All eyes were on two young Bay of Plenty netballers last night, as they stood side-by-side with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic defence Leana de Bruin and Melbourne Vixens captain Bianca Chatfield.

In front thousands of fans at ASB Stadium, Tauranga students Iunisi Niu, 13, and Grace Herdman, 15, won the opportunity to meet the captains and high five each player as they ran on court, thanks to the ANZ Future Captains competition.

Magic defence Leana de Bruin, Future Captains Iunisi Niu, 13, and Grace Herdman, 15, and Vixens captain Bianca Chatfield. Photo: Supplied.

Iunisi, who attends Otumoetai College, says her favourite part of the night was meeting the players.

The keen shooter says she picked up some tips from watching the professionals at work.

'It was really good to watch them,” she says. 'Their shooting was great. I learned how important it is to find space and get out in front.”

Whakatane High School student Grace says it was unbelievable being so close to her netball heroes.

'We got to watch the teams warm up,” explains Grace.

'It was really cool to watch them in person as usually I only get to see them on TV. I got to high five the Vixens players and it was amazing as some of those players are so good. They're international players.”

Grace plays goal attack for her school's premier one team and the Eastern BOP Under-17s, and hopes to one day be in the Magic side.

'I like that it's a team game and that you get to meet a lot of people,” she adds. 'There's always more to learn.”

ANZ Head of Sponsorship Susan McGregor says it is many young netballers dream to compete in the elite trans-Tasman tournament, and being a Future Captain gives them a taste of what it's like.

'We're giving 62 children from across the country the chance to be a Future Captain at each of the ANZ Championship matches this season,” says Susan.

'It's a once in a lifetime experience to stand out on court with the pros and hopefully it inspires a few players to keep training hard. It could definitely be one of them one day soon.”

The match saw the Vixens beat Magic 51-48.