Netball: Prop's niece making mark on the court - in her own quiet way

Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick playing for the Silver Ferns in 2011. Photo / Getty Images

When the Auckland Blues were at the peak of their powers in the mid-1990s, a softly-spoken tighthead prop set the foundation for the likes of Zinzan Brooke, Carlos Spencer and Jonah Lomu to showcase their tricks.

Like most props, Olo Brown didn't attract many headlines - though that was partly his own doing. He barely spoke to the media.

On Monday night at Trusts Arena in Henderson, another softly-spoken athlete of Samoan heritage stepped out on the court for the Northern Mystics against the Central Pulse. Brown's niece Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick - a staunch defender who also goes about her business with minimal fuss - was making her first start for the Mystics this year.

After a whirlwind last few years - which has seen Tone-Fitzpatrick do stints at the Waikato BOP Magic, the Southern Steel and spend time away from netball to have twins - both the Mystics and Steel were competing for her services this season. She says she "loved it" down south, but, with life's priorities having changed since the arrival of Tevita and Theresa on Boxing Day 2013, she wanted to be closer to family.

Debbie Fuller, the Mystics coach who has benefited from that decision, says Tone-Fitzpatrick's anticipation is a big plus.

"She's a real thinking defender who can read things very early."

Tomorrow night the Mystics take on one of Tone-Fitzpatrick's old sides, the Southern Steel, in West Auckland at Trusts Arena.

The southerners come to town with one of the competition's biggest strike weapons - the 1.98m Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid. Tone-Fitzpatrick, along with Kayla Cullen and Temalisi Fakahokotau, will have the job of keeping her under control. That's easier said than done. Fowler-Reid was the second-most accurate shooter in the league last season, just behind the Mystics' Cathrine Latu.

The Mystics' own import, Serena Guthrie, was a dominant figure at wing defence in their win over the Pulse on Monday, while their attacking end of Latu and Maria Tutaia shot at more than 90 per cent.

Last season these two sides shared a win each in two matches, but the Steel have won three of their last four encounters and have a history of playing well after a bye.

Rising star

Name: Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick.
Position: GK/GD for the Northern Mystics.
Born: August 20, 1992.
Height: 1.88m.
Representative: One cap for the Silver Ferns (2011). Previously played for the Waikato BOP Magic and Southern Steel.