Tonga captain's road to World Cup

By Phina Newton 

The tiny island nation of Tonga might be a “dot on the map”, but the thought of taking on the world’s netball behemoths doesn’t faze its national netball team, at least not its skipper Hulita Veve. 

Veve, a Queensland Firebirds training partner, will lead her Tongan Talas in making history this July when they take the court at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town. 

While for most Australians, all eyes will be on the Diamonds squad, the Tongan locals are gearing up to watch their nations crowned jewels take on the world. 

And Veve, can’t wait. 

“We’re really excited to wear the red dress and represent Tonga,” she said. 

“For us to be on the world stage, to represent our country and put Tonga out there. We’re a small country, just a little dot on the map, but we are mighty.” 

Veve followed in her sister’s footsteps by taking up netball and continued to flourish at the sport, progressing through the Queensland pathway before being picked for the Firebirds squad in 2016. 

And she hasn’t looked back since. 

“I was with the Queensland Firebirds in 2016, and I’ve pretty much been a training partner ever since,” Veve said. 

That may seem like a long time to be a training player, but Firebirds coach Bec Bulley says it is an unvaluable experience. 

“When I spoke to her at the start of the year, she was very uncertain about whether she wanted to be a training partner again,” Bulley said. 

"I really encouraged her to take up this opportunity because you never know what can happen. I said as a training partner she might get an opportunity to play SSN, which is what she has been working for a very long time. 

“There’s no doubt she has a lot of experience that she can impart on her Tonga Tala teammates... she's a wonderful leader. I imagine that's what she brings to the to the Tonga team.” 

Bulley also encouraged Veve to use the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming World Cup where she would play a huge role in Tonga’s success. 

But on top of being a talented netballer and superb leader, Veve is also a mum to two little boys. 

“She's a wonderful person. She's a mom to two amazing little boys. I think our team has so much respect for her as I'm sure the Tonga Tala girls do too,” Bulley said. 

“She's extremely well rounded, level-headed, but also a fierce competitor who wants to do well. I think they're very lucky, they've got a great leader in her.” 

Veve did step on court for the Firebirds in season 2023 too. In round eight she was an integral part of the Firebirds’ win over the Collingwood Magpies.  

It was a turning point in her year, after also coming off the back of a victory at the PacificAus Sports Netball Series where the Tongan Talas took home another trophy. 

Veve, whose father is Tongan, only joined the Talas in March last year. But since then, they have gone undefeated. 

“I haven’t lost a game in the red dress, so that’s super special and a huge achievement for our country,” she said. 

"Being able to play for my country is really cool and is something that I’ve never done before. 

“It was always our goal to make the World Cup and to now be ranked seventh in the world is really special.” 

The Talas will have a big task at hand come the World Cup though. They have drawn the same pool as the Origin Australian Diamonds.  

But that doesn’t faze her. If anything, it’s a learning opportunity for the veteran midcourter who credits her time at the Firebirds, where she is surrounded by international superstars, for her success. 

“The high-performance behaviours that the Firebirds bring is good for me to just be able to apply that day in day out and then to bring it here (to Tonga) and to expose the girls (Talas) to that and to help lead the team,” she said. 

"There’s a lot of things I bring back from Firebirds to give to these girls (Tonga Talas), which helps us as a team.” 

Hulita said the World Cup is about more than just winning for the Talas, it’s about giving their country and their fans something to take pride in. 

“The biggest part for us is just having our community support us and to be able to do it for them. They’re our biggest drive,” she said. 

The Netball World Cup will be taking place in Cape Town between July 28 and August 6.