Having withdrawn from three New Zealand netball camps in the space of two years, even talented Northern Force goal-shooter Daneka Wipiiti considered she may have struck out of luck with the national selectors.
So being one of five players recently named to participate with the Silver Ferns squad in a
November training camp came as "a big surprise" for the 1.94m New Plymouth-bred 23-year-old.
"It was definitely unexpected but it's something that I've been working hard for over the last year or two and really now it's in my hands to keep pushing," Wipiiti said.
"The camp is definitely another chance to take a step forward.
"It's an opportunity to really knock loudly on the door and say I'm here if anything goes wrong.
"I'm just really excited about being able to get together with the girls and train alongside them again."
Wipiiti was widely tipped for stardom when, at only 19, she turned out for the Silver Ferns in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games after a brief career with the Western Flyers in the national league.
However, she was demoted from the New Zealand squad in January 2003 after controversially twice pulling out of national camps and looked to have cemented herself in the bad books when she withdrew from a New Zealand A camp the following year for personal reasons.
"When I made the Ferns it was a huge honour," Wipiiti recalled.
"I was young and I think it was a whole different aspect of my game that I was called on to perform and I really didn't know what was expected of me with training and general responsibilities.
"I really wanted to give the Ferns my all but I just didn't know if it (netball) was something I was ready to do at that stage, which is why I decided to take a step back.
"I remember the day I told them I was pulling out, I was pretty torn because, as you can imagine, it was something I'd always dreamed of doing."
Now well and truly established in the shooting circle of the North Harbour-based Force, Wipiiti is ready to make a break back into the Silver Ferns.
"Every sportsperson wants to play for their country and with a bit of hard work, in a year who knows."
- NZPA
