Leach embraces special bond with Eagles group

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

From the moment East Perth Eagles coach Tim Symons spoke to Awatea Leach she knew she wanted part of NBL1 West and it's surpassing all her expectations as she now prepares to take on Abby Cubillo while representing Poitukohu Maori o Aotearoa proudly.

Growing up in Rotorua, New Zealand, Leach had dreamed of getting to play basketball internationally and her first taste of that after Covid interrupted her time in college at Collin County was a stint in Queensland playing with Gladstone.

That led to her first NBL1 opportunity in the East at Albury-Wodonga Bandits before the chance came up to move West and join the Eagles for the 2025 season, and Leach couldn’t be happier with the move on all fronts.

Leach is playing a crucial role on an Eagles team sitting in fourth position in the NBL1 West by the end of Round 10 with a 7-3 record with her starting and producing 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals a game.

Now this week Leach gets to represent Poitukohu Maori o Aotearoa as part of the All Stars team this Wednesday night in Melbourne against the Indigenous All Stars from Australia which will feature her East Perth teammate Abby Cubillo.

CUBILLO EMBRACING NEW CHALLENGE OUT WEST WITH EAGLES

Representing Poitukohu Maori o Aotearoa

Leach has played for the Poitukohu Maori o Aotearoa All Stars team twice previously and it always means the world to her to not only represent New Zealand, but also her Maori people and then ultimately her family.

She takes it seriously to be a role model for her younger family members and to show them what is possible so for so many reasons, she can't wait for Wednesday night's game and the whole experience.

"I'm really excited about it. I am a proud Maori woman so I think not only representing my country but my people is a really big honour," Leach said.

"I don’t take it lightly but also I'm just so excited to see my other Indigenous Maori friends, and get to wear the jersey with my people and to do it for my family. It's not really about me, it's about my younger cousins who are looking up to me why I'm doing all this.

"I'm the oldest of about 30 grandchildren on my mum's side so there's a lot of eyes on me which is a little bit pressure, but it's good pressure. I know that if I'm trying my best they will see me doing that and will follow my footsteps hopefully one day.

"This is my third time now representing the Maori Indigenous basketball team and my first time was when I was 15 or 16 and I'm 26 now. I'm excited to play with my teammates and some of them were actually there a decade ago as well."

Coming up against Abby Cubillo

On the opposing team to Leach on Wednesday night playing for the Australian Indigenous All Stars team will be Eagles point guard Cubillo which is another aspect of the game she's looking forward to.

"It will be cool to play against Abby. I played against her in the Tauihi Aotearoa league and she's a tough person to guard for sure," she said.

"We've already agreed that we won't be guarding each other in that game, but it will be a cool thing.

"At the end of the day we're just celebrating the culture and win or lose, we're getting out there and representing our people which is the best thing about it. We need more competitions like this I think."

Special connection in this team

While it didn’t take long for Leach to want to join the Eagles in the NBL1 West for the 2025 once she had a first conversation with coach Symons, she has even been blown away by the team she has become part of.

Not only are the Eagles winning on the court having won seven of 10 matches so far this season, but the connection amongst the team is something rare that Leach has found throughout her career so far.

"I think it's just so exciting. Every time we play and every time we train it just gives me goosebumps," Leach said.

"That's because we are doing what we do best together on the court, but also we're having so much fun when we're doing it. That sounds cliché but it's true and at training yes we are giving everything, but we're smiling the entire time while dying out there.

"We're cracking jokes but there's time to be serious and pull each other up on things. It's nice to be accountable with the group but also to find a little bit of light heartedness within that seriousness.

"I'm happy with it and I like being in an environment where we all get along because it doesn't always happen at this level. I think for me to play my best I need to know that all my teammates are on the same page and that's what we are on this team."

How move to Eagles came about

As for how it all came about that Leach ended up joining the Eagles, she's not exactly sure what made coach Symons reach out to her in the first place other than to know it might have started with a connection to fellow Kiwi, and East Perth captain Tessa Morrison.

Having already spent the past two years playing in Australia, she knew that she was keen to stay playing in the country and preferrable in the NBL1 somewhere in the country.

Then once she had that first discussion with Symons about how he wanted her part of the East Perth team and what he was trying to build, and she knew she wanted to be part of it.

"My actual first year in Australia I played in the Queensland state league for Gladstone, which is just outside of Rockhampton," Leach said.

"So that was the pipeline for me basically to the NBL1 and I got a couple of looks from that and ended up at Albury.

"Just with the experience of all the other players on the team, that really helped me with my confidence from playing with high-calibre people and then Tim ended up giving me the call about coming to East Perth.

"He has made an amazing team with the people that we have now and that's not only on the court, but off the court as well. Everyone that I'm playing with currently in this team are really great people, and we all get all along which can be a rare thing on teams at this level.

"It's definitely a highlight of this season so far and I think it might have all started because our captain Tessa Morrison has the same agency as me, but I'll have to ask Tim how exactly he found me and why he wanted to bring me in."

Making the move to Australia

Going back a couple of years and Leach felt like it was now or never to try and bite the bullet to take herself out of her comfort zone to leave New Zealand and try to make a real go out of playing basketball while still in her prime years.

The first opportunity came up to play with the Gladstone Port City Power of the Queensland State League in 2023 which saw her then receive the chance to join the Albury-Wodonga Bandits of the NBL1 East in 2024.

Then when the call came from coach Symons and she heard how much he wanted her to join the Eagles in 2025, she didn't have to think long about the decision.

"What drew me to the Eagles was that from the first phone call I had with Tim I liked that he really wanted me," Leach said.

"I like going somewhere that I don’t feel like I'm a second choice and he makes every single one of us valued so that drew me to this club and also to Tim.

"But as for the move to Australia, it was just after Covid and there was a lot of uncertainty in general, I wanted to make that leap to become a semi-professional or professional player, and almost immediately all these opportunities came up in Australia.

"It almost like it was fate and it was always my overall goal even when I was a kid to play basketball for a living. Obviously it was hard to leave my family but it was a no-brainer for me and the great thing about it was that my partner has come along with me wherever I've played."

Having a supportive partner

One thing that Leach knows about this basketball journey she has decided to take in Australia is that there's no way she could do it and handle being away from home without the support of her partner, Heremia.

He has committed himself to moving with her wherever she goes for her basketball and it's something that she'll forever be thankful to him for.

"It's a big shoutout to Heremia and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do with basketball if he didn’t do all the things to help and support me," Leach said.

"He just holds space for me to be able to be a player and also to be the person that I am outside of the sport.

"I think that's a big thing because a lot of basketball players focus a lot on the actual sport, but when you go outside of basketball one day when you do retire, it's important to know who else you are as a person.

"That's where he has helped me figure that out and it's nice to not have to do this journey on myself because sometimes it is hard.

"It can be mentally tough on yourself so it is nice to have a shoulder to cry on sometimes and to also give you so much positive support. I feel honoured to have him with me wherever I go really, I'm very grateful."