The Southern Steel midcourter departed her team last month and hopped on a flight to Cape Town, linking up with the Silver Ferns for the Netball Quad Series.
It was uncharted territory for Heffernan — she had never been absent during the Steel’s pre-season before — but what better excuse than getting her first solid court time in the middle for the Silver Ferns?
Heffernan, who played centre through school before becoming a wing defence for the Steel, was sensational and really stamped her mark on why she deserves the Silver Ferns’ centre bib.
"I really loved playing centre in that Ferns team.
"I think it was a really good series for me to get my confidence on attack at that level. I’ve kind of always been like ‘I’m a defensive centre’."
Picking up the award for midcourter of the year did not hurt either, even if it did come as a surprise to her.
"It was a really cool team to be a part of, I was pretty lucky who I was playing with.
"I really enjoyed it but it made me more excited to come back [to the Steel]."
Being away from the Steel was different, but she was enthusiastic to be back — "I really did miss the group" — building on her connections from the past five seasons and settling into her new role as vice-captain
She will assist new captain Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, and joins former Magic captain Sam Winders and George Fisher in the leadership group.
"Hoochi’s an amazing leader and I think it’s just making sure that I can make her role a little bit easier.
"I don’t think it really changes that much for me — I think I’m pretty lucky that way."
The Steel has had a bit of a shake up this season, with three new faces, and the loss of Shannon Saunders (pregnancy) and Fisher (injury), the attack line is fresh.
But mixing it up is a good thing and Heffernan looked forward to playing alongside a blend of youth and experience.
The Steel uncharacteristically missed the playoffs last season — after struggling to bounce back from Covid-19 woes — but showed what it could do when it beat the Mystics in Invercargill.
"We’ve just got to be able to adapt faster to what happens.
"But I think it’s awesome having someone like Sammy [Winders] come in because she’s experienced and I think she’s going to be great in those moments."
Heffernan was gunning for the Steel to make the playoffs again and had full confidence it could take out the competition.
"I think we’ve got quite an unpredictable team. I don’t think other teams actually know what they’re going to get sometimes which I think is a strength."
And while she would love nothing more than to make the World Cup team later this year, her sights were firmly on the Steel for the near future.
The Steel will be in action again today, playing a pre-season game against the Tactix in Timaru.
