Queensland Firebirds adamant arrival of Mary Cholhok won’t make them a one-trick pony

She’s the tallest player ever to take the Super Netball court but Mary Cholhok, who arrives in Queensland this week, won’t be the only focus of the revived Super Netball strugglers.

As the Queensland Firebirds prepare for the imminent arrival of the tallest player ever to grace a Super Netball court, coach Kiri Wills is adamant her team will be no one trick pony.

Ugandan goal shooter Mary Cholhok, who, at 201cm, will be the tallest player in the league,

will arrive in Brisbane later this week, joining her teammates for training.

A holding shooter who has dominated England’s Super League over the past several years and provided headaches for She Cranes’ international foes, will be the focus of the Firebirds attack.

While Grace Nweke’s signing with the NSW Swifts has caused ripples on both sides of the Tasman and plenty of headlines, Cholhok’s Super Netball arrival is no less significant.

Uganda netball star Mary Cholhok will arrive in Brisbane this week to join the Queensland Firebirds.

The 28-year-old has been the Super League’s top scorer four times since her debut in 2019, her efforts helping Loughborough Lightning to three premierships.

But Cholhok has long wanted to test herself in Australia and Super Netball, the league considered the world’s best competition.

Coach Wills may be another newbie at the Firebirds but has long been interested in Cholhok.

The former Northern Stars member attempted unsuccessfully to lure the Ugandan to New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership, which has a limit of one import per team, and was thrilled on securing the Firebirds’ job to learn that Cholhok had been signed by the franchise.

“I’d been trying to get her, yes,” Wills said at the Firebirds’ fan day at Brisbane’s Southbank Parklands on Sunday.

“She’s absolutely the kind of athlete you want in this competition and she deserves that step up as well.

“She’s gone so well internationally, the Vitality League (English Super League) has done her some really good groundwork, so this is the next step for her and she is very, very excited - and very committed to settling in here and making the most of the opportunity.”

Nweke, at 193cm, is one of the tallest players in the league, while the Thunderbirds’ Romelda Aiken-George is 196cm and Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, for the Fever is 198cm.

Cholhok will be Super Netball’s tallest player. Picture: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images

Cholhok of Uganda towers above six-foot New Zealand defender Karin Burger. Picture: Getty Images

Goaler Jane Cook, who played three games for the Thunderbirds in 2017, was listed at 199cm ahead of her debut and 200cm in media guides after that, but claimed 201cm - proud of “every millimetre” of her height.

Cholhok though will be the tallest ever athlete to be playing regularly, her height making her “very difficult to stop”, Wills conceded.

“Her hands are the size of dinner plates, so if we can get the ball in the vicinity, we should be able to pull it in,” the coach said.

“What I do love about Mary, though, is that she also has a lot of great ball skill and fluidity to her game.

“So she’s happy to take the ball at the top of the circle and then do a lay-up under the post, so I think the two point game and her versatility - she’s not just going to be holding in the back space - is going to be really good for us.”

Wills is excited at what Cholhok will bring but she’s insistent goal attacks Tippah Dwan and Emily Moore remain reliable and consistent scorers to ensure the Firebirds do not become predictable.

“I want a double-edged sword. We have got to be a threat at goal attack,” she said.

New Queensland Firebirds coach Kiri Wills had attempted to recruit Mary Cholhok while coaching in the ANZ Premiership in New Zealand. Picture: Trent Schwarz/Netball Queensland

“You’re not just a third feeder, you’re not another wing attack, you’re a goal attack.

“So it should create some space for them to run the front or run the back, depending on where Mary is - they should have a lot more space to work with.”

Dwan, who burst on to the scene for the Firebirds in 2020 stepping up for a pregnant Gretel Bueta before heading to Adelaide and winning a premiership with the Thunderbirds ahead of a return to Queensland, is excited to work with Cholhok.

“We’ve been working really hard at training,” Dwan said of herself and Moore, who are competing for the starting goal attack bib.

“I think if we can help out in that shooting load, between us scoring 15 to 20 goals a game would be amazing - and then Mary scores, you know, the high volume - if we especially, can put those numbers on the board for our team, it’ll be really good for us.”

Cholhok, who arrives in the River City after competing at the recent Netball Nations Cup, is one of three new faces in the Firebirds squad, along with England Roses midcourter Imogen Allison - who also rejoined the squad last week after international duties - and Queensland pathways player Ash Barnett.

Originally published as Queensland Firebirds adamant arrival of Mary Cholhok won’t make them a one-trick pony