Creative midcourter Erikana Pedersen has joined the Pulse as an interim replacement player.
Thinking her days in the ANZ Premiership netball league were over, midcourter Erikana Pedersen has instead found her way to Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse as an interim replacement player.
The experienced Pedersen will fill in for an injured Maddy Gordon, who has an on-going knee niggle which is being closely monitored.
Moving from the Mystics, Pedersen, 27, made a name for herself at the Tactix from 2015 – 2021 before calling time at the end of last season.
``I thought that this was me now retired but obviously not, I’m coming back again,’’ Pedersen said of the out-of-the-blue call-up.
``It will be my 10th season now, so I’m kind of glad that I can finish on a 10th season and have one last hurrah. I never thought that I would play for the Pulse ever but I’m really excited to be here.
``I’m not here to be the main act, I’m here to be the supporting role while Maddy comes back from her injury and I’ll just be here for however long they want me, just filling in the spot and just playing a bit of netty.’’
Conscious that it’s not just an ANZ Premiership year but also with the Commonwealth Games looming on the horizon, Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie is mindful of providing all the necessary support in helping Gordon get back on court.
``At the moment, in order for us to continue on in our preparation for the ANZ Premiership, we have an interim replacement player and as Maddy’s progress moves, then that player is available to be here and to move on as needed,’’ she said.
A talented playmaker, Pedersen developed into a key cog in the Tactix midcourt, able to cover all three positions but mainly from the pivotal wing attack role. A former World Youth Cup winner with the 2013 NZ U21 team, Pedersen gained selection in the Silver Ferns Development squads from 2016 – 20 while earning a Silver Ferns debut as an injury replacement during the 2018 Constellation Cup.
When one of Central Manawa’s National Netball League players was unable to fill the role because of work commitments, and not wanting to shuffle her deck too drastically, McCausland-Durie was grateful to land with the experience of Pedersen.
``To be fair, it’s a Commonwealth Games year for all the team and it’s about giving them the best opportunity to be seen,’’ she said. ``And that meant finding somebody who could come in and just fill that role straight away.
``Considering we’ve got three games in week one of the league, it was really important that everybody was in the position that 1) they’ve worked really hard to get a start in and 2) it’s their No 1 spot to give them the best chance of starting well and showing what they’ve got.’’
The Pulse headed to Dunedin today (Thursday) for two warm-up matches against the Steel, one this evening and one tomorrow morning, pleased to be able to squeeze the fixture in before a three-week window preventing teams from travelling and playing each other comes into effect. In the current Covid climate, this was mutually agreed by all teams to help protect the start of the season.
Co-captains Kelly Jury and Tiana Metuarau are back in the Pulse environment following the Silver Ferns Quad Series tour while Courtney Elliott is also out of managed isolation after returning from Australia as Temalisi Fakahokotau’s replacement.
Just getting her feet back on the court, Elliott is going through the `return to play’ protocols and will not play in Dunedin. Training partner Parris Mason will travel with the team and play.
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