AFTER taking the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) competition by storm with the Queensland Firebirds in 2020, youngster Tippah Dwan earned herself a call-up to the Australian Diamonds as a training partner. Still relatively new to the elite system, Dwan is still coming to terms with her rapid rise into Diamonds contention, which involved selection to the extended Constellation Cup squad in New Zealand next week.

“It’s pretty surreal actually. Coming off just my first year in SSN, I just think it’s a huge honour to be able to come and even train with the girls which is amazing, but to go on and tour with them already is really crazy. So I’m really happy about it,” Dwan said.

The progress came hard and fast for Dwan, with the young goaler missing the entire 2019 SSN season with a foot injury before becoming a household name in 2020 credit to her silky movement, range inside the circle and confidence to go to post.

“I thought it was crazy to even be able to play last year, after not playing for pretty much a full year in 2019. And so I think I just took the opportunity as I went and it paid off in the end,” Dwan explained.

“I think that I learned a lot from last year even from my first game to my last game, my game really progressed and I got a bit more comfortable in the league which was good, and I think just coming into the squad again, I’ll be able to play with different people and gain a lot of experience from them too.”

Gifted with an opportunity to develop her craft, Dwan has big plans for the future identifying this experience as a crucial stepping stone that will provide her with not only a chance to mix it with the best ,but most importantly an environment to learn in.

“I just want to keep maintaining and progressing my netball game, so I have a lot to learn and I think being a part of squads like this is where I’m going to do it – so just keep on learning.”

“Right now we’re just doing a lot of training which has been good and that’s the biggest reason that I’m here. I just want to be able to train with the girls, the best in Australia, so I’m just taking it day by day and really soaking in that opportunity that I get. If that presents something else I’ll be happy about that, but I’m just happy to be here.”

“I’m just really grateful that I can train against the best for these few weeks and then hopefully I can take a few tricks from them and put it into my game this year.”

At opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to experience and exposure ,being under the wing of Caitlin Bassett has provided Dwan with a fountain of knowledge and encouragement to progress her game.

“I always remember watching her (Bassett) as I was growing up, so it’s kind of surreal that I am now on a tour with her,” Dwan said. “I think she has so much knowledge and I can tell just from speaking to her and the more we train together, the more I just learn from her and really just taking her leadership and try to put that into my own game.”

“She’s just very kind and if I make mistakes, she’s like ‘oh that’s alright’ like, ‘at least you had a look at it’ and stuff like that so she’s been really encouraging.”

Drawing upon experiences with the Firebirds at a domestic level, Dwan noted some of her development throughout last season heading into the Diamonds campaign with her netball smarts a key focus, suggesting that utilising her own strengths was as much as a focus as opening up opportunities for her teammates.

“I think just being a lot smarter with my gameplay and playing to my strengths, I think,” Dwan said. “At the start of the season a little bit I played for other players and trying to set them up, but just trying to put my game into how we played last year. I think that’s where I really progressed and tried to find my rhythm in the team.”

With her game smarts continuously evolving, an area Dwan wanted to knuckle down on in her time with the Diamonds camp was to add further versatility to her game to become a more prominent threat in the attacking third.

“Just being able to be versatile, so training against so many different people in the tour right now is a really good opportunity just to play with different people and try to make my game present well to them. So maybe just try to be a more dominant goal attack there, and then finding my job and just doing that well first.”

Dwan is one of four Queensland Firebirds representing the Diamonds in the upcoming Diamonds tour, highlighting the number of exciting players who have come through the Queensland system. Gabi Simpson and Kim Jenner both got the nod in the 14-player squad while Tara Hinchliffe joins Dwan as an invitee on the extended list.

“I am very grateful that they’re here, I think especially because me and Tarz (Hinchliffe) came in together as invitees it really made me a little bit calmer about the whole thing and not coming out by myself, which was good.

“Me and Tarz didn’t have too much notice coming into the tour, but they really just reassured us and said we’re ready to go. Gabs (Simpson) gave us a little present, and she was so happy for us.”

Despite only having short notice to prepare for the tour over to New Zealand, Dwan said that played into her favour as it did not allow her time to dwell on the news.

“I had a few weeks notice before coming into camp. So, I think that was actually a good thing not having too much time to think about everything and try and get a little bit nervous about going so that was one of the positives about it, but we have been doing a little bit of training before that just with the ‘Birds, which was good so I felt ready to come in.”

The trek to New Zealand did not come without its obstacles though, with the Diamonds forced into a mandatory quarantine in order to comply with the COVID-19 restrictions. Lucky to escape quarantine in the SSN season due to already residing in Queensland, the 21-year-old admitted she was a little bit nervous to do the two-week quarantine alone.

“A lot of the girls have given us their experiences because a lot of them had to do the two weeks and they came to Queensland, so when I heard that we had to quarantine I was a bit nervous about it all,” Dwan said. “But I think just the fact that we can train together and still see each other every day is a really good thing being in our own little bubble on court, rather than just being stuck in a room by ourselves for two weeks.

“I think they really coordinated it well and it just feels like normal, like we go, come back, train and then come back and eat so it’s pretty good.”