“I was surprised after having played only my first season in the ANZ Premiership, but was excited at the opportunity.
“I moved because I was offered an ANZ Premiership contract by the Tactix. I felt like I was good enough to be in ANZ this year after spending two years playing in the Beko League (the league below ANZ).
“The Tactix were the only team who approached me for the 2018 season as I was not offered a fulltime contract with the Pulse. Last year I was a training partner with the Pulse, which meant I only trained with them pre-season, but then went back and played in the Central Zone team in the Beko League.
“Once the season started I spent the majority of my time with my Beko team . . . game time for the Pulse, which wasn’t much, was a bonus.”
Poi quickly settled into her new environment in Christchurch.
“During the pre-season both teams (Pulse and Tactix) were similar in terms of training intensity. But this year, because I was a part of the contracted 10 players, I felt more comfortable in the team environment and was not just making up the numbers for trainings.”
Poi was a member of the of the NZ under-21 team who won the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup in Botswana. She also helped Central Zone team to victory in the 2017 Beko League.
“After coming out of these two successful campaigns I was approached in August of 2017 by Marianne (Delaney-Hoshek, the Tactix coach) to see if I’d be interested in playing for them in 2018. I’m glad I said yes.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be able to stay with a friend of Mum’s, Tracey, her husband Greg and their daughter Amelia in Ohoka (on the northern outskirts of Christchurch). This was exactly what I needed when moving to a new place and not knowing many people.
Poi justified Delaney-Hoshek’s faith by helping a team with a not-so-great past — eight wins in 65 games over five seasons — win seven games and make the playoffs for the first time in their history.
There was more to come as the Tactix went on to qualify for the Super Club tournament involving teams from New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Scotland, Australia and Fiji/Samoa at Nelson.
The Tactix won their three pool games and beat Australia’s NSWIS 64-62 to qualify for the final in which they were beaten 61-56 by the Pulse.
“We were all a bit gutted that we lost, considering how close the game was the whole time, Poi said. “But we were all proud of how we played and to make it to the finals was awesome. It was more than I ever expected us to do. Overall it’s a good starting point for better years to come.”
Poi said she was looking forward to the Fast 5 tournament.
“It’s another exciting opportunity to showcase what I can do. After training/playing normal seven-a-side netball for seven months straight, something different will be fun. I haven’t played Fast 5 competitively but played it once in a fun training session.”
Now that she has made the NZ Development and A squads, Poi said her long-term goal was to become a Silver Fern.
“I’m not rushing to do this. When the time’s right then the time’s right . . . whether it’s next year, the year after, in three years or five years.
“At the moment I’m just looking to keep developing my game and enjoy playing netball with my friends.”
