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After a very public fall from grace as a teen, Auckland-based Southern Steel shooter Daneka Wipiiti sees the new ANZ Championship as a chance to push her case for national reselection.
Wipiiti, who fought her way back into the wider New Zealand squad last year, played six tests for the Ferns in 2002 and is eager to wear black again.
A prodigious talent, she debuted for the Silver Ferns at just 19 and was viewed as the future of New Zealand netball with her extraordinary height and ability to shoot from anywhere.
But underneath that cool, calm exterior, the girl from Taranaki was tormented by a debilitating condition.
Her illness was brought to a head by the disappointment of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Wipiiti inexplicably withdrew from the Silver Ferns squad after Manchester and it was thought she couldn't handle the pressure, but few knew she was fighting depression. Riddled with self-doubt, the Commonwealth Games proved one of her darkest times.
"I was really young when I first got in there and it just kind of threw me that I got there so fast and I didn't really realise the pressures that came with playing in the Ferns. I just needed to take some time out and take a step back," Wipiiti explained.
"But now I know what it takes to be a Silver Fern and really want to get there again."
With Jodi Brown (nee Te Huna) making herself unavailable for the international season this year, there will be a vacancy in the Silver Ferns shooting circle - a spot Wipiiti has her eye on.
"I've got unfinished business with the Ferns. I'd love to get back in there for my Dad and all the people who supported me. I just want to show them that I've done it, I've come through probably the biggest black hole I'll ever have to come through and got to the other side."
While she is now certainly more grounded and mature, Wipiiti will need to shake off the "inconsistent" tag that has followed her for much of her career.
The 25-year-old has long been viewed as a netballing enigma - she has the curious habit of landing a long shot in one play and then missing a sitter under the post in the next.
These bouts of inconsistency have prevented Wipiiti from fulfilling her true potential but there is no doubting her extraordinary talent.
At 1.94m, Wipiiti is easily the tallest player in the country and has incredible athleticism for someone so tall. She combines a strong holding game with exceptional movement around the circle. She displays better movement and agility than Irene van Dyk, widely regarded as the best shooter in the world, but Wipiiti doesn't have the same accuracy.
Wipiiti made strong inroads towards improving her accuracy when she moved to the Sting for the final season of the National Bank Cup. There she linked up with another former Silver Fern Donna Wilkins (nee Loffhagen) and flourished, appearing to play with a lot more confidence. But with Wilkins ending her playing days to take up a role as assistant coach at the Steel franchise, and midcourt magician Adine Wilson taking time out for the birth of her first baby, Wipiiti won't have the same support system on court. But she said having Wilkins on the sideline will certainly be a big help.
"Donna's great, she helps me with all the shooting aspects and she still thinks like a player so it's almost as if she's like a player-coach even though she won't be taking the court."
While there is a lot riding on the season, Wipiiti can't wait for the new transtasman competition to start. Having debuted for the Western Flyers when she was 15, Wipiiti is one of just a handful of players to have featured in all 10 years of New Zealand's domestic franchise competition.
"You kind of get bored playing the same teams year in year out so the new competition is going to be great. And just to get the chance to test yourself against the best players in Australia and play against different styles of defence will be awesome."
The Southern Steel take on the NSW Swifts in their season opener on Monday April 7.
