Tutaia thrives in team

While it's only a few months old, 2008 has been a year of change for Silver Ferns shooter Maria Tutaia.

Not only has the Tokoroa-born Samoan swapped the blue of the Auckland Diamonds with the yellow, black and red of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, there have been changes afoot on the personal front.

Feeling comfortable with the "home body" tag, Tutaia has moved out of the Auckland family home and relocated to a Hamilton residence shared by teammate Joline Henry and her partner.

While Auckland is only a short, 1 1/2-hour drive from Hamilton, it's enough distance to give the 20-year-old some newfound independence - even though she confessed to travelling up State Highway 1 for a dose of home cooking most weekends.

"Things are going really, really great. Joline is a good flattie," Tutaia smiled.

Since Tutaia's move south of the Bombay Hills, 25-year-old Henry has taken it upon herself to show the goal attack around the city Tutaia described as, "a mini Ponsonby Rd".

"We have been scoping out the shops and I am starting to get a feeling of what it's like," she said.

Settling into her new professional home at Magic has also taken some getting used to.

"I don't miss the Diamonds, but I miss the team. I miss the girls. You always have a close bond with any team you play with. In saying that, I am very happy with where I'm at."

Moving to the Magic has reunited the 1.88m goal attack with her Silver Ferns shooting compatriot, Irene van Dyk.

Despite both players donning the black dress for last year's world championship campaign, surprisingly, the pair have played very little netball together.

"People think that we are a match made in heaven," Tutaia told the Daily Post, "but there are always things you can improve on. We don't want to peak too soon."

It's a sentiment echoed by the South African-born goal shoot.

"We are actually combining quite well. There are small things that are happening that are really nice, like little passes in the circle," van Dyk said.

At the recent pre-season tournament at Waipa, the duo were put in the circle together, with encouraging results. Their combined shooting contributed to Magic's four-from-four win record against opposition including the New South Wales Swifts, Australian Institute of Sport and New Zealand teams Canterbury Tactix and Central Pulse.

Even though the on-court awareness is there, it still requires some nurturing, said Van Dyk.

"You can't really speed it up. You have to practise it, feeling it out together. Having tough competition like Joline and Casey [Williams] to practise with is great."