Claire O'Brien with the ball. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
After struggling for years to get regular court time at a domestic level, Claire O'Brien is pinching herself to have been named in the Silver Ferns.
The born and bred Australian found out on Wednesday that she had made the squad and would likely get a Silver Ferns debut against England in September.
"It's been a pretty hectic 48 hours to be honest, but really cool," O'Brien said.
The first people she told were her parents back in Australia.
"I FaceTimed my parents and it was really special, and my sister ... lots of tears, lots of screaming, it was just really cool to share it with them."
O'Brien is eligible to play for New Zealand because her parents are both New Zealanders.
"Mum and Dad both grew up here, they are from the Bay, Dad is from Rotorua and my Mum is from Waimana.
"They moved to Australia when they were young, around 20 or so. We've still got lots of whānau on this side and a pretty strong connection to New Zealand."
O'Brien grew up in Sydney and came through the representative ranks. She was a member of the Youth World Cup team that participated in Botswana in 2017.
Australia came runner-up that year to the U21 NZ team, which included Kimiora Poi, Kelly Jackson, and Maia Wilson - O'Brien's new Silver Ferns team-mates.
O'Brien made her Suncorp Super Netball League debut for the Swifts in 2017, but finding an elusive starting position in Australia's highly competitive domestic league proved difficult.
After suffering a season-ending injury in 2018, she spent 2019 completing the final stages of rehab.
In 2020, she joined the Sydney-based Giants as a training partner, and did not see much court time again.
It was then that she started thinking about reaching out to a club in New Zealand.
"I was just sort of at a point in my career after my year at the Giants where I guess I wanted a change of environment, change of coaching, something different.
"I knew I still loved the sport and I was really passionate about playing still. I thought New Zealand might be a really cool option with having some heritage."
O'Brien was signed on as a training partner for the Mystics in 2021 and got a bit of court time.
She earned a full contract with the Mystics in 2022, where she got a decent number of minutes, but was often stuck behind the established midcourt duo of Peta Toeava and Tayla Earle.
She decided to head back to Australia in 2023 but when injuries hit the Mystics late in the season, she answered an SOS, which led to where she is now.
"I spent some time at home in Australia just reflecting and re-evaluating things and an opportunity had come up to be back in the Mystics environment which at the time was feeling just right so I just followed that, and that's when I got my Magic contract for this season."
At the age of 27, O'Brien found a club where she became a regular starter for the first time in her elite netball career
She was part of a resurgent Magic this year and impressed with her performances, largely at wing attack. She said having consistent court time had done wonders for her game.
"I think that changes your experience and I think that's when you can see your growth and your development, when you're able to have those opportunities to play and learn and then implement it again the next week and just keep building.
"I was really stoked that I was able to have a season of playing. It was probably my first real season of playing week in and week out netball at that level."
O'Brien said she was grateful that Magic coach Mary-Jane Araroa saw her potential and she had signed on again with the Waikato-Bay of Plenty side for next year.
O'Brien said there were times in her career when she questioned what she was doing.
"I wouldn't say I thought about retiring but I just wasn't sure what I wanted and where I was heading. I knew that my love for the sport and my love for playing was always there but I think at times I felt like I lost my way and then I found it again."
When she received a message from Silver Ferns' coach Dame Noeline Taurua that she had made the team, she was elated.
"I just couldn't really believe it to be honest, it was just one of those surreal things. You think about your goals no matter what your career is, and I think the fact that me and my close family knew what I was striving towards but for it to just be there is so cool and to share it with them was really special.
"I'm still just getting my head around everything to be honest."
