Netball Super League | Q&A: Sirens’ Claire Maxwell and Cat Tuivaiti

Strathclyde Sirens blazed their trail onto the Vitality Netball Superleague scene two years ago and are out to shake things up in 2019.

They laid down a marker at Super 10 with an impressive 56-38 victory over Surrey Storm before suffering a 55-45 defeat to five-time champions Team Bath in Round 2.

We caught up with Claire Maxwell and Cat Tuivaiti to talk female icons, their thoughts on the team’s strengths and the Vitality Netball World Cup.

Who are your female icons and why?

Claire: I love Serena Williams because I feel like she’s a strong female in the world. She’s very powerful, very dominant and she does it in her own way as well. She’s had some hard press in her life and she’s pushed through and she’s determined and she’s the best in the world at what she does.

Cat: There’s a New Zealand shot putter called Valerie Adams, she’s very successful. I think I admire her a lot because I couldn’t possibly imagine being in a sport where you only had yourself. I think I spend a lot of time leaning on my teammates and management and everyone else. She’s been in a solo sport for so long and been so successful, she’s overcome some pretty big barriers and she’s been the best at her craft for around 10 years so I admire everything about her, she’s pretty incredible.

What do you think your team’s main strengths are?

Claire: We’ve got that grit and determination that’s never short of our game and I think it’s part of our trademark so you know whoever we’re against we’re going to fight for that ball for the full 60 and never give up and I’m really proud that that’s one of our key strengths as a team.

What are your expectations for the team?

Cat: I think I hold learning quite high on the list. I think there are some very young girls coming through and a number of Scottish players which is really good for Scottish netball at the moment with the Vitality Netball World Cup coming up as well. We just want to rock the boat, we want to shake up the competition a little bit – it’s going to happen.

With the Vitality Netball World Cup fast approaching, what impact will this have on the league?

Claire: The league is getting bigger and bigger in terms of the amount of people that are actually watching our sport and taking note of it, which is fantastic. There are so many people who come for the first time and then they love it which they don’t expect to do which I think is such a thing about our sport. Something we can be really proud of is that we take people by surprise with how athletic it is so the audience is growing and growing. I think that’s going to become even more evident at the Vitality Netball World Cup and with so many players bidding for a World Cup place – whether it’s in the England team, ourselves, etc. – you know it’s going to make it one of the best leagues in the world.