[ad_1]
Sulu Fitzpatrick kept her composure for nearly two weeks.
However, as Sunday’s ANZ Premiership final approached – her last match in domestic netball – the retiring Northern Mystics captain said her emotions took over through to their 74-56 victory in the decider over the Northern Stars.
The Mystics had two weeks in between finishing first in the last regular season match and the grand final in Hamilton.
SKY SPORT
The title favourites scored their second ANZ Premiership final win by seeing off the Stars in Hamilton.
Once the final whistle sounded, the 30-year-old goalkeeper was mobbed by her team-mates after re-entering the court for the last 13 minutes to see out a memorable win that clinched the Mystics’ second title after their first in 2021.
READ MORE:
* Perfect end for Sulu Fitzpatrick as Mystics beat Stars in ANZ Premiership final
* Sulu Fitzpatrick determined to make a difference in Pacific community upon retirement
* Recap: Mystics v Stars, ANZ Premiership final
“I didn’t realise the toll it had taken emotionally in the build-up. We were impatient and ready to go,” she said.
“My legs felt very heavy that game. The thing that I was most proud of was that every single player got on the court.”
Fitzpatrick has had her share of ups and downs. She has battled depression, alcohol, self-doubt and a surprise pregnancy earlier in her career. She might have been lost to the sport, with injuries another concern, but she has persevered.
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Sulu Fitzpatrick lifted the trophy to finish her domestic career in perfect fashion.
She has played 27 tests for the Silver Ferns since her international debut in 2011 and could be called up again to the World Cup squad on Wednesday, but that seemed like the furthest thing from her mind on Sunday night.
“I was nearly sobbing before the first whistle even went,” she said.
“I’m not usually one to cry, but the emotions hit you in waves. I was coming in and out of emotion during the whole game, but I was always looking at my team-mates.
“We had each other’s backs. Sometimes, you just know. You could see it in everyone’s eyes.
“Those loose balls we had no right to get, somehow we picked it up. That shows how much we love each other.”
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
The Mystics perform their haka after winning the trophy in Hamilton.
Goal shooter Maia Wilson, a beaten finalist with the Stars for the second successive season, said it simply wasn’t their night after closing the deficit to two in the second quarter before the Mystics dominated the third and fourth.
Wilson was nonetheless delighted for her great friend, Fitzpatrick, and she said they had “the biggest embrace you could imagine once it was over”.
“It was privilege to see her finish like that,” Wilson said.
“We had the captains’ call on Friday. She rang me afterwards to say ‘I just want to say that I love you, no matter what happens. I want you to play the best you can be, and I’ll play the best I can be’.”
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Maia Wilson, pictured grappling for possession in the final, also paid tribute to Sulu Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick attended Sunday’s post-match conference with coach Tia Winikerei and team-mate Michaela Sokolich-Beatson after addressing the full house at the Globox Arena in Samoan, honouring her heritage in Samoa Language Week.
She lifted the trophy after a final in which Mystics goal shooter Grace Nweke scored an astonishing 70 goals from 73 attempts, a figure that even surprised Winikerei and Sokolich-Beatson.
However, it should be remembered for the fitting finale to Fitzpatrick’s 13 seasons in elite netball in which she represented five of the six ANZ Premiership teams (with the Tactix the only exception).
“I gave Sulu her dress last night and said ‘there are not many people who change you as an individual for the better’. She is somebody who has changed me for the better,” Sokolich-Beatson said.
“Nobody taught her how to be a leader. It’s just who she is in her soul.
“When you have a leader who has a pure soul and is just a good person, it’s so easy to follow them.”
Winikerei also collected a trophy in her first season as coach and was “overwhelmed”.
“It doesn’t matter if we win by one or lose by 10, I typically seem to have this lack of emotion,” she said.
Not on Sunday, however, as her voice started to crackle when reflecting on her side’s success.
“I’m really proud.”
It was party time in Hamilton for the Mystics on Sunday night, although Fitzpatrick said they were “drained”.
“We’re going to try to party big,” she said, to which Sokolich-Beatson replied: “But we know it’s not going to happen.”
“We’re all grannies and will probably be home by 10pm,” Fitzpatrick added.
“The biggest thing we want to do tonight is celebrate with our families because they’re the reason we’re here.”
[ad_2]