By Linda Pearce
Having been so overwhelmed she was physically sick before her Diamonds’ debut nine years ago, Courtney Bruce feels uncomfortable for a different reason when discussing the prospect, in Auckland this Sunday, of playing her 100th Test.
Admits she has been nervous about this phone call. Is feeling awkward. Sounding slightly odd. Trying not to think about the looming milestone.
Relieved, though, that the fanfare around Australia’s seventh netball centurion is likely to be more muted than it was for No.6, Liz Watson, at home in Melbourne against Jamaica in February.
“Oh, perfect,” says the 99-game defender of what is expected to be a lower-key occasion, given it will take place offshore. “That is definitely more my style.”
While her parents and twin sisters are among those making the trip across the Tasman for the Constellation Cup opener, Bruce is finding membership of the exclusive 100 Club a daunting prospect.
Such, indeed, is her admiration for the achievements of Liz Ellis (the only other defender and current Netball Australia Chair), Caitlin Bassett (another hero growing up in Perth, and a fellow Southern Districts product), Watson (her current captain), plus fellow champions Vicki Wilson, Cath Cox and Sharelle McMahon.
Yet while “in awe” of all six and struggling to see herself among them, the 32-year-old is also “very aware that sometimes it’s not til you finish that you probably have those moments of really being able to step back and see what you have done”.
That time is approaching.
Less than 12 months away from what she expects to be her farewell campaign for Australia, assuming Bruce’s body, mind and form carry her to a third Netball World Cup, she is optimistic about the next phase of life that will start after completing her Super Netball contract with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in 2028.
“I think I’ll be done after that. There’s a lot of life to live. I’ve been playing since I was 16, (as a squad member) at Fever, and then now here at Lightning,” says the dual Liz Ellis Diamond winner.
“I’m excited to see what life holds beyond the netball court, so after my (next) two years at Lightning I’ll definitely be done.”
EVOLUTION OF AN INTROVERT
Hard to believe it watching Bruce in action, but the athletic youngster with compelling physicality and elite elevation was painfully shy as a child and remains a very different character away from the court.
“When you see how she reads the play and just her ferocity to take intercepts and her aggression on the ball sometimes, it’s quite funny because if you know Courtney off the court you know that she’s completely not like that,” Bassett says.
“She’s very down-to-earth, she’s very laidback, which is why I loved playing with her, because she’s just so easy to get along with, but when you see her out on court it’s like this switch is flicked, and it’s exciting to see that.”
Bruce has fielded “you’re-definitely-not-an-introvert” protests over the years, but is comfortable to wear contrasting hats according to the environment, with traits that can co-exist. “If you didn’t know me and you just watched me for a game of netball, you’d think I’m a lot, but (I’m) the complete opposite off the court.”
Thus, her trademark hard and physical contesting does not preclude what she calls “this quiet softness” elsewhere. An intimidating figure is also, quite often, the smiling kind.
“She is! And you know that she’s beaten you up behind the scenes,” Bassett says with a laugh of a former teammate and opponent who has adjusted and adapted over time, while collecting both 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 World Cup gold plus two silvers and a bronze at other pinnacle events from 2017-26.
“It gives you confidence when she’s on your team that you know she’s going to do absolutely anything to win ball, and some of the intercepts I’ve seen her take outside the circle I just think ‘how did you see that?’.
“The way that she plays, the risks that she takes on court sometimes is what really brings everyone else along and she knows the impact that her game can have on the rest of the team when she takes a screaming intercept, or how important it can be when she gets in the head of an attacker.”
Relentlessly competitive, Bruce speaks of the 60-minute quest each game day to find “one ball or one moment or whatever it may be. I absolutely love the challenge of being a defender and getting to create chaos and find those moments that matter”.
FROM HEARTBREAK TO HEROICS
Her worst moment – conceding the obstruction penalty that allowed Helen Housby’s dramatic winning goal in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games boilover against England – became a formative experience that helped to shape the perspective and resilience that Bruce now brings to big moments.
She reflects on it often, including while supporting shooter Sophie Dwyer after the missed shot after the final whistle in this year’s Comm Games semi against Jamaica in Glasgow. Dwyer is 24, one year older than Bruce was on the Gold Coast.
With age, the latter believes, comes not just a better understanding that results are about far more than the final second or minute, but a greater ability to separate the performance from the person.
“I think I am proud of myself for being able to learn from that moment… being able to step away and lean in and know what I have to do in those big moments in big games, I think 2018 actually taught me a lot more.”
And eventually brought Bruce here, as a starting defender in – remarkably – 85 of her first 99 internationals.
“That’s pressure in itself. Starting a game comes with its own challenges, getting out there and setting the tone, and I think that’s what she does really well for the Diamonds,” says Bassett, noting Sharni Layton and Laura Geitz as imposing acts to follow at GK.
“You see her out there in that goal keeper bib and you kind of know what she’s gonna bring from the get-go. The headspace that she goes into and the prep that she does before she hits every single game is impressive… I remember when Courtney got the call up, I just thought ‘it’s the start of something great’.”
Standing beside her fellow WA great for the national anthem before her 2017 Test debut – as MVP, no less – against England in Brisbane remains a highlight for Bruce, who nevertheless can remember little else besides feeling sick with nerves and then seeing her thrilled parents afterwards.
Although game 100 still does not bear thinking about, with Bruce seeming almost more excited about the prospect of a half-century for WA-raised Sophie Garbin on the same day, the self-described “emotional one in the group” expects more tears.
“It’s never lost on me that not many people get to play one game for the Diamonds, let alone, potentially 100, and I cried at my 50th so I’ll probably cry even more at my 100th,” Bruce says.
“Genuinely just very, very grateful, and honoured.”
