Jo Harten was 26 and nervous when she arrived in Australia to be part of the GIANTS inaugural team in the new Suncorp Super Netball competition.
Already a medal-winning English Rose, the goaler was an established star having represented New Zealand outfits Canterbury Tactix and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic but moving to Sydney would change everything.
“When I signed with the GIANTS, it was a huge risk, I guess, coming to Australia. Brand new league, brand new team and Sydney’s a big bad place when you’ve been living in New Zealand and are from England originally,” she recalls.
“It was quite daunting and I remember flying in in 2016 and I was really nervous but now I look back at the fun times I’ve had, not only on the netball court, and making Sydney my home.”
Now, nearly a decade on, life looks pretty different, and wonderful, as the heart and soul of the GIANTS reaches 200 national league games on Sunday against the Firebirds.
Harten met and married her now wife Alex in Sydney and in April welcomed their daughter, Eddie.
“It’s a pinch-me-kind-of-reflection because you’d never think through a netball club and team would I then be settling down here for the rest of my life, starting a family and then still playing all these years later.”
While the victories, Grand Final campaigns and achievements are memorable, the connections and friendships Harten has formed are cherished even more.
And there’s been two OG’s on her orange journey: master coach Julie Fitzgerald and co-captain Jamie-Lee Price.
“Netball is a marvellous game on court but sometimes it’s the off-court stuff that’s equally important and building life-long friendships,” Harten says.
“Having Julie Fitzgerald as a mentor is something I’ll treasure forever, she’s a legend of the game and Jamie-Lee is quickly turning into a legend of the game as well.
“It’s special to have had a part of my career alongside those two and so many other amazing athletes at the GIANTS, it’s been a special club in such a short time.”
And then there’s the Orange Army. They’ve cheered and supported Harten and that interest and care has now extended to baby Eddie and fur baby, Patrick, a Bedlington Terrier.
“Our fans have taken us under their wing from the word go and it’s been a really special club in that sense,” Harten says.
“The fans have been so passionate about what was a brand-new team and now evolving team and we set out to make the fans, of western Sydney specifically, super proud of us.
“Some of the connections I now have with those people are more than just fans who attend a netball game, they’re a wider, extended family.
“People stitching my dog on a vest for Eddie as a gift, I’m so privileged to have people who care about me enough to be that kind.”
Now an elder stateswoman of the game, Harten gets so much joy from the rise and development of her younger teammates taking the longest strides forward in their own careers.
“One of my favourite things about netball now is watching the young kids around me grow in confidence and watching them evolve into some really super skilful netball players,” she explains.
“I take immense pride in any shooting partner that I play with representing their country on the international stage because that means we’ve shown a good enough connection and partnership that it’s good enough internationally.
“I’ve played with some epic shooters in my time and someone like a Sophie Dwyer, being her shooting partner as she broke out into the Diamonds and over in New Zealand I played with Ellen Halpenny and Malia Vaka (nee Paseka) made their Silver Ferns debuts while I was their shooting buddy.
“That kind of stuff is really special because it shows you’re both making enough of a connection that you can both shine in any given moment.”
Harten’s passion and fierce competitive spirit remain a cornerstone of her game, who she is and are as iconic as her headband, super shot and pumped up walk back up the court after nailing a crucial goal.
“Competitiveness, it’s my DNA. If there’s any form of competition, I’m going to give everything I’ve got in that moment and on that day and I think that’s where I’ve probably had to evolve my game over the last few years – my body’s started to slow down a bit, but my brain is still so passionate and active and always wanting to win.
“That DNA of being the ultimate competitor, which my dad instilled in me growing up in the UK, is the part that keeps you playing for as long as I have.
“It’s something I pride myself on.”
Written by sports journalist and GIANTS Ambassador, Megan Hustwaite.
