Kristiana Manu'a (born 3 September 1995) is a New Zealand-born Australian netball player in the Suncorp Super Netball, playing currently for the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 3 September 1995[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Westfields Sports High School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netball career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Fast 5 Ferns team that won a Bronze medal.
In 2024, Manu’a joined the Melbourne Mavericks in their inaugural season during round 4 as a permanent replacement player for the injured Lauren Moore and remained as a training partner in early 2025.[7]
In March 2025, she signed with Sunshine Coast Lightning on a permanent replacement player contract for the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball Season. She replaced Ava Black, who suffered a ruptured ACL during pre-season training in January.[8]
References
edit- 1 2 "Kristiana Manu'a Profile". Giants Netball.
- ↑ "Kristiana Manu'a Overview". Suncorp Super Netball. 20 May 2021.
- 1 2 "GIANTS Netball / Get to know Kristiana Manu'a". Giants Netball. YouTube. 7 June 2018.
- 1 2 "Netball: Battle looms over Manu'a". New Zealand Herald. 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "Kristiana Manu'a player focus". Netball Australia.
- ↑ "Kristiana Manu'a back in form for Giants and the Pacific Islands". SBS News. 10 February 2018.
- ↑ "Kristiana Manu'a takes flight with Melbourne Mavericks and Round 4 update". Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ↑ "KRISTIANA MANU'A SIGNS WITH SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING". Retrieved 13 March 2025.
External links
edit- Netball Australia profile
- Suncorp Super Netball profile
- Interview with Giants Netball player Kristiana Manu'a – YouTube
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