Star de Bruin ‘obvious’ choice as T-birds captain

NEW Zealand champion Leana de Bruin has been confirmed as Adelaide Thunderbirds captain for the Super Netball season.

Thunderbirds coach Dan Ryan said the former South African and Kiwi international was the obvious choice to lead the club as it seeks to rebound from a nightmare 2017 season.

As predicted by The Advertiser on Monday, she will replace Erin Bell, skipper for the past two years who has moved to Collingwood.

Veteran midcourter Chelsea Pitman has been announced as vice-captain with Kate Shimmin, Fiona Fowler and Cat Tuivaiti in the leadership group.

De Bruin said she was honoured to be given the role, adding she was a form believer in leading by example.

“If you don’t practise what you preach then there is no point, that’s how I see it,” de Bruin said. “I want to be here to win.

“If you don’t want to be here to win then you may as well not turn up. I’ve retired internationally, but I feel like I’m back in the competitiveness of really tough competition.

“That is why I came over (from NZ), because I miss the fierce competitiveness and professionalism over here.

“I’m excited to see what this group can do. There is a lot of potential.”

Ryan said history proved the best captains are defenders, while de Bruin has a proven record as a leader and the mindset of being a winner.

He noted she had the mindset when under pressure to want to be the person who wins the ball for the team and described that as leadership.

“Leadership is about influencing the people around you and the results of matches,” he said. “It is probably easier to captain as a defender because all you have to is stop your opponent and get the ball. There is a lot less emotion than an attacker has to deal with.

“Leana’s competitiveness and winning spirit, plus her tenacity, are things she brings to the team and that fits in nicely with what we are trying to create.”

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Martin is an enthusiastic programmer, a webdeveloper and a young entrepreneur. He is intereted into computers for a long time. In the age of 10 he has programmed his first website and since then he has been working on web technologies until now. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of BriefNews.eu and PCHealthBoost.info Online Magazines. His colleagues appreciate him as a passionate workhorse, a fan of new technologies, an eternal optimist and a dreamer, but especially the soul of the team for whom he can do anything in the world.

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