Tall for the time (five-feet, nine-inches), dynamic defender Tilly Hirst was a prominent force during a strong provincial era for Rotorua Netball.

Predominantly a goal defence, she made the Silver Ferns for the first time in 1967 with the added honour of the vice-captaincy.

Without the latitude there is today of contesting the ball, she was lauded as a very ‘clean’ defender and expert at deploying the full range of defensive strategies from the zone, to man-on-man and the straight hunting of the ball.

Hirst had a stellar start to her international career when the Silver Ferns convincingly won the second edition of the Netball World Cup held in Perth in 1967.

On one of the rare occasions for the times, an international visit outside of a world cup year took place in 1969 when Australia toured New Zealand. She played in both Tests which produced a win apiece.

Hirst was selected again for the 1971 Netball World Cup in Jamaica, the Silver Ferns setting sail on a remarkable build-up which took the team around the world. Leaving New Zealand in October, the Silver Ferns eventually returned home in January after finishing runners-up to Australia in Jamaica, not surprisingly worn out by their build-up schedule. The schedule included stop-offs in Australia and Singapore for matches, before passing through Hong Kong, Athens, Rome and Amsterdam on the way to a month-long preparation in England followed by 10 days in Trinidad to acclimatise.

A very fine player, Hirst retired from international play at the end of this tour.