2018 Central Pulse season

The 2018 Central Pulse season saw the Central Pulse netball team compete in the 2018 ANZ Premiership and the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club.^[1][2] With a team coached by Yvette McCausland-Durie, captained by Katrina Grant and featuring Karin Burger, Aliyah Dunn, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Sulu Fitzpatrick and Claire Kersten, Central Pulse finished the regular season as minor premiers. However, in the grand final Southern Steel defeated Pulse 54–53.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} However, Pulse subsequently won the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament, defeating Mainland Tactix 61–56 in the final.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

Central Pulse
2018 season
Head coach	Yvette McCausland-Durie
Asst. coach	Sandra Edge
Manager	Joanne Holmes
Captain	Katrina Grant
Main venue	TSB Bank Arena
Season results
Wins–losses	16–5
Regular season	1st
Finals placing	ANZ Premiership runners-up Super Club winners
Team colours

Players

Player movements

Gains and losses

Gains	Losses
Aliyah Dunn[13][14][15] (Southern Steel) Ameliaranne Ekenasio[14][15] (maternity leave) Sulu Fitzpatrick[16] (Northern Stars) Mila Reuelu-Buchanan[16] (Central Zone)	Te Amo Amaru-Tibble Eseta Autagavaia Sara Bayman[17] (UWS Sirens) Sheridan Bignall[18] Jermaine Howard-Vallance[19] (Central Zone) Phoenix Karaka[20] (Northern Mystics) Cathrine Tuivaiti[21] (Adelaide Thunderbirds)

Sources:^[1][22][23]

2018 roster

2018 Central Pulse roster
Players	Coaching staff
Nat. Name Position(s) DoB Height Karin Burger GD, WD, GK (1993-04-12)12 April 1993 (aged 25) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Aliyah Dunn GS, GA (1999-10-19)19 October 1999 (aged 18) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Ameliaranne Ekenasio GS, GA (1991-01-11)11 January 1991 (aged 27) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Sulu Fitzpatrick GD, GK (1992-08-20)20 August 1992 (aged 25) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Katrina Grant (c) GK, GD, WD (1987-05-06)6 May 1987 (aged 31) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Maddy Gordon1 C, WA, WD (2000-01-16)16 January 2000 (aged 18) 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Claire Kersten WD, C (1989-07-09)9 July 1989 (aged 28) 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Paris Lokotui1 WD, C (2001-10-17)17 October 2001 (aged 16) 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Tiana Metuarau GA, WA, GS (2001-01-15)15 January 2001 (aged 17) 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Mila Reuelu-Buchanan WA, C (1998-05-11)11 May 1998 (aged 19) 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) Rene Savai'inaea WD, GD, C (2000-07-15)15 July 2000 (aged 17) 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) Whitney Souness C, WA (1995-11-12)12 November 1995 (aged 22) 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Elle Temu1 GK, GD (1999-08-03)3 August 1999 (aged 18) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Saviour Tui1 GS, GA (2001-10-17)17 October 2001 (aged 16) 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)	Head coach Yvette McCausland-Durie Assistant coach Sandra Edge Manager: Joanne Holmes Strength and conditioning: Adam Allen Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player

Sources:^{[1][7][11][22][23]}

Notes

• ^1 Four Central Zone players, Maddy Gordon, Paris Lokotui, Elle Temu and Saviour Tui were added to the squad for the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club.^[24]

Pre-season

Pulse hosted the official ANZ Premiership pre-season tournament at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Otaki between 20 and 22 April.^[25]

Fri 20 April	Central Pulse	64–46	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
4:00 pm

Sat 21 April	Central Pulse	64–40	Southern Steel	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
12:00 pm

Sat 21 April	Central Pulse	48–29	Northern Stars	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
7:00 pm

Sun 22 April	Central Pulse	59–46	Northern Mystics	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
2:00 pm

Sources:^[26][27]

ANZ Premiership regular season

Fixtures and results

Round 1

Sun 6 May	Central Pulse	45–33	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Fly Palmy Arena
4:10 pm	Aliyah Dunn  15/17 (88%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  20/28 (71%) Tiana Metuarau  10/11 (91%)	Report Stats	Monica Falkner  8/12 (67%) Amorangi Malesala  23/29 (79%) Harley Smith  2/5 (40%)

Mon 7 May	Central Pulse	62–51	Southern Steel	Fly Palmy Arena
7:40 pm	Aliyah Dunn  41/45 (91%) Tiana Metuarau  21/22 (95%)	Report Stats	Jennifer O'Connell  33/39 (85%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  18/27 (67%)

