After an interminable comeback from injuries, Michaela Sokolich-Beatson thought she’d never wear the silver fern again - until she led the FAST5 Ferns to a netball world final. Suzanne McFadden writes from Christchurch.
It was a feeling Michaela Sokolich-Beatson struggled to put into words.
Pride; relief; disbelief? Redemption, for her 26-month torturous, frustrating recovery from back-to-back snapped Achilles tendons?
Surreal was the word she settled on. “I think when I reflect on the weekend, I’ll say ‘I actually did it’,” the FAST5 Ferns captain says.
“Because I never thought I would wear the fern on my chest ever again.”
It’s been an excruciating five years since 27-year-old Sokolich-Beatson last played for the Silver Ferns, against the Australian Diamonds in August 2018.
Those who know the determined defender blessed with an innate sense of leadership knew she’d be back. But maybe no one could have predicted it would be this drawn-out between internationals.
Over the weekend, Sokolich-Beatson led the New Zealand side into the final of the FAST5 Netball World Series in Christchurch. It was her first time playing the abridged version of the code, and the second time she’d captained a national side (the other, the triumphant NZ U21 side at the 2017 World Youth Cup).
It’s been a torrid time for the 11-test Silver Fern since she ruptured her right Achilles on tour with the Silver Ferns in England back in January 2020. Nine months later, after carefully managing her rehabilitation, Sokolich-Beatson snapped her left Achilles at a New Zealand A training camp. Her second fightback was longer, more painful and more harrowing than the first.
Then in the FAST5 final against Australia last night, Sokolich-Beatson had a shocking reminder of that ordeal, when she landed awkwardly taking a pass and her left foot shuddered. “I was worried,” she said after the Ferns’ 35-23 loss. “I pinched my Achilles and said ‘Are you still there?’ But it’s so strong now, this one especially.”
Her first game back in the black dress was a long time coming, “but it was so much fun”, she enthused. In a comprehensive win over Malawi in the Ferns’ tournament opener, the Northern Mystics captain made two crucial intercepts and was in her element in the frenetic, entertaining five-a-side game.
“I play a naturally longer attacking game so I tend to take up other people’s space in seven-a-side. This game is probably better for me because I’m not getting on top of people,” she said.
FAST5 Ferns coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek was thrilled to see Sokolich-Beatson back to her pre-injury best. “Didn’t she have a stunner? It’s just awesome to see her at that level dominating on court,” she said.
Whitney Souness, the Ferns vice captain in this series, was there both times Sokolich-Beatson’s Achilles snapped.
“I remember both, because I know the pain when you suffer a major injury,” says Souness, who did her ACL missing all of the 2016 netball season.
“It’s so hard to see your team-mate go down hurt - twice. But seeing her pick herself up, come back each time and be really resilient - and then killing it this weekend - is awesome.”
At 28, Souness was the oldest FAST5 Fern, but this was her first time in a leadership role at this level.
“I’ve learned a lot from Mikki this weekend. I was a bit nervous before but it’s given me confidence to speak up and take charge more,” the Silver Ferns midcourter says.
Sokolich-Beatson wasn’t the only captain at the FAST5 making her return from a similar string of injuries. England’s Razia Quashie, also had two Achilles injuries which threatened to prematurely end her career - and had to deal with the emotional hurt of England Netball mistaking her for two other black players in a social media birthday post blunder. Rising above it, she led England to bronze over South Africa.
The Ferns finished the first of two days with two wins and a loss, going down to Australia by nine at the end of the day. “We were gutted because we went away from our game plan, our shot selection wasn’t the best. But we weren’t too disheartened,” Sokolich-Beatson says.
She took a tumble in that game, which elicited a gasp from the sparkling pink and silver sections of the crowd. But Sokolich-Beatson no longer fears the worst when she hits the deck.
”When I’m in the zone it doesn’t bother me,” she laughs. “I train against Peta Toeava week in, week out, and that girl puts me on the floor at least three times a session.”
She was concerned before the series, though, about mastering the dance moves of her team-mates - now a FAST5 pre-game ritual. But she held her own.
The Ferns booked their spot in the final - an improvement on their bronze in Christchurch last year - after smothering Jamaica 50-16 bolstered by consecutive supershot six-pointers from the hands of Tiana Metuarau. But in the final, they were smothered by Australia’s superb defence and couldn’t find space to put up the long shots.
But Sokolich-Beatson wants to return next year, when the tournament is again played in New Zealand. “Seeing your team-mates flourish is also what FAST5 is about. Some of these players haven’t had much international netball, so this is an awesome space for them to showcase their skills,” she says. Players like fellow defender Kate Burley, who was on fire in the Ferns’ nervy win over South Africa.
Was it also a chance for Sokolich-Beatson to showcase her return to form to New Zealand selectors, who will choose Silver Ferns and development squads before the end of the year (she missed out on both this past season)?
”I don’t feel they would put much onus on this. I feel it’s how you play throughout the ANZ Premiership,” she says. “But it’s an opportunity to wear the black dress again - and I feel I still have a lot to prove.”
Another experienced Kiwi defender made a successful comeback at the tournament. Kruze Tangira stepped back from international netball a year ago, but when as a TV commentator he saw the enjoyment the Net Blacks had winning last year’s FAST5, he wanted to experience it.
“I had a bit of a cry the night before,” says Tangira, now a Sky Sport commentator and a reporter on TV news and current affairs show, Te Karere.
“I know these moments are few and far between for me now, and I don’t know how much I have left in me in terms of playing for New Zealand. But this sport has given me so much. I wouldn’t be in the job I have today if it wasn’t for netball.”
The Net Blacks were unbeaten in their three games in Christchurch, with a narrow win over South African U23 men, making their debut at international FAST5, and dominating Australia’s Kelpies 51-34 in the final. The player with the most sublime shot at the tournament, goal attack Thompson Matuku’s 12 points from two shots in the third quarter - when Australia only scored three - sealed their fate.
Tangira, who brings a calming presence to the court, was reduced to tears again on becoming a world champion.
“I think back to when I was six and bullied by other kids and parents on the netball court for doing something I really love,” he says. “Who would have thought even 10 years ago that men would be playing on the same stage as women?
“That was more than just a game for our team - it’s a dream come true.”
