Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born | [1] Wellington, New Zealand [1] | 3 September 1995 ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [2] | ||
School | Westfields Sports High School | ||
Netball career | |||
Playing position(s): GD, GK | |||
Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |
2015–16 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 29 | |
2017–21 | Giants Netball | 48 | |
2022-Present | Central Pulse | 23 | |
Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
2016 | Australia | 2 |
Kristiana Manu'a (born 3 September 1995) is a New Zealand-born Australian netball player in the ANZ Premiership, playing for the Central Pulse.
Manu'a was born in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, though moved with family to Liverpool, New South Wales as a baby. [3] She began her netball career back in New Zealand in 2015, playing for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic under head coach Julie Fitzgerald. [4] Despite representing Australia at underage level, Manu'a was approached by Netball New Zealand officials to represent the New Zealand national team during her time at the Magic. [4] She remained an Australian player however and made her debut for the Australian Diamonds in the 2016 Quad Series. [5]
Manu'a was set to play for Giants Netball in the inaugural season of Super Netball in 2017, though missed the entire season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon sustained in the off-season. [3] She eventually made her debut for the Giants in the 2018 season before finishing with the club in 2021. [6]
In 2022 Manu'a returned back to New Zealand, joining the Central Pulse in the ANZ Premiership. Her strong form saw her named in the 2022-2023 Silver Ferns development squad. Manu'a took the court in the 2022 Cadbury Series, playing for the NZ A team across the series which included a Mixed Side for the first time alongside the NZ Men's team. She also was a member of the 2022 Fast5 Ferns team that won a Bronze medal.
Solonaima Maria Folau is a retired New Zealand netball player. She played regularly for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns.
Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Central in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Central is the governing body that represents the Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, Taranaki and Wellington Regions. Pulse were 2019, 2020 and 2022 ANZ Premiership winners. They also won the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament.
Leana de Bruin is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She made her on-court debut for the Silver Ferns in 2003, and has gone on to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Championships, playing in the goal defence and goal keeper positions. In 2009, she pulled out of the team due to pregnancy, before returning the following year.
Katrina Rore is a New Zealand international netball player. Rore is a previous captain of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and plays for the Central Pulse in the ANZ Championship. Rore signed to the New South Wales swifts in the suncorp super netball league in the latter half of the 2018–2019 season following the netball World Cup.
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Kimiora Poi is a New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup, the 2018 Fast5 Netball World Series and the 2021 Constellation Cup. Since 2018, Poi has played for Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Premiership. Poi was a prominent member of the 2020 and 2021 Mainland Tactix teams that played in two successive grand finals. Ahead of the 2022 season, Poi was appointed Tactix captain.
Karin Burger is a New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2019 Netball World Cup and the 2021 Constellation Cup. Burger has also played for both Central Pulse and Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Premiership. She was a member of the Pulse teams that won 2019 and 2020 ANZ Premiership titles. While playing for Tactix, she was named 2021 ANZ Premiership Player of the Year.
The 2020 ANZ Premiership season was the fourth season of Netball New Zealand's ANZ Premiership. With a team coached by Yvette McCausland-Durie, captained by Katrina Rore and featuring Karin Burger, Aliyah Dunn and Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Central Pulse finished the regular season as minor premiers. In the grand final, Pulse defeated Mainland Tactix 43–31, winning their second consecutive premiership. Throughout the season, Netball New Zealand had to deal with considerable disruption because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This initially saw the league suspended for April and May. On its return in June, Round 2 through to Round 7 matches were all played behind closed doors at a single venue. In August, all Round 10 and two Final Series matches were cancelled and the Grand final was played behind closed doors.
Tiana Metuarau is a New Zealand netball international. Between 2017 and 2020, she was a prominent member of the Central Pulse team that won the 2018 Super Club title and the 2019 and 2020 ANZ Premiership titles. In 2022, Metuarau was co-captain of the Pulse team that won a third ANZ Premiership title.
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