Round 2

Mon 14 May	Central Pulse	52–44	Mainland Tactix	TSB Bank Arena
7:40 pm	Aliyah Dunn  33/40 (83%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  3/4 (75%) Tiana Metuarau  16/17 (94%)	Report Stats	Kate Beveridge  18/25 (72%) Ellie Bird  13/17 (76%) Brooke Leaver  13/16 (81%)

Round 3

Sun 20 May	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	46–61	Central Pulse	Claudelands Arena
4:10 pm	Monica Falkner  4/7 (57%) Lenize Potgieter  40/43 (93%) Harley Smith  2/4 (50%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  38/40 (95%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  14/18 (78%) Tiana Metuarau  9/12 (75%)

Round 4

Wed 30 May	Central Pulse	71–40	Southern Steel	Te Rauparaha Arena
7:40 pm	Aliyah Dunn  50/54 (93%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  12/19 (63%) Tiana Metuarau  9/12 (75%)	Report Stats	Olivia Bates  1/3 (33%) Jennifer O'Connell  21/26 (81%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  18/27 (67%)

Round 5

Sun 3 Jun	Northern Mystics	38–60	Central Pulse	The Trusts Arena
6:10 pm	Jamie Hume  19/28 (68%) Bailey Mes  19/27 (70%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  39/42 (93%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  16/18 (89%) Tiana Metuarau  5/7 (71%)

Round 6

Sun 10 Jun	Central Pulse	51–52	Northern Mystics	Horncastle Arena
4:10 pm	Aliyah Dunn  36/40 (90%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  6/10 (60%) Tiana Metuarau  9/10 (90%)	Report Stats	Maria Folau  22/25 (88%) Jamie Hume  7/9 (78%) Bailey Mes  23/26 (88%)

Round 7

Sun 17 Jun	Central Pulse	63–48	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	TSB Bank Arena
2:10 pm	Aliyah Dunn  45/49 (92%) Tiana Metuarau  18/20 (90%)	Report Stats	Monica Falkner  15/20 (75%) Lenize Potgieter  33/35 (94%)

Round 8

Mon 25 Jun	Central Pulse	66–50	Northern Stars	Te Rauparaha Arena
7:40 pm	Aliyah Dunn  40/43 (93%) Tiana Metuarau  26/30 (87%)	Report Stats	Paula Griffin  2/4 (50%) Ellen Halpenny  7/8 (88%) Maia Wilson  41/42 (98%)

Round 9

Mon 2 Jul	Southern Steel	51–47	Central Pulse	ILT Stadium Southland
7:40 pm	Jennifer O'Connell  30/37 (81%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  21/28 (75%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  22/23 (96%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  11/12 (92%) Tiana Metuarau  14/20 (70%)

Round 10

Wed 11 Jul	Mainland Tactix	36–47	Central Pulse	Horncastle Arena
7:40 pm	Ellie Bird  19/24 (79%) Kate Beveridge  10/13 (77%) Brooke Leaver  7/7 (100%) Gemma Hazeldine  0/1 (0%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  25/29 (86%) Tiana Metuarau  13/16 (81%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  9/11 (82%)

Round 11

Sun 15 Jul	Northern Stars	50–65	Central Pulse	Vodafone Events Centre
4:10 pm	Maia Wilson  32/34 (94%) Paula Griffin  17/21 (81%) Ellen Halpenny  1/2 (50%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  40/44 (91%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  13/17 (76%) Tiana Metuarau  12/14 (86%)

Round 12

Sun 22 Jul	Mainland Tactix	44–39	Central Pulse	Vodafone Events Centre
2:10 pm	Ellie Bird  35/41 (85%) Kate Beveridge  6/8 (75%) Brooke Leaver  3/5 (60%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  17/20 (85%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  14/16 (88%) Tiana Metuarau  8/12 (67%)

Mon 23 Jul	Northern Stars	48–66	Central Pulse	Vodafone Events Centre
7:40 pm	Maia Wilson  38/43 (88%) Ellen Halpenny  7/13 (54%) Paula Griffin  3/4 (75%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  31/32 (97%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  29/35 (83%) Tiana Metuarau  6/7 (86%)

Round 13

Wed 1 Aug	Central Pulse	55–48	Northern Mystics	TSB Bank Arena
7:40 pm	Ameliaranne Ekenasio  30/37 (81%) Aliyah Dunn  20/24 (83%) Tiana Metuarau  5/5 (100%)	Report Stats	Maria Folau  33/44 (75%) Bailey Mes  15/20 (75%)

