When captain Jo Harten steps onto the court this Saturday, she’ll have one thing on her mind.
Team success.
Should the GIANTS prevail, it’ll be the first time the team has won the Suncorp Super Netball title and the 32-year old wants nothing more. And she deserves nothing less.
The fact that Saturday’s decider will also be a significant milestone for Harten is not lost on her adoring fans, but is of little relevance to the English star.
Saturday will see Harten step out for her 150th national league match. A big milestone that not many athletes are good enough to reach.
The milestone comes 15 years after Harten made her domestic debut at the tender age of 17 in the English Super League. She’s since become one of the most recognisable figures in the global game having played in the UK and New Zealand before calling Sydney home.
She’s played more than 100 games for her country, been to three Netball World Cups and was part of the memorable gold medal winning team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
In the two years since inaugural GIANTS skipper Kim Green retired, Harten has grown into the captaincy role and is now widely regarded as the heartbeat of the team.
She’s spoken openly about the struggles of leading the team through the challenges that 2020 presented.
With largely the same playing roster, many outside the team predicted another lean year for the GIANTS. Some experts even suggested the franchise would be wooden spooners.
A change of mindset can’t be quantified though and with the calm leadership of Harten, the GIANTS have finished as minor premiers and advanced to the season decider.
It takes a special type of leader to guide a team through a season which has thrown up as many challenges as 2021 has.
An unexpected hard quarantine in Perth, more relocations than most players can recount and months away from loved ones grappling with the pandemic in Sydney.
On a personal front, Harten was also the target of online abuse following a controversial finish early in the season.
Harten called out the act as unacceptable but as you’d expect also pleaded for support for those that are struggling in any way.
Through all of it, Harten has been the guiding light for the GIANTS. Off the court, she’s calm and relaxed and has a wicked sense of humour.
On the court, she is fiercely competitive and vocal. The highlight of watching the Channel 9 broadcast from the couch at home is often hearing Harten’s directions to her team inside the huddle.
There is no fairytale finish to the season guaranteed, but should it go the GIANTS way on Saturday against the Swifts, no one deserves it more than the milestone lady, Jo Harten.
