Good Sports Casey & Amigene Together We're Magic!

The Duo Tell How They’re Doing It the Waikato Way.

- Kelly Bertrand

There’s always been something a little special about the Magic. True, they’re the oldest netball franchise in the country, and have produced some of New Zealand’s most revered and celebrated players of all time – Laura Langman, Irene van Dyk and their current captain, Casey Kopua, among them.

But speaking to the Weekly to celebrate the Splice Construction Magic’s 20th anniversary, Casey’s got another theory as to what makes the club, well, magic – that good old-fashioned Waikato attitude.

“It’s the farm life,” she laughs. “Just like on the farm, we have an attitude that we just have to do what needs to done, with no excuses. It’s the sort of stuff that came from my parents, you know – if we didn’t do the work on the farm, there’d be no sport! But we’re a special breed down here, that’s for sure.”

Though she assures us that training is in fact done on-court as opposed to in paddocks, there’s no denying the impact that the Waikato area has on the franchise, which remains the only Kiwi club to have won an ANZ Championship title when Australian teams were included.

It’s a thought shared by head coach and foundation player Amigene Metcalfe (45), who this year has taken the top job for the first time after three years of assisting. Having been at the club since day dot, she’s seen the highs and lows of Kiwi netball, and how much has changed on and off the court.

“We didn’t get paid back then, we were juggling training and playing with full-time jobs and families,” she tells.