Fries with that? Yes please, says Super Netball’s new aerial talent

While aware it is scarcely the diet of champions, exciting Adelaide Thunderbirds recruit Shamera Sterling is sticking with a successful recipe.

Specifically, a BBQ Bacon Lovers Burger and McFlurry, washed down with a Caramel Frappe.

"There is no McDonald’s in Jamaica, so I just take advantage of it when I get here, because I love it so much," laughs the Super Netball debutante, a standout performer in an unpredictable opening round.

Amazing talent: Shamera Sterling (left) attempts to spoil Jhaniele Fowler of the Fever Credit:AAP

"My dietician says [limit it to] one time a week, which is on a Sunday, but I normally do two or three times a week! I can’t gain any weight, so I might as well just eat what I want."

Certainly, a slight build belies a formidable defensive force; one who, after a late call-up to inter-collegiate athletics competition at the University of the West Indies, cleared 1.69m to finish fourth in the high jump – without any training.

The spectacular aerialist is clearly a natural one, and a performance that included five interceptions against the scoring benchmark that is fellow Jamaican Jhaniele Fowler – despite conceding eight centimetres and many more kilograms – was a highlight of the Thunderbirds’ upset of the West Coast Fever that ended a 27-game losing streak.

Sterling says she was well-prepared by Adelaide’s defensive coach Cathy Fellows, and executed a plan that included using her leap to jump from behind. But don’t think that is, ahem, a taste of things to come, for the 23-year-old is promising more of the unexpected ahead of round two against another West Indian, the in-form Trinidadian Swift, Sam Wallace.

"You know they always say Jamaicans are hard to predict? I don’t think anyone can predict how I play. I’m just going to turn up on the day and you won’t ever know what I’m coming with, because I play each and every opponent different," Sterling says.

Her teammate, Thunderbirds’ English co-captain Layla Guscoth, may have a slightly better idea than most, having seen the damage Sterling wrought during a dominant 2018 with Loughborough Lightning in the UK Superleague that included 101 interceptions from 18 games – almost twice as many as the next best – and the competition’s MVP award.

Little wonder the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist was the T-birds’ first signing under new coach Tania Obst, and that Guscoth, her defensive partner and one of three housemates, sees so much upside still ahead.

"To me it’s no surprise that she’s an amazing talent – Australia is going to see how brilliant she is," says Guscoth. "She’s so incredibly athletic and reads the game better than probably most defenders I know.

"The balls that she can get, I have no idea how she gets them, it’s absolutely incredible. So it’s really great to be on her side, because I’ve seen her destroy shooters that I’ve been in a team with many a time."

Sterling agrees with Guscoth that exposure to the elite, full-time environment of Super Netball will fast track her along the learning curve, given that strength and conditioning, for example, is far less of a priority back home in Jamaica.

As a younger player, she admits, "a slight hit would just put me onto the floor". Gradually, though, she is working on her body (her diet, maybe, not so much) and, with extra gym work, is hopeful not to "be knocked down by the big shooters".

She also dances. When homesickness strikes, as it sometimes does, Sterling says she turns on her Jamaican music and is transported back to Montego Bay.

"She comes alive if she plays a bit of music, or gets singing, gets dancing," Guscoth confirms. "She is introverted, and she is someone that likes her own space but … a bit of Jamaican music brings out this completely different side in her."

One who is still proudly mad for Maccas. Fries with that? Sure thing.

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