"We were like big sisters"

Southern Steel captain Wendy Frew is about to bow out of professional netball after a 16-year career which has spanned both the Sting dynasty and Steel era.

At some point in the next couple of weeks she will complete, for the final time, a routine which has become both a ritual and an insight into what drives her.

She will wrap some strapping tape around her right wrist and write on it the names of those she cares most about. That list has grown over the years. What started with the 10-strong Telfer clan and husband Trent, now includes children Archie and Indie and the expanding Telfer whanau.

Wendy wrist.jpg — FAMILY

Photo: Wendy Frew writes the names of her loved ones on her wrist before each game. The Telfer clan is expanding rapidly, with those 18 nieces and nephews now 20. Pic: Supplied

Southlanders have grown up watching Frew play, but we went behind the scenes to find out a bit more about what makes her tick.

We started with Steel coach Reinga Bloxham, who can offer a unique insight having both played with, and now coached, Frew over the years.

Bloxham recalls a 16-year-old Wendy Telfer, as she was at the time, coming into the Sting team for the first time...

Photo: Southern Steel coach Reinga Bloxham. Pic: Dianne Manson

“We all just loved her, this wee prodigy. She was such a sponge and she was willing to do anything that we said, which is a little bit scary because we probably could have manipulated her quite easily, but she would bend over backwards to make sure she fitted in with the rest of the team.

She was willing to learn and willing to listen, even to our fashion advice.

Something that I remember from way back - I think she might have only been 16 and she had the Verdon formal. She was so young and green and she had no idea about what she was going to wear - her hair and makeup and all of that sort of stuff. I remember the dresses coming to training one weekend and us all giving her advice and we all picked the dress that she was going to wear to the formal.

I remember thinking that this was a cool moment to share and we were like big sisters, that was pretty special.”

Academy Southland manager Jason McKenzie works closely with both the Southern Steel and Southland Stags and has watched Frew grow into a leader.

“She always leads by example - follow me. Even when she was injured, having her on the side of the court was a massive deal for the girls. There are some examples of when she doesn’t like to lead from the front though, including last week at Rainbow’s End and Wendy couldn’t get on anything scarier than the little log ride. Things change when you become a mum. The climbing wall is another example. She used to always be the first one up, but now she’s a mum you can’t get her a metre off the ground.”

Gina Crampton has shared the Steel midcourt with Frew for the past few seasons and been the vice-captain for the team in 2018. You might not realise just what a superstitious player Frew is, according to Crampton.

“She tries to say that she’s not superstitious, but she really is. All last year, when we were winning every game, she decided that we couldn’t change captain’s runs or risk breaking our unbeaten streak. We did the same warm-up, the same drills every game, so that was like 16 or 17 times. A couple of times this year she has made the announcement that she’s going to be less superstitious, but it’s not working. This year when we lost two games, her and Hoochie (Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit) had ordered two meals and had half each, so the next time Hoochie suggested they could go halves she refused. She’s not even sure if she can sit beside her at lunch now. She always has an Up and Go before game time, about an hour out, and it’s always a vanilla one.”

Photo: Wendy Frew and son Archie. Photo: Michael Bradley Photography/Dianne Manson

Kate Buchanan has been interviewing and writing stories about Wendy Frew since she was a teenaged sporting wonder, first as a reporter for the Southland Times and now as marketing and communications manager for the Steel.

“Watching Wendy grow up, I would do interviews with her at school, or her parents place, then it was a scody flat on Queens Drive and now her own family home. It’s been a real evolution.

Two years ago she baked some cookies for me and it’s become a real thing in the team because they give her a hard time about baking her way to the top. Wendy really gets a hard time about not having to do as many promo opportunities because she sweetens us up with baking. Sonya (Fleming, events manager) and I often borrow her car for trips to Dunedin and often she’ll text when we get to Balclutha to tell us she has left some baking goodies under the seat.

I remember last year after the van crash and seeing her in hospital. She had 70 stitches and was in a lot of pain but there was no way she was not going to be on the sideline for the game against the Tactix. I think that says a lot about her values and her incredible leadership. It’s always about the team and not about her. Wendy is from a past generation of players who have helped to put netball where it is. They’ve had to earn it and they respect the game and the opportunities that it gives them.”

Steel shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit has massive respect for her captain and team mate, but not so much that Frew isn't above being the butt of a few team jokes.

“I knew Wendy from before I shifted down here because my sister lived with her. She really looked after me, showed me around and had us around for tea. There are so many stories about Wendy, but it’s hard to think of one that sums her up.

We love to prank her. She always gets such a fright that’s it’s so easy and so much fun to stitch her up. We’ll just hide and give her a fright and her reactions are so funny. The other night at the supermarket we hid some shrimp from the freezer section in her hoodie and she had no idea.”

Photo: Southern Steel coach Reinga Bloxham and captain Wendy Frew. Pic: Michael Donaldson Photography/Dianne Manson

Bloxham, who also came through the Southland netball ranks to take a place in that glamorous and dominant Sting team, will miss not having Frew around for many reasons next season. She gets the last word.

“For me one of the things I’ll remember most was from when she was younger and first came into the squad.

She was probably biting at my heels to take my position and that was quite motivating for me. It was also quite cool because she was local, home grown and just wanted to learn.

I was happy that it was someone like her that was coming in to have a go at taking my position.

For a wee bit we shared that position and it was nice to have that time as player to player, and now to come back and coach her has been something that has been really special.

That’s something that I’m going to miss - that connection we had previously, and now as a captain, that honesty that she brings to our team and to our game.”