Final standings

2018 ANZ Premiership ladder v t e
Pos	Team	P	W	L	GF	GA	GD	G%	BP	Pts
1	Central Pulse	15	12	3	850	679	+171	125.2	3	27
2	Southern Steel	15	10	5	874	866	+8	100.9	2	22
3	Mainland Tactix	15	7	8	746	761	−15	98	5	19
4	Northern Mystics	15	7	8	783	796	−13	98.4	3	17
5	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	15	5	10	804	878	−74	91.6	3	13
6	Northern Stars	15	4	11	832	909	−77	91.5	5	13

  Qualified for Grand final and the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club
  Qualified for Elimination final and the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club

Source:^[4]

ANZ Premiership Finals Series

Grand final

Sun 12 Aug 4:15 pm		Central Pulse	53–54	Southern Steel		Fly Palmy Arena	Sky Sport
		Scoring by quarter: 16–14, 14–14, 12–14, 11–16
		Aliyah Dunn  32/35 (91%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  17/25 (68%) Tiana Metuarau  4/4 (100%)		Jen O'Connell  40/44 (91%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  14/18 (78%)

Source:^[5][6][7]

Netball New Zealand Super Club

Group stage

19 August 2018	Central Pulse	66–33	UWS Sirens	Trafalgar Centre
4.50pm	Aliyah Dunn  29/44 (66%) Saviour Tui  14/36 (39%) Mila Reuelu-Buchanan  0/1 (0%)	Stats	Bethan Goodwin  17/27 (63%) Emma Barrie  4/4 (100%) Laura Towell  4/6 (67%) Monica Falkner  4/8 (50%)

Source:^[28]

20 August 2018	Central Pulse	49–50	NSWIS	Trafalgar Centre
8.30pm	Aliyah Dunn  21/26 (81%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  11/32 (34%) Saviour Tui  3/5 (60%)	Stats	Georgia Marshall  24/33 (73%) Kelly Singleton  9/14 (64%) Matisse Letherbarrow  7/10 (70%)

Source:^[29]

21 August 2018	Central Pulse	81–35	Marama Vou	Trafalgar Centre
6.40pm	Aliyah Dunn  20/29 (69%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  26/39 (67%) Saviour Tui  10/15 (67%) Tiana Metuarau  6/10 (60%)	Report Stats	Laisani Waqa  13/20 (65%) Alyssa-Jean Savelio  11/22 (50%) Kayla Kiss  0/3 (0%)

Source:^[30]

Final ladder

Group B
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	%	BP	Pts
1	Central Pulse	3	2	0	1	196	118	166.1	1	7
2	NSWIS	3	3	0	0	178	149	119.5	0	9
3	Marama Vou	3	1	0	2	146	209	69.9	0	3
4	UWS Sirens	3	0	0	3	139	183	76.0	0	0

  Qualified for Semi-finals
  5th/8th place classification

Source:^[2]

1st/4th Play offs

Semi-finals

23 August 2018	Central Pulse	64–55	Southern Steel	Trafalgar Centre
8.30pm	Aliyah Dunn  34/39 (87%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  18/26 (69%) Tiana Metuarau  3/6 (50%)	Stats	Jennifer O'Connell  28/35 (80%) Georgia Heffernan  13/26 (50%) Olivia Bates  4/8 (50%)

Source:^[31]

Final

24 August 2018 8.30pm		Central Pulse	61–56	Mainland Tactix		Trafalgar Centre	Sky Sport
		Aliyah Dunn  35/39 (90%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio  16/30 (53%) Tiana Metuarau  2/2 (100%)		Ellie Bird  30/38 (79%) Kate Beveridge  15/19 (79%) Brooke Leaver  4/8 (50%)

Sources:^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

National Netball League

With a team featuring Maddy Gordon, Saviour Tui and Ainsleyana Puleiata, Pulse's reserve team, Central Zone won the 2018 National Netball League title after defeating Waikato Bay of Plenty 62–53 in the grand final.^[19][32][33]

Award winners

New Zealand Netball Awards

Award	Winner
ANZ Premiership Player of the Year[34]	Katrina Grant

Team of the season

Three Central Pulse players were named in Brendon Egan's Stuff Seven team of the season.

Position	Player
GS	Aliyah Dunn
WD	Karin Burger
GD	Katrina Grant

Sources:^[35]