Netball: Study over, but Moynihan still learning

Steel defender Emma Moynihan burst on to the national netball scene as a speedy 17-year-old schoolgirl and spent two seasons on the bench for the champion Sting side.

The former Verdon College pupil took her place in the 2003-04 squads alongside some of the biggest names in the game.

Lesley Nicol, Donna Loffhagen and Adine Harper were all part of the championship-winning team, not to mention Megan Hutton, Tania Dalton, Jenny Ferguson, Wendy Telfer and, of course, coach Robyn Broughton.

Now coaching the Steel, Broughton was the first to spot the youngster.

While Moynihan did not get a lot of court time for the Sting, she enjoyed being part of the squad and soaked up as much as she could.

"In my seventh-form year I got a game against I think it was the Rebels.

"That was very exciting," Moynihan said.

"It was a big learning curve for a schoolkid playing with some big names."

Moynihan was a promising athlete at school and remembers making the final of the 200m at the national championships.

But netball was her first love and it soon became too difficult to do both.

She eventually abandoned athletics and her netball career also had to take a back seat while she completed her studies at the University of Otago.

She began studying physical education and, after two years, switched to occupational therapy.

She finished her final work placement this year and graduated earlier this month.

A career beckons but Moynihan plans to take a break and prioritise netball.

"I've been out of town on work placement a lot, which meant I couldn't play for some teams.

"Last year it worked out well, because I could play in the Otago Lois Muir team.

"The year before that, I couldn't."

The 24-year-old forced her way into the Steel squad after some strong performances for the Otago Lois Muir team and for Otago at the national championships.

The 1.75m goal defence has an uncanny ability to read the play and the happy knack of picking off interceptions.

Moynihan is unlikely to get much court time for the Steel.

"I've played for Southland before, and Otago for the last two years in the NPC [national championships] but this is a big step up," she said.

"We've got a lot of experienced players in our team, so it is just about listening and learning from them.

"This is also my first exposure to the Australian teams, so I'm looking forward to that."

The Steel opens its campaign against the West Coast Fever, in Invercargill on Sunday.