Kristiana Manu'a (born 3 September 1995) is a New Zealand-born Australian netball player in the ANZ Premiership, playing for the Central Pulse.

Kristiana Manu'a
Personal information
Born (1995-09-03) 3 September 1995 (age 29)[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
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

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.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kristiana Manu'a Profile". Giants Netball.
  2. ^ "Kristiana Manu'a Overview". Suncorp Super Netball. 20 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "GIANTS Netball / Get to know Kristiana Manu'a". Giants Netball. YouTube. 7 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b "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.
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