The new string to Weston's bow

By Linda Pearce

Jo Weston celebrated her 30th birthday in mid-February enjoying dinner parties with family and close friends, shaking it off at a Taylor Swift concert at the MCG and reflecting just a little on her life and celebrated netball career.

The 75-Test World Cup and Commonwealth Games-winning Diamond and dual Melbourne Vixens premiership defender has been playing at the elite level for 11 years. So with a big birthday came a small nod to the story so far.

“It’s kind of crazy to hit a number like that (30) and look back on everything that’s happened and things I’m really proud of, or where I think I’ve really grown as a human,’’ says the long-serving Australian Netball Players Association president and Commerce graduate who now finishing a Master of Communication.

“And it’s the experiences that I think sport offers to you in terms of pushing your boundaries and getting outside your comfort zone that I’m really grateful for. 

“So here’s to me playing netball for another 30 years, I guess!’’

Next is the annual Constellation Cup starting in Wellington on October 20, as Weston returns - with Courtney Bruce - to the travelling squad from an Achilles issue, having missed the 2-1 series win against the England Roses that finished in Bendigo on Wednesday night.

Weston drove to the Victorian regional centre to be part of the crowd - adamant that Diamonds-watching  had not been too difficult given the need to fully rehabilitate the injury suffered in the final round of Suncorp Super Netball and which she had to manage through the Vixens’ run to the grand final.

While aware she needed the extra recovery time, Weston was left with one regret, however: missing the Diamonds debut of her Vixens’ circle partner Rudi Ellis late in game one. “Oh, I was so excited for her! It pretty much brought me to tears seeing Rudi debut in Adelaide.

“I’ve had the box seat to how much hard work and extra bits and pieces she’s done throughout this year to get herself in some incredible form and really capable of stepping out on that international stage, and she’s just an incredible team person.’’

Personally, Weston insists that along with any absence of FOMO, nor was there fear of letting others in by temporarily vacating the position she has dominated for many years, with Sunday Aryang stepping up and Diamonds’ assistant/defensive coach Nicole Richardson excited by what she has seen.

“Obviously we know what Joey can bring to that defensive unit and then on top of that you’ve got Sunday and Tilly (Garrett) who’ve shown the skillsets that they both bring within that role,’’ Richardson says.

“So whereas for a period of time it was Jo, Jo and Jo, we do have some depth there.’’

Weston’s job for club and country has typically been as a negating tagger. 

Nullifying and wearing down opponents. 

A player as intensely competitive in the training and match environments as she is smart, articulate and quirky off the court.

“Joey plays a real shut down role for us, which is what she does at Vixens. She makes goal attacks earn every ball,’’ Richardson says.

“But from a Diamonds perspective, and where I’ve seen Joey’s growth, is in her ability to now connect with the other defenders in and around her; so the combination of that lockdown tagging role versus opening up her vision to see opportunities to win ball elsewhere as well.’’

Weston’s renowned quirkiness can be a source of amusement to her teammates, according to Richardson, as can the fact the veteran is apparently both “set in her ways”, and now slightly more relaxed in her approach.

“As an experienced athlete she knows what she needs in order to get the best out of herself which is I guess what you need in an athlete, and individually I’ll get her to work on something and she’s like ‘yes, but I’m not a goal keeper and I’m not gonna player like that’,’’ says Richardson.

The coach’s response? ‘’Well, we’re gonna add that string to your bow, Joey.’’

Having ticked off several major netball goals, there has more recently been an emphasis on injury prevention and maintenance, with a calf injury delaying Weston’s start to the SSN season and the Achilles compromising the end.

Yet if the problems were more frustrating than serious, they inevitably led to what Weston calls the “questioning of your confidence or your positioning in any of your teams” that would be familiar to most elite athletes.

As for her current mindset: “It’s probably just seeing how I go over the next year or so…I’m still in a really good headspace about playing but at the same time I’m not putting any expectations on it, which I think is really the best place to be in.’’

Weston’s goals are much as they always were: premiership success domestically; as a contributor, internationally, “in any position possible” to the team and the squad she first joined in 2015. 

The 148-game Vixen still loves so much about the sport, including the problem-solving and ongoing quest for excellence, the friendships and camaraderie, the honour of representing her country and “beautiful” connections to the netball community.

“Whether it was people who played before me or all these young kids that are now finding the joy in the game that I found all those years ago, it’s definitely a combination of those and I try to take that mindset into my life outside of the sport, too,’’ she says.

And while all is mercifully quiet on the ANPA front after what Weston concedes was “a really tough period for everyone involved” she remains as busy as ever, with the impending end to that latest tertiary qualification, coaching, clinics, sponsor and other appearances combined with training for that imminent on-court return.

So back to those 30th birthday reflections, even if the 188cm defender believes there is plenty more ahead as she prepares for another Constellation Cup.

What is one-club Jo Weston proudest of in the story so far? 

“It’s hard to narrow it down to one thing, but I guess what we’ve been able to create at the Vixens in terms of having a bit of a dynasty of Victorian athletes and how I’ve been a big part of that - loyalty’s something that’s really intrinsic to who I am.

“But in terms of what that club has been able to facilitate for me personally, I feel like that’s something I’m really proud of.’’

And Diamonds-wise?

“Probably our World Cup win last year, that was really fun to be part of,’’ Weston continues. 

“Both that and the Commonwealth Games, I think there was a lot of pressure on us and I put a lot of pressure on myself personally in those situations after the last two pinnacle events that we’d lost back to back.

“So to be able to rectify that and be on the winner’s list, that’s really fabulous.’’