West Coast Fever star Jess Anstiss opens up about her commitment to playing physical brand of netball despite having one kidney
West Coast Fever’s Jess Anstiss might feel nervous ahead of Sunday’s Super Netball Grand Final, but that’s nothing compared to what her family goes through.
Anstiss has emerged as one of the toughest young talents in Australian netball, which recently earned her a call-up into the Diamonds squad. However few would know that she plays her physical brand of netball with only one kidney.
“When I was born they were both not working too well, and they could repair one, but not the other one so when I was four weeks old I had an operation and they took one out,” Anstiss told Wide World of Sports.
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While she appears to be a picture of health on the outside, doctors told her she would never be able to play contact sport as a result of the operation. Netball was her only avenue to play competitive sport, but she’s still taking a risk every time she steps out on court.
“They classify netball as semi-contact so I can still play that,” she said.
“There’s quite a few of my family that get a bit nervous when I’m on the floor which happens a lot during the game. It keeps them on the edge of their seats but I haven’t stopped the way I play.”
The wing defender has been preparing for the biggest game of her career on Sunday at Perth Arena when the Fever take on the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
As a West Australian native, playing for West Coast, in a home grand final, the odds couldn’t be stacked any more in her favour to have a stellar game.
“The fact that we get to play in a grand final on our home court, it’s great for the netball WA community. To get that victory there will be even sweeter, especially being at home with friends and family in the crowd,” she said.
“That’s the aim and we’ve just got to follow the process to get there.”
That process has included the squad mimicking the early 1pm start on game day in an attempt to make the build-up as familiar as possible, and ensure nerves don’t hinder their performance.
“We’ve come up against them twice this season and have come out on top by one goal each time. So it’s more about how we play our game than combating what the Lightning does,” Anstiss said.
“We just need to play the game our way.”
Anstiss is predicting a nail-biter as the Fever eye their maiden netball title.
“I think it’s going to be a really close game, unfortunately, because I don’t really like close games,” she said.
“I think the Fever will come out on top. It’ll be a physical contest and a really close game.
