Steadily rising through the ranks in the NSW Premier League and the Giants Academy, NSW product Emily Moore will soon be pulling on the purple dress of the Queensland Firebirds after signing on for the 2023 Super Netball season.
Announcing her signing last week, Moore has been named as a replacement player for Firebirds star Gretel Bueta who announced her pregnancy only days earlier.
Making a mark in the NSW Premier League with North Shore United and a member of the Giants Academy, Moore joins the Firebirds with a wealth of experience which she believes holds her in good stead for the jump to the next level.
"I've been extremely lucky in terms of what Netball NSW has created in a pathway and I'm an athlete that's come through that pathway and I'm so grateful for it," Moore told ESPN.
"In particular the Giants Netball Academy has been a really good pathway for me and they really focus on building those skills that you'll need at an SSN level and that's well beyond just the technical skills on court but looks at you as a whole athlete and that's really put me in good stead coming into this environment."
During Moore's time at North Shore United in the NSW Premier league, she was coached by some of the biggest names in NSW netball including Kim Green and new Firebirds head coach Bec Bulley with Moore telling ESPN she's excited to see what Bulley can achieve at Super Netball level.
"Bec is a wonderful coach and I've got a lot of respect for her having played under North Shore United and also at Giants Academy and I'm really excited to see what she does as a head coach at the SSN level.
"I think one of the best things about Bec is that she's a really balanced coach. She has that mixed focus on all aspects of the game, whether it's a technical and tactical component, whether it's sheer hard work or sheer team culture.
"I think when you bring that together you're able to create a really successful team and that's what she was able to do at North Shore United and I'm hoping to see her replicate that up here at Firebirds."
It was a huge decision to make the move up to Queensland, with the 25-year-old originally asked to come train with the Firebirds for a short period of time. Although in the end the decision was an easy one, with the chance to train with a Super Netball team full time a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"It was definitely a big move, and there was a lot to weigh up. I had a full time job back in Sydney and my family in Sydney and there was no set timeline around it, so it was definitely a decision I had to think about but I think in the end it was a pretty easy one for me because these opportunities don't come around very often and you just have to grab it with both hands."
Moore has been training with the Firebirds since November so has been within the environment through close to the whole pre-season, including the first addition of the Spirit Cup against Sunshine Coast Lightning and the trip to Tasmania to face Collingwood.
"So I've been up here since the start of November training with the girls," Moore told ESPN. "I've managed to be a part of most of the pre-season which has allowed me to get into a full swing of things. So being a part of the full pre-season, I had a couple of practice matches and am now able to come in as a replacement player."
When Moore found out that she'd been awarded the final spot on the Firebirds list for 2023, one of the first emotions she felt was joy, not for herself but for Bueta who recently announced that she was expecting her second child.
"I think I had mixed emotions, I think one of the first emotions that I had was just happiness for Grete [Bueta], obviously she has been through a fair bit and I was just so happy to hear that she had fallen pregnant again and the club has put all their support behind her, so I was really happy for her.
"Then obviously also, just kind of shocked and a bit of a surreal feeling to actually be a replacement player, that still didn't make it any less surreal and I still at this moment I'm thinking it's just crazy that I'm actually in this position and I'm just really grateful and fortunate for the opportunity."
Moore will be sharing a goal circle with the likes of Donnell Wallam and Mia Stower, with Moore having experience playing alongside a holding shooter in Sabina Gomboso at North Shore United.
"I've had experience playing with tall holding shooters in NSW so I definitely think I can draw on that playing with Donnell [Wallam], but I'm also really eager to learn about that moving circle with Mia [Stower] because they're both such incredible shooters and I'm just learning so much from the pair of them."
Having Moore in the Firebirds in the training environment since November, it's been a good opportunity to develop combinations with Stower and Wallam. From a Firebirds perspective as a whole, the preseason has been productive in terms of developing the combinations across the team.
"I think pre-season has been so good in terms of developing combinations. Obviously this Firebirds team is a real mix of experience that's played together before and also some new faces. It's great to get out and have some pre-season hitouts and start to build those combinations."
Going into the season proper, Moore will be looking to absorb as much information from the players around her to help take her game to a whole new level in her debut season, while the idea of running out in front of a packed-out Nissan Arena has the excitement levels building.
"I think for me I'm just focused on learning as much as I can. I feel really lucky to be in an environment with some of the best netballers in the world, you look at people like Kim Ravaillion who's been around for a number of years now and there's just so much experience that you can take from her. So really learning from everyone around me.
"In terms of what I'm looking forward to, I think just being able to run out at Nissan Arena for the first time and experience the atmosphere that is the Purple Army. The girls always talk about how great our members are and how incredible the atmosphere is here at Nissan Arena when it's a packed stadium and I just can't wait to experience it first hand."