Kate Burley has been named in the Silver Ferns for the first time, after a standout season with the Southern Steel pushed her out of her comfort zone.
A quick pit stop in the deep south is to thank for Kate Burley’s first Silver Ferns call up.
Calling Auckland home, the 26-year-old spent two seasons playing for the Southern Steel in netball’s ANZ Premiership, moving away from her very close support system.
“Sometimes the thing that scares you the most is what can make the most difference and what can be the most impactful,” the defender says.
“Moving down to the Steel was something I’d never considered before I moved down…if you’d asked me a year before, I would have said no, that I would stay in Auckland.
“You’ve got to do those things that scare you sometimes, and that’s when you see the most growth within yourself because that’s definitely when I have.”
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And this week, Burley was announced in the 2023/2024 Silver Ferns squad - her first time making the senior team after years in the development squad.
“Going down there, one of my big goals was to grow and give myself the best opportunity to put myself forward for Ferns,” Burley says on her move south.
“So it’s quite nice that this is the outcome of moving down to the Steel and I definitely owe it to the opportunity I had down there and the court time and the exposure and the growth they allowed me to do. I definitely owe them a lot.”
Burley is now coming home, signing for the Stars for the upcoming domestic season - where she started her career as a training partner in 2017 and 2018 - and earning a full-time contract for the next two years.
She then won an ANZ Premiership title with the Northern Mystics in 2021, before making the big move. This year with the Steel was a tough challenge, the side losing all 15 of their games and finishing bottom of the table.
Despite the results, Burley took it as an opportunity to grow and focus on her own game.
“Even in my first year down there, I felt a difference in who I was as a person, I grew up a lot,” she says.
“But this year, it was a little bit more of a challenge because obviously we were losing, but for me personally, it was quite good to focus on what I can bring and what my strengths were. Even when we weren’t getting results, it was about focusing on how I could change the next time we came up against that team and what little improvements I could make each week.
“It was good to really focus on those little one percenters because it’s such a good set up down there and it takes five minutes to get everywhere, there’s not really any distractions so it was really good to focus on all my processes and try turn up and be the best player I can be every week.”
Having to make the decision to return home for the 2024 ANZ Premiership season was difficult, despite the self-described people-person wanting to be closer to her family and friends.
“It was really tough actually, it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be,” Burley explains.
“I always knew eventually I was going to come home to be with my partner, to be with my family, but actually coming down to telling Reinga [Bloxham] the coach and telling the girls was a lot tougher than what I was expecting.
“Just because I built so many strong friendships down there and their family is really welcoming and the coaching and the management group, they were so awesome and welcoming. They really did turn into a little family for me so it was quite hard being like oh man I’m actually not going to be coming back here to play with you guys.”
Kate Burley reaching the heights of Grace Nweke, the tallest shooter in the ANZ Premiership.
The Silver Ferns play three games against the England Roses as part of the Taini Jamison series at home in September, before co-hosting the Constellation Cup with Australia in October.
Burley is still lost for words about what the opportunity to don the black dress means to her.
“I’m trying to understand how I’m feeling because it’s the most amazing thing and it’s hard to put into words,” she says.
“To actually be in the group, I am so grateful and I still can’t really believe it’s true, I keep thinking it’s a bit of a dream, and it’s so overwhelming. I had a little bit yesterday when I was just shaking because I was like oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is happening.”
Burley’s time in the development squad and being able to train alongside the Ferns gave her extra motivation to keep working towards her goal.
“It makes you want to work hard, it makes you want to put yourself forward to try and get that opportunity to get the call up,” she explains.
At just 1.80m, Burley finished the ANZ Premiership season third for defensive rebounds, playing 12 full games at goal keep for the Steel this season. As a shorter goal keep, she proved her ability to get up for the ball, also having the second-most deflections.
She isn’t too sure where coach Dame Noeline Taurua will want her to play for the Ferns yet, but she’s just happy to be learning in the environment.
“I’m really excited to be learning from her and I can’t wait to pick her brain and soak up everything she has to tell me,” Burley says.
“It will be really special to be coached by her and to learn from the older and more experienced defenders in the group.”
Burley graduated this year with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in physiology & psychology and is considering doing some post-grad study. Eight years of some full-time and some part-time study was tough to balance with netball, but gave Burley an escape from the athlete life.
“It wasn’t always easy when you’re trying to balance assignments, lab reports, lectures, labs, with our schedule,” she says.
“But I also really appreciated the balance, and being able to have something to focus my attention on and put netball aside if it’s not always going well.”
For now, netball is the focus, with the chance to make her Silver Ferns debut next month in front of family and friends.
“That would just be the most amazing feeling, like okay it was all worth it,” Burley says on a potential home debut.
“It’s not always easy, especially being away from home, that was huge for me, and I think it’s like this feeling that it was all worth it and that the hard work has been worth it even when it is tough on some days.”
Burley’s parents, Bridget and Peter, have been to almost every single game of her netball career, travelling around the country to see their daughter play, and are a huge part of her support system.
“They’ll definitely be there with huge smiles on their faces, that would definitely make me cry, so hopefully I can’t find them in the crowd,” Burley laughs.
“I’m just excited, I’m really really stoked to have this opportunity, I’ll just see where it takes me but I understand this is only the beginning of it.
“Being named in the squad is such a privilege but now I’ve got to work hard to get that opportunity to play and hopefully get that chance out on court.”
*The Taini Jamison series against the England Roses starts on September 24 in Christchurch, before moving north to Porirua on the 27th and Hamilton on the 30th.
