Kelly Jury is relishing her new status as co-captain of the Pulse. Photo: PhotoWellington
The return of co-captains Kelly Jury and Tiana Metuarau has added a timely boost for Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse ahead of their 2022 ANZ Premiership netball league opener on March 14.
Missing a month of pre-season training while on Silver Ferns duty in the UK for the Quad Series, the pair is now fully immersed in Pulse mode after completing managed isolation and the two-week `return to play’ protocols which had them on restricted loading.
As different in personality as the positions they occupy on court, the opposing yin and yang forces of the Pulse leaders has worked a treat. The presence of rangy defender Jury and play-making shooter Metuarau has resulted in a decisive lift across the board, the rest of the group keen to show the hard graft put in during their absence.
``The co-captaincy, for me, has always been about the strengths of those two as individuals,’’ Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie said.
``The strength we have from Kelly is that she manages all the off-court stuff really well. She’s extremely professional and has high standards with the ability to really hold the line there.
``When we’re in game mode, it’s Tiana’s space and she just brings amazing energy, has the ability to really express herself in performance and she’s infectious in lots of ways because of that energy.
``It’s really nice they have that shared understanding and that’s how they wanted it to work, that they came and provided the group with difference and they provided the leadership in different areas. They complement each other nicely.’’
Whitney Souness and Maddy Gordon are also included in the leadership group.
Jury is excited to be back in the groove and with it, the Pulse delivering on the potential that lies within.
``The ground that the girls have made in terms of progress from the time Tiana and I left to now is huge,’’ she said. ``I’m so proud of them that they’ve been able to keep tracking along without us.
``Things are ticking along nicely. Tiana and I have just slotted back in and the team have made it really easy for us to come back in. We’re really clear on what we need to do and where we want to go, so that’s all good.’’
With a relatively young team but not without experience, Jury is expecting plenty of energy, enthusiasm and flair while looking forward to helping guide the fortunes of the team in yellow and black during 2022.
``My expectations are high,’’ she said. ``The goal is to obviously win the whole competition and I believe that we can do that.’’
On a personal note, Jury is looking forward to reconnecting with fellow defender Kristiana Manu’a after the pair played together at the beginning of their elite level careers for the Magic in 2015 and 16.
``I played pretty much all of the beginning of my ANZ career with her, so it’s pretty cool to reconnect 6-7 years later,’’ she said. ``From what I remember, we had a really good connection and I’m excited to spark that up again.’’
Powerful defender Manu’a has relocated to New Zealand and the Pulse after spending five years with the Giants in Australia’s Super League.
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