Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Test veteran Gina Crampton admits watching the Silver Ferns from afar next year will be tough after an elite career, which started in 2012.
The Ferns and Stars wing attack will miss next year's ANZ Premiership and netball's international season as she takes a break from the sport.
Crampton will head to the United States to join her partner, who is playing rugby professionally in New York.
Last week Crampton was named in the Silver Ferns team to compete in next month's World Cup in South Africa, meaning it could be her last outing in the black dress.
She won't be available for test series against England and Australia later this year and her absence from next year's domestic league will rule her out of Silver Ferns contention in 2024.
Crampton said she made her mind up over a month ago and it was a hard decision after playing elite netball for so many years.
She said playing for a franchise and the Silver Ferns was demanding.
"There's not much time for much else I guess, even though training might take up three or four hours of your day it's all the other stuff, making sure you're eating right, getting your rehab in, seeing the physio, getting treatment, all that sort of stuff that you need to be on top of your game," Crampton said.
"At the same time it's the best job in the world for sure, it's an amazing thing to be able to play the sport that we love and it's been amazing."
Gina Crampton and Dame Noeline Taurua at the 2019 World Cup. Photo: Photosport
The 31-year-old said the game would remain on her radar but was not sure what her netball future held for her.
Crampton, who has 63 Test caps, said taking a short sabbatical last year after the Commonwealth Games had been good for her.
"Even though I didn't think I needed it I definitely felt better after doing it. It's awesome that Noels [Dame Noeline] knows and believes that it's a big part of her players playing well is that they are well balanced off the court as well."
But the thought of taking a whole year off netball is another thing for Crampton, who started her elite career with the Southern Steel in 2012 and has clocked up 147 national league games.
"It's definitely going to be super weird, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. And I'll definitely have major FOMO (fear of missing out) watching it all happening from afar so I'll have to deal with that I think."
Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua said the veteran had carried a heavy workload for the national team in recent years and said they would remain in contact with Crampton during her time away.
At last year's Commonwealth Games for reasons ranging from injury to pregnancy, the Silver Ferns were missing three key players that had experience at a pinnacle event.
Crampton captained the side in Birmingham, where the team came away with a bronze medal.
"It was definitely I think obvious that we were missing a few people.
"What was really awesome about the campaign was that me and Sulu [Fitzpatrick, vice captain] worked really closely together and she's the person that puts the most love into the team and it felt really evenly balanced in terms of extra work that we were doing away from the actual games. It was a really fun period of time, I enjoyed it."
Gina Crampton is hoping the Silver Ferns can repeat what they did at the 2019 Netball World Cup. Photo: © SWpix.com (t/a Photography Hub Ltd)
Crampton was excited that the experienced trio, captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Jane Watson, and Karin Burger were back to tackle another pinnacle event.
"I think that the potential is massive, we've got a really exciting group, I'm just stoked to be amongst the 15 that's going across. I think it's going to be a hotly contested World Cup, there's at least five major teams going for three medals so it's on."
Knowing that the World Cup could possibly be her last games in the black dress, Crampton said she wanted to give every last fibre she had to the campaign.
"It's just an extra layer on top for me that that's going to be my last hurrah for a while at least and definitely want to be putting my best foot out there and just going for it, going crazy and we just want to go for that gold."
The Silver Ferns have three camps before heading to the World Cup, including one on the Sunshine Coast, which was a key part of the side's 2019 build up.
"It seems crazy that it's been four years since the last one, it's just flown by. And Sunshine Coast actually isn't the best lot of memories for me that camp we had there in 2019 was the week of hell, it was so so gruelling.
"So I'm a bit apprehensive about what this one is going to hold but in the talks that we've had with Noels already even though we are defending the title, we have no claim on it.
"I think that's really exciting that she's got a that approach, even though we are doing some of the same things, we can't do exactly what we did four year's ago and expect the same results."
Stars coach Kiri Wills praised the huge influence Crampton had during her time with the Stars and said her biggest impact was the professionalism she brought and the ability to balance that with fun.
