The Townsville teenager was spotted after a standout performance in the opening round in Rockhampton last month and has since joined NQ United teammates Chelsea O’Neill and Charlotte Clive as home-grown QFFA athletes in the franchise’s main squad while training partner Shamika Griese is also part of the QFFA.
“Mia has not yet turned 16, and she is absolutely matching it in our adult environment and really impressing everybody,” NQ United Head Coach Jillian Joyce said.
“It's fantastic that she has had that recognition and been added to that squad.
“I'm a big believer that there's so much talent up here and given the right opportunities, we can contribute to making Queensland the top state in Australia.”
Solomona and her NQ United teammates will be back on court on home soil with Townsville hosting Round 2 of Ruby North this weekend.
Having endured a 12-hour bus trip to get to the opening round in Rockhampton, where United won two of their three games, Joyce is excited about what her team can do in front of their own fans.
“Being at home and being able to drive 10 minutes to the game is certainly something I know the players are looking forward to in comparison (to Rockhampton),” she said.
“We went out in our first game, and we probably underperformed slightly as we learned about the step up in standard that this competition was from our regular week-to-week community netball.
“We now have that under our belt, and we're smarter and stronger for that experience. So we are really looking forward to going out there and showing our home crowd exactly what North Queensland United is capable of and we would be disappointed if we didn't come away with three wins.”
Boosting United is the mixture of experience and youth Joyce has brought together in her squad from young guns like Solomona alongside leaders like former England underage youth international and captain Claudia Heath and former Brisbane-based ex-HART Premier Netball League Sapphire Division players Tiarni Fennell and Tiarna Kerehoma.
“Taking away that she's a fantastic player and how strong she is on court, she is a lovely person with true high-performance values when she's in a team environment,” Joyce said of Heath.
“She brings that visual representation of what this competition is all about, helping regional athletes develop in that high performance environment.
“She is just a naturally kind and nurturing person as well, but in a way that holds individuals to account.
“As a coach, I could not have been any luckier for her to have moved into the region, because quite genuinely, having her plus my two vice-captains in Tiarna and Tiarni have made my job a lot easier.”
The second round of the Ruby North begins on Saturday at Townsville Stadium. A full list of fixtures is available here.
Don’t miss any of the action. Catch every match from of Ruby North streamed LIVE AND FREE on netballqtv.com.au.
