By Amellia Wood
The veteran Diamond would never consider a name change, however reversing the alphabet has always been on her wish list.
“I was sitting on my couch watching the phone when I got the call from Stacey Marinkovich for the Commonwealth Games selection,” Weston said.
“I'm a W, so I'm always at the bottom of the list.
“I've argued for years if they could do reverse alphabetical order just once for Liz, Steph and myself, but normally we're at the end of the list, so it's a real waiting game.”
You’d think the Victorian defender with 45 test caps and previous Commonwealth Games experience would have the squad selection routine down pat, but her anticipation builds with each year’s call.
“You are always a bit nervous about selection and which way it's going to go," Weston said.
Jo still gets nervous on selection day.“I was more nervous this time around than I was back in 2018 because we haven't played a lot of Diamonds games over the last few years, and the team I was with domestically wasn't successful last year.”
Fortunately for Weston, when the phone call came it was good news.
“I started crying because I was so overwhelmed with emotion due to the build-up,” she said.
“It had been a very long selection process comparatively to last time when the club games were before the season. To be selected in the team was just a combination of relief and excitement.”
SHARING THE SHINE
When Weston heads to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, it will mark another milestone to her already remarkable career.
The seven-year Australian Diamond and nine-year Melbourne Vixen has come a long way from her days playing sport in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Jo has been in the Melbourne Vixens squad for nine years.“I probably thought of myself as more of a Maria Sharapova,” Weston recalled.
“I really loved tennis when I was younger, but I don't really have the complexion for spending hours and hours outside in the sun.”
Weston made the move to netball, still outdoors but at least the room for indoor courts.
“I started playing for my school when I moved to Melbourne with my family and from there, I played representative netball with Waverley District in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.”
Shortly after Weston was elected into Victorian state teams and found herself going through the Netball Victoria pathway before taking up a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Weston said it was this experience in Canberra where the possibility of becoming a professional netballer set in.
“I loved playing and I watching the domestic competitions, but it was never something I really visualised myself taking part in,” she said.
“I don't know if it was because I thought I wasn't good enough or probably didn't see a clear path there, but once I saw other athletes similar age to me in similar teams progressing into elite sporting teams, I was like this could be something that happens to me too.”
These other athletes included the likes of Courtney Bruce and Paige Hadley, now fellow Diamonds, and friends.
After two years with the Australian Institute of Sport and a stint playing for the 21/U Australian team, Weston was picked up by the Melbourne Vixens to play in the national netball league.
"During those first few years when I was with the Vixens, I played Fast5 for the Australian team and then from there I got selected into the Diamonds squad at the end of 2015," she said.
Jo reflected on representing Australia in the Fast5.This opportunity was presented shortly after the 2015 Sydney World Cup due to several defensive retirements in the national team.
To fill the void, Weston debuted as a Diamond in Melbourne alongside Ash Brazill.
“I think one of the major things when you look at the current squad is seeing the fun and impactful memories that have been shared throughout the squad," she said.
One of the most honourable aspects of competing in the Commonwealth Games is being part of the broader Australian team in a spectacle that’s every four years.
For Weston, it’s this infrequency that adds to the Games’ prestige.
“To me, netball has always been one of the premier events of the Commonwealth Games just due to the nations that play it around the world and its history," Weston explained.
“For those of us that grew up playing and watching netball, it was always top of the list of aspirations, so it's pretty exciting to be a part of it again.”
When England took gold from the Diamonds at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, it shocked the entire nation.
“The result in 2018 was really disappointing and anyone who watched that game could have seen that it could have gone either way," she said.
Jo says the 2018 Commonwealth Games loss was disappointing but she's looking forward to Birmingham.With a reinvigorated team, including new coaching staff in Stacey Marinkovich and Nicole Richardson, Weston said this year’s Games can not be compared to the last.
“We don't have that many of us that were there and back on the Gold Coast and we're an incredibly different squad now," she said.
“One of the things with the Commonwealth Games is you never really know who you're going to be playing in any of the medal matches until a couple of days before.
“I feel for us we're just focusing on our Diamonds group, reconnecting and really solidifying those partnerships out on court that will really translate when we get over to Birmingham.”
As an athlete, Weston is competitive, prides herself on the ability sustain a high work rate and provides the versatility to allow a team’s depth to shine.
A skill admired in former mentors, Weston strives to continue in her legacy.
“It’s been a realisation over the last couple of years that now I hold the place that athletes like Julie Corletto, Bianca Chatfield and Bec Bulley held for me when I was younger,” Weston said.
“It is kind of a crazy feeling to really reflect on and it's a really special place to be because I loved them when I was a young kid, so to think that I could have even a small amount of the impact that those women had on me is something I'm really proud of.
Jo is proud to be a role model.“I feel like for me being a Diamond is the pride of representing your country, your family and friends, but also being a part of the history and the legacy of netball in Australia.
“It's just a really special feeling.”
ABOUT JO
Name: Joanna Weston
Nickname: Jo
Positions: GD/GK/WD
Game day breakfast: Porridge with banana and berries
Game day pump up song: Just The Thing - Paul Mac
