Netball legends come out of retirement with something to pass on.
Given the success of Pango Productions’ three seasons of Match Fit – in which former rugby and league legends were reunited and challenged to get fit enough for a competitive match – extending the franchise was a logical step. But it’s striking how different Game On, the netball version, is to its predecessors.
While Match Fit found a few former players not in a good place physically or mentally, and most with a few extra kilos on board, the former Silver Ferns – Irene van Dyk, Temepara Bailey, Adine Wilson, Joline Johansson, Casey Kopua and Linda Vagana – are in comparatively good shape in Game On. Wilson (who got through melanoma and a broken neck in her playing days) frets about her nagging achilles, but they’re all ready to at least take the first test.
“They had a level of fitness, but they obviously weren’t what you’d call match fit,” says coaching legend Yvonne Willering, who takes charge of the team alongside Yvette McCausland-Durie. “So they had to gain that. You’ve got to appreciate, they had a standard when they were at Silver Ferns level. They were never going to match that standard. But having said that, they certainly weren’t going to let themselves down.”
The drama instead turns on a new element: the six promising young players who will be their teammates at a forthcoming tournament. The teenagers need to show confidence and motivation as well as physical ability, and that’s hard for some of them. The former international players, several of whom became mothers while they were still playing, become mentors.
“Initially, the youngsters were looking and going, ‘Yes, we can beat you at this and that,’” says Willering. “There was really nothing that you’d call a ‘team’ about them. So we looked at how this was going to develop, and the great thing about it was that it did develop. It was just a great bond that the seniors and the juniors had together. So I think the theme is slightly different in bringing those youngsters through and doing what is required for that, and also that there was quite a lot of focus on life away from the sport as well.”
Willering says she enjoyed working with the former internationals in a new context. “For me, it wasn’t just about reconnecting with the experience – that was a wonderful experience, because some of them I had coached in the past. But what I loved about this programme is I actually got to get to know them as people rather than just as players. When I coached, the focus in those days was mainly on getting ready for games because we had limited preparation time.”
The famously stern coach acknowledges that the game has changed since she was involved at the highest levels. “It was a different standard, where basically the coach stated things and then you did it. The generation now, it’s all about, ‘Why?’”
Where the youngsters go now remains to be seen, but for several of the veterans, the show has been enough to get them back on court more regularly.
“A few of them are back playing right now, which I find just amazing. Especially Casey Kopua, who’s now playing in the Australian Super Netball League. And at Netball North Harbour, there’s a group of players who are now playing together, so that’s pretty cool.”
There are plenty of laughs in the show, especially when the players first assemble. But, says Willering, the players became increasingly competitive as the challenges mounted.
“I’m proud of them. Everyone was out of their comfort zone at some point.”
Game On starts on Three on Tuesday, July 15 at 7.30pm, and on ThreeNow.
