Netball NI vice-captain Fionnuala Toner is hoping to compete at her third Commonwealth Games this summer.
Northern Ireland are currently 11th in the world rankings with the top 12 qualifying for the Birmingham showpiece which begins at the end of July.
Toner was a member of the squad that finished seventh at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and also went to the Gold Coast four years later when the side achieved another top eight finish.
Also capped for Ireland at basketball, Toner has opted out of playing in the English Super League this season and will be playing her club netball where her quest for international honours began.
“I’d done seven years in the Super League," she said.
"I’d also done professional exams in work, with the gap due to Covid it had opened my eyes to new opportunities so I’m still training with the girls back here and training hard, said Toner.
“It is really nice not to be on a plane twice a week at least, it is nice just to be a bit more settled and in a routine with training.
“Covid in 2020 showed me I didn’t miss the Super League as much as I thought, and I still have plenty going on in Belfast to keep me busy.
“I certainly still keep an eye on it and with the girls involved it’s good to be in touch with those teams.
“I’m back with Belfast Ladies where it all started, it is really nice to go back to that club and that group that taught me netball.”
After its hiatus due to Covid, the Netball Northern Ireland (NNI) Premier League is up and running again with Belfast Ladies winning their opening two matches.
“It is still difficult with Covid floating around so a couple of the first matches were cancelled," Toner added, "but it is great for Netball NI to get the league back up and running with all the teams we have.”
There has been a changing of the guard since the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the World Cup a year later but coach Elaine Rice still has plenty of experience in the squad in the preparations for Birmingham.
“They are still six or seven of us that are experienced, and it is good to bring the younger ones through, they have been training really hard with the emerging Warriors group which has fed them through to the senior group," Toner said.
“It is definitely a new look team, they have been working really hard and it is great to get them exposure at that level.”
Rice is back for her third spell as coach of the team and lead the squad at the last Commonwealth Games.
“It’s great to have Elaine back," Toner added.
"She would keep track of us even when she is not coach so to have her back in the setup, she has been to two Commonwealth Games with us, her experience is vast and second to none.”
Toner is part of the new Athletes’ Advisory Commission has been launched in Northern Ireland.
The five-member commission will provide advice and act as a consultative body for both the Team NI management and the Board of Commonwealth Games NI.
“It is good and something to get involved in," she added.
"It is something different to be able to hear other sports struggles and challenges along side ours as we go forward with the preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
“It has been really good and to also have that input to the main Commonwealth Games office has been really nice.”
