Why is”.
“We know that it’s bigger than us. We know that it’s bigger than our game, you know, and when those girls put that red dress on, there’s something really special and empowering in that, and I think that drives them to succeed every single time we play,” she added.
Tala head coach Jaqua Pori Makea-Simpson receives her medal by King Tupou VI in a special medal ceremony in Nuku’alofa in 2024 to honour the achievements the Tala team has done for Tonga. Photo: Tonga Netball Photo: Tonga Netball
Special relationship
Meanwhile, Makea-Simpson, who is also general manager of Taranaki Netball, said she loves her relationship with Tonga and her people, build through her involvement with Tonga Netball.
She said she is lucky to have been accepted by the people of Tonga and she is proud to be involved the way she has been in helping develop the sport she loves in the island kingdom.
“Tonga and its people are very, very special to me,” she said.
“It’s a relationship that has grown over the last few years, and I have been embraced and loved by them, like I’m one of their own.
“And it’s a life changing experience. It’s very difficult for me to describe, but there’s a genuine connection that I have with Tonga and its people, and it has changed my life.
“I will rather be grateful to them, and I couldn’t be a more prouder non-Tongan. I don’t think you will find one anywhere else in the world.”
She was honoured along with her Tala players in September last year by King Tupou VI, who presented special medals to them for what they have been able to achieve in netball for Tonga.
The Tongan Tala squad for the PacificAUS Netball Series in Brisbane next month. Supplied Photo: Tonga Netball
