Captain of Jamaica’s senior netball team Jhaniele Fowler-Reid says the hunger that the Sunshine Girls left the island with to play in the just concluded Fast5 World Series in Australia is what saw them coming back with a medal for the first time since the format of the game changed.

Jamaica won silver at the tournament, losing their only match in the final to England, whom they had beaten in an earlier game.

“I feel it was the hunger that we had. We knew that we needed this, we knew that we had to come out with a medal; just that hunger and excitement that we went down with brought us over the line,” she explained.

Fowler-Reid says the success Down Under has provided a real boost for the girls.

“We have been coming from far, we have been through a lot over the past couple of months, and this gives us upliftment and helps us to feel better about ourselves as a group,” she stated.

The tallest member of the team and with the responsibility of goal shooter, the world-rated Sunshine Girl was able to deliver both at the rim and from distance for her team. She credited her technique for the success she had at the tournament.

“I just used my technique to bring me over the line with the far shots. I know that my team and myself needed the far shots to win the games, so I had to come good.”

Jamaica went into the final with the psychological advantage of having beaten England in their penultimate game 47-38, but it was the power play in the final that proved to be the critical factor in determining who won the gold medal.

“Nothing went wrong (in the final). It all boils down to them having their power play in the last quarter of the game and they had their two points. We were settled and we were ready to win the finals, but it just didn’t go our way and that’s just how it is,” she reasoned.

Jamaica’s only previous medal at the tournament came back in 2009 when it was called FastNet and seven members played instead of the current five.

— Dwayne Richards