Kristiana Manu'a

Last updated

Kristiana Manu'a
Personal information
Born (1995-09-03) 3 September 1995 (age 28) [1]
Wellington, New Zealand [1]
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
School Westfields Sports High School
Netball career
Playing position(s): GD, GK
YearsClub team(s)Apps
2015–16 Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 29
2017–21 Giants Netball 48
2022-Present Central Pulse 23
YearsNational 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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Folau</span> New Zealand netball player

Solonaima Maria Folau is a retired New Zealand netball player. She played regularly for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Pulse</span> New Zealand netball team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitlin Bassett</span> Australian netball player

Caitlin Bassett is a former Australian netballer, who played for Giants Netball and the Australia national netball team. Between 2017 and 2021 Bassett captained Australia in international netball tests.

Ellen Halpenny is a former New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand team that were silver medalists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. During the ANZ Championship era, Halpenny played for Canterbury Tactix and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. She subsequently played for Scottish Sirens during the 2017 Netball Superleague season. During the ANZ Premiership era, she played for Northern Stars and Southern Steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noeline Taurua</span> New Zealand netball player and coach

Dame Noeline Taurua is a New Zealand international netball coach and former representative player. She is currently head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns.

Chelsea Pitman is an Australian-born netball player representing the England National Netball Team internationally. She is currently contracted as a training partner for the West Coast Fever playing in the Suncorp Super Netball competition in Australia. West Coast Fever has just became premiers after winning the Suncorp Super Netball League 2022. She is predominantly a wing attack, but can also play goal attack.

Sulu Fitzpatrick, also known as Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick, is a former New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2021 Constellation Cup and represented New Zealand at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She captained New Zealand when they won the 2018 Fast5 Netball World Series and again during the 2021 Taini Jamison Trophy Series. During the ANZ Championship era, Fitzpatrick played for Northern Mystics, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and Southern Steel. During the ANZ Premiership era, she played for Mystics, Northern Stars and Central Pulse. During her career, she played for every ANZ Premiership team except Mainland Tactix. She was a member of four premiership winning teams – the 2012 Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, the 2019 Central Pulse, the 2021 Northern Mystics and the 2023 Northern Mystics. She captained Mystics when they won both premierships. In 2021, Fitzpatrick received the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.

Ameliaranne Ekenasio, previously known as Ameliaranne Wells, is a New Zealand netball international. In 2010 and 2011, Wells represented Australia at under-19 and under-21 levels. In 2014 she switched allegiances to New Zealand. She represented New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and was a prominent member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019 Netball World Cup. She captained New Zealand when they won the 2021 Constellation Cup.

Kelly Jury is a New Zealand netball international. She represented New Zealand at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. During the ANZ Championship era Jury played for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Since 2020, she has played for Central Pulse in the ANZ Premiership. Jury was a prominent member of the Pulse teams that won the 2020 and 2022 ANZ Premierships. Alongside Tiana Metuarau, she was co-captain of the 2022 Pulse team. She was the 2022 ANZ Premiership Player of the Year and shared the 2022 Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award with Grace Nweke.

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.

Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between 2008 and 2011, she served as head coach of New South Wales Swifts in the ANZ Championship. In 2008, she guided Swifts to the inaugural ANZ Championship title. Between 2014 and 2016, she guided Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic to the Finals Series every year in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Fitzgerald has served as head coach of Giants Netball in Suncorp Super Netball, guiding them to two grand finals and two minor championships. In 2020, Fitzgerald was made a Member of the Order of Australia.

The 2022 ANZ Premiership season was the sixth season of Netball New Zealand's ANZ Premiership. With a team coached by Yvette McCausland-Durie, co-captained by Kelly Jury and Tiana Metuarau and featuring Aliyah Dunn, Erikana Pedersen and Whitney Souness, Central Pulse won their third title. Pulse finished the regular season as minor premiers, finishing above Northern Stars and Northern Mystics. In the Elimination final, Stars defeated Mystics 63–57. Pulse then defeated Stars 56–37 in the Grand final.

Erikana Pedersen is a former New Zealand netball international. She began her senior netball playing career with Northern Mystics during the ANZ Championship era. Between 2015 and 2021, Pedersen played for Mainland Tactix. In both 2020 and 2021, she was a prominent member of the Tactix teams that finished as ANZ Premiership runners up and grand finalists. In 2022 she was a member of the Central Pulse team that were ANZ Premiership champions. As a result, between 2020 and 2022, Pedersen played in three successive ANZ Premiership grand finals.

Erena Mikaere is a former New Zealand netball international. Mikaere was a member of three premiership winning teams. She was a prominent member of the Sunshine Coast Lightning teams that won the 2017 and 2018 Suncorp Super Netball titles. She was also a fringe member of the 2012 Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic team that won the ANZ Championship title. During the ANZ Championship era, she also played for Southern Steel and West Coast Fever. She was the first New Zealand player to play for an Australian ANZ Championship team. During the ANZ Premiership era, she has played for Northern Mystics and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

The 2022 Central Pulse season saw the Central Pulse netball team compete in the 2022 ANZ Premiership. With a team coached by Yvette McCausland-Durie, co-captained by Kelly Jury and Tiana Metuarau and featuring Aliyah Dunn, Erikana Pedersen and Whitney Souness, Central Pulse won their third title. Pulse finished the regular season as minor premiers, finishing above Northern Stars and Northern Mystics. Pulse defeated Stars 56–37 in the Grand final.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kristiana Manu'a Profile". Giants Netball.
  2. "Kristiana Manu'a Overview". Suncorp Super Netball.
  3. 1 2 "GIANTS Netball / Get to know Kristiana Manu'a". Giants Netball. YouTube.
  4. 1 2 "Netball: Battle looms over Manu'a". New Zealand Herald. 5 June 2015.
  5. "Kristiana Manu'a player focus". Netball Australia.
  6. "Kristiana Manu'a back in form for Giants and the Pacific Islands". SBS News. 10 February 2018.