Princesses, palaces and another one-on-one training session with the Diamonds coach.
Life for Australia netball superstar Gretel Bueta is never dull.
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And her latest movements have the netball fan base in a spin, fuelling speculation a Diamonds comeback could remain a possibility.
The popular former Firebirds shooter is preparing to leave for Malaysia this week where she’s set to play for the Johor Jewels in the country’s Netball Super League.
Bueta was invited to play by the Crown Princess of Johor Che’Puan Mahkota Khaleeda and spent time with her while over there in January for a selection camp. The pair have developed a strong friendship.
“I’m good friends with the princess now, I feel very honoured. She’s a beautiful woman and she is pregnant with her fifth child so she’s very family orientated. They’ve embraced my family, and even had presents delivered when we got there (to Malaysia) for the kids to keep them busy while we were there,” Bueta told Foxsports.com.au.
“She’s very thoughtful and very welcoming, and she was the biggest reason why I felt welcome in Malaysia.”
Bueta will relocate with her whole family, including husband Niko and three kids, for the next few months with the competition starting April 18. The whole family recently visited the Crown Prince and Princess of Johor at their royal estate.
“We’ve been to the estate and he’s (Crown Prince) has shown us his gym and grounds. He’s a polo player and has, I would say, 100 horses. It’s incredible,” she said.
The Crown Prince and Princess of Jahor are big sports fans and have invested in the development of sports leagues in Malaysia.
Sonny Bill Williams has been appointed as a sports ambassador there and currently heads up the rugby program while Socceroos great Tim Cahill is personal adviser to the Crown Prince, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, and is heavily involved in the football program. The Crown Prince owns the top tier football club Johor Darul Ta’zim FC.
The netball league is in its sixth year in Malaysia. There’s a new stadium being built and investment in star international players, with former Silver Ferns and Lightning midcourter Laura Langman set to join Bueta at the Jewels.
It’s fuelled speculation that Bueta could make a return to Suncorp Super Netball and even to the Diamonds setup for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Bueta sent fans into a frenzy last year when she was seen having a one-on-one training session with Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.
The 32-year-old told Foxsports.com.au she had another session with the national coach before the recent Jamaica Series and the pair are in regular contact.
“Yes I did some training with Stacey recently actually before the Jamaica Series,” she said.
“I’ll always have incredible respect for Stacey. The Diamonds are in a position they are because of her.”
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So could a comeback in the green and gold dress be on the cards?
“Did you see the Jamaica series? I think they’re doing pretty well without me I was like, you guys don’t need me. You are absolutely flying,” Bueta quipped.
“So, look, if they put out an SOS, I would lace up the boots, but I think they’re in pretty good hands, that’s for sure.
“I’m just the ‘I’m just the here if you need, if you get five injuries in a row’. I will be there.”
Bueta hasn’t played professional netball since Australia’s gold medal match at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after taking time away from the game to have her second child Toby in 2023, and then her third child Lacy last year.
The shooter admits she came close to returning to the competition for the upcoming season before the opportunity in Malaysia arose.
“I want to see the (Australia’s Super Netball) league keep growing. I want my daughter Lacey, if she wants to, to have an awesome league to play in over in Australia, one that supports her financially, and also one that provides her with incredible opportunities,” she said.
“I feel like I’ve ticked the boxes of my dreams in what I wanted to achieve over in Australia and I did think I was done until, this opportunity presented itself and I’ve even loved the training for it, so it’s been really good.”
Yet she hasn’t ruled out a Super Netball comeback completely.
“I’m not too sure, we’ll see if it’s the right timing,” Bueta said.
“I’m not saying no, because I don’t want to say no and then all of a sudden I’m like, ‘oh, surprise’, like those people that retire five times.
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“I think what’s really hard is that the group of girls playing in Diamonds at the moment are the group that I grew up with and I’ve taken a different path in that I’ve had three children.
“But they’re still my some of my really close friends and I speak to some of the girls daily. That’s probably the connection that I feel, in that, my best mates are still a part of the diamonds and doing incredible things, and I still feel very much connected to the group, but I know my life and circumstances are very very different.
“So that’s probably been the challenge but I feel like Malaysia has been the perfect fit for the family and something that really excites us.”
So in the meantime, she’s swapping the Australian Diamonds for Malaysian jewels, rubbing shoulders with royalty.
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