George Fisher stepping up in second Steel season

SouthlandSport editor Nathan Burdon caught up with Southern Steel goal shoot George Fisher to find out how the English international is finding her second season in the deep south.

What an impact George Fisher has made on Southern Steel netball over the past two seasons.

It’s fair to say the franchise has been blessed with some great shooters over the years - Donna Wilkins, Tania Dalton, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid to name a few - and like those players Fisher has become a real fan favourite with her ruthless shooting on court and engaging personality off it.

Fisher’s debut ANZ Premiership season in 2021 saw her finish as the third-best shooter in the competition behind Grace Nweke and Ellie Bird, shooting 585 goals at 91 percent.

“I loved it here and that’s why I came back - I was like ‘please take me back’. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think my game looked totally different from the start of the season to the end of the season and again this season it’s a completely different role again,” she said.

“No one really knew what to expect from me (last year), I didn’t really know what to expect from myself. I was fresh out of uni and I’d had a few caps for England, but no real game time. I was really lucky to have someone like Tiana (Metuarau) who is super experienced in the ANZ and Shan (Saunders) and Kate Heffernan, people who brought me up to that level.”

Midway through a Covid-disrupted 2022, Fisher was also ranked third in the competition behind Aaliyah Dunn and Nweke and going at 93 percent.

Last year, Fisher was a relatively unknown quantity when she arrived in Invercargill, but she quickly built a winning combination with Metuarau which proved a big factor in the Ascot Park Hotel Steel making it through to the finals.

WIth Metuarau returning to the Pulse this year, Fisher has had more asked of her.

“I’m taking on games and I’m getting a lot of two-on-one (defence) at the moment. I loved last season - I learnt loads from Tiana, although I hate to say it, and I learnt loads from Shan, she’s a lovely player, very smart,” Fisher said.

“I’ve learnt to battle it out. I feel like I’m a lot more gritty than I used to be. I’ve lost some of my English girly ways,” she joked.

The return from injury of Georgia Heffernan and the introduction of young shooter Savior Tui has meant Fisher has taken on more of a leadership role.

“I’m the one now stepping up and I’ve got Savs and G there with me. G has come back from injury and Savs is still really young and she’s more of a shooter than a goal attack, so she’s learning a new position. I have to talk a bit more and they are probably bored with my voice,” she said.

“It’s all growth, it’s all learning. I’m finding the games tougher this year. I always say I’m not a leader, I’m a bit of an airhead when it comes to netball tactics. Even though I’m saying a bit more, we’ve got good comms with all the girls.”