Surrounded by Silver Ferns, Serina Daunakamakama is finding her voice.
As the starting wing attack for the Southern Steel in netball’s ANZ Premiership and slotted between centre and captain Kimiora Poi and goal attack Georgia Heffernan – both Silver Ferns – the 22-year-old has had to take a giant leap out of her comfort zone since heading to the Deep South to further her game.
What began as cover for injury and travelling to the other end of the country – away from her close-knit family – has morphed into a starting role for the Steel, national selection for last year’s World Youth Cup and a voice which even she says surprises herself sometimes.
“I think the hardest thing about wing attack is trying to have control of our attacking plays. People don’t realise the wing attacks are calling on the line of the centre passes … being so young and kind of inexperienced I’ve had to find a voice,” Daunakamakama says.
“Fortunately I’m surrounded by experienced players like Gee [Heffernan] and Kimi [Poi] who are so helpful.”
The attacking unit, which also includes the league’s most accurate shooter in Aliyah Dunn, has impressed as the Steel sits in third place on the Premiership ladder (behind the Northern Mystics and Mainland Tactix) and with just three rounds remaining until the Finals Series, are well placed to extend their season.
Daunakamakama knows where her team is sitting, hears the talk from netball fans but is still looking no further ahead than the Steel’s next game.
“Obviously we get excited and it’s all part of the journey and everyone’s talking about it too, but we’ve talked about it as a group that we need to stay focused and humble – cut out that outside noise, fine tune what we need to and just try and be better than the week before.”
Steel head coach Wendy Frew describes the aerial midcourter – who sits in the Premiership’s top four for both centre pass receives and feeds – as a quiet, humble player whose bubbly personality is earning the respect of her peers.
“When she talks, we listen,” the young attacker says.
Born in Fiji, Daunakamakama moved to Auckland before she was a year old and grew up in a large family – five siblings and a “whole lot of cousins, aunties and uncles” where her “village” gave her a childhood she cherished.
“For the first 20 years of my life I was living with my cousins like they were next door neighbours. I was really lucky because they were all my number one supporters, they are also the people who keep me humble and grounded.”
She was a sporty kid, turning her hand to anything that was played at school from football to cricket.
But it was injury – and not her own – which saw netball climb to the top of the pile and she honed her focus into the court sport.
“I had been playing netball too and always been surrounded by netball because my older sister played, so I was often down at the courts watching her.”
Something changed however when Janette, Daunakamakama’s older sister, suffered a serious knee injury while at Lynfield College and was forced to give up the game.
It gave the younger sister, 11 at the time, the push she needed to grasp netball with both hands and “give it a really good shot”.
“I felt like I was playing for her.”
It was also a sibling connection which Daunakamakama is grateful for and brought the two closer together.
“We have a bit of an age gap so this was our way we could relate to each other and talk to each other about it. She was one of the reasons why netball trumped the rest.”
Daunakamakama played throughout her own years at Lynfield College in southwest Auckland, starting at goal attack before moving into the midcourt where she was noticed by the Marvels for the National Netball League in her final year at high school.
“I never got the memo about having to be tall for goal attack, so I got moved into the midcourt. But I guess that’s worked out for me.”
The 1.69m netballer took herself along to trial for the Marvels in 2021 and was named as a training partner – a position she would hold for a couple of years before injury intervened again.
“They lost their wing attack, so while I’d been playing more wing defence and centre, I had to fill in at wing attack and it’s kind of gone from there.”
Daunakamakama is one for making the most of her opportunities, wherever they may fall, but even she was surprised when one opened up in a place that couldn’t be farther from her birth place of Fiji or her home in Auckland.
A plane trip to Invercargill beckoned.
In May 2024, Steel midcourter Shannon Saunders was ruled out for the remainder of the ANZ Premiership with a knee injury.
Daunakamakama and her mum, Ala, talked about the article announcing Saunders’ sidelining and the search for a Steel replacement player – the ardent netball fans discussing who was likely to fill the former Silver Fern’s spot.
“We wondered who they’d call in and then the next morning I woke up to a message from the then coach, Reinga (Bloxham), asking me to come down. Me and my mum freaked out. It was so surreal and surprising. I honestly had no idea I was on the radar – I didn’t even think Curly (Bloxham) knew who I was. And it was funny that we’d had that conversation just the night before about who they were going to pick.”
Accepting the call meant moving away from home – her close family ties making the move even more daunting. But as she was to find out, Daunakamakama was leaving one family for another.
She had heard about the region famous for its love of netball and its cooler climes – both have turned out to be true.
“They did warn us it was going to be cold, but honestly you never really know how cold it gets until you come and experience it for yourself – it’s honestly nothing like I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Taking the chill off has been the warm reception she’s had since heading south, and Invercargill is somewhere she now considers as her “home away from home”.
“The community down here is second to none. People I haven’t met before, talk to me like they’ve known me forever, talking about netball and telling you you’ve had a good game. It’s definitely different to big city Auckland vibes.”
Frew says it is a “massive” move for any young player to make and Daunakamakama put her trust in the team to help her find her feet.
“I have a lot of respect for her for doing that. She’s come into the environment down south and engaged with the public … she’s a real big asset to this franchise.”
The coach has seen gains in all areas of the youngster’s game including a growing confidence in calling the shots.
“For a wing attack you are the commander down that attack end, and I’ve been super impressed with just the step up from last year to this year,” Frew says.
“As a wing attack you call the structures, the set ups and she’s doing that really well. Serina’s grown so much in that space and when you’re playing with Silver Ferns around you, she’s still telling them what structures to set up and I’m really proud of her in that space cause that’s no easy feat. She’s really maturing as an athlete.”
Frew says the dynamic wing also brings a strong knowledge of the game for someone so young.
“She sees the game through different lenses. For a young player to have such a good understanding of the game and how it all works, I’m super impressed with that.”
The Steel coach also feels Daunakamakama looks more at ease in her role this season and the player herself agrees.
“The goal for me this season was just to enjoy the moment. Last year I just got caught up in the whole first time being contracted which was a bit daunting because I didn’t know what to expect,” Daunakamakama says. “I was kind of scared in a sense.
“But this year I’m kind of enjoying that experience more than shying away from it.”
Alongside her first full contract last season, the aerial midcourter was selected for the New Zealand U21 team to compete at the 2025 World Youth Cup in Gibraltar where the national side eventually finished second to Australia.
“It was the most fun thing I’ve done in my life – flying half way across the world with a team of players the same age was amazing and I’m so glad that I got to experience that.”
She holds tight to those memories, but Daunakamakama admits the pressure of representing her country alongside the contract with the Steel added a weight to her shoulders that she doesn’t feel this year.
“I feel like it was myself putting that pressure on so the goals for me this season was to enjoy myself.”
It’s why she’s not getting her crystal ball out to see what her netball future holds for her even though the sport’s landscape in New Zealand feels a little wobbly following last year’s rumblings in head office and a second season of a shortened version of the ANZ Premiership.
Daunakamakama is a player who knows only too well to take the opportunities when they arise.
“I’ve talked about it with my parents and the conclusion is pretty much, play when I can until I can’t play anymore,” she says.
“I’m not too concerned about the next chapter or anything – I’m too focused on enjoying the opportunity that I can play right now.”
