Highlighting its success in developing and producing young talent, Netball Central has continued to lead the way with a strong representation of those aspiring to gain selection in the 2025 NZ Secondary Schools (NZSS) team.
Many former NZSS players have gone on to become cornerstones of the Silver Ferns team, and in the latest step towards selecting this year's edition, eight Netball Central secondary players from Centres across the Zone have been included in a 24-strong group to attend an Invited Players Camp in Auckland on April 26 – 27.
Arna Paewai (Napier Girls High School, Netball Hawke's Bay), Destiny Aleka (Scots College, Netball Wellington), Fo'i Sau-Lemana (St Mary's College, Netball Wellington), Lucy Trenberth (Queen Margaret College, Netball Wellington), Maggie Shields (Wairarapa College, Netball Wairarapa), Tapini Raea (Wellington Girls College, Netball Wellington), Te Arani Vulu (St Mary’s College, Netball Wellington) and Zoe Jacob (Scots College, Netball Wellington) have made the invited list of 24.
In addition, Graceyn Parahi, who now plays for Tauranga Girls College, was a Hawke's Bay player until this year, has also been included in the 24 while Elizabeth Adrole (Whanganui Collegiate, Whanganui Netball Centre) and Samantha Knox (Hutt Valley High School, Netball Hutt Valley) are included in the four-strong reserves list.
“This is a really positive reinforcement of the great work that is being done with the development of our young players throughout the Zone," Netball Central Emerging Talent Lead, John Atkins said.
“To have 11 players from the Central Zone on the list including the reserves and Graceyn, who has been a Hawke's Bay player leading up to this, is a terrific outcome and we're very proud that the players have come from a number of different Centres."
The Invited Players Camp follows three regional National Development Camps, involving 90 players, held in January. Thirty players each from the Upper North Island region, the South Island, and Lower North Island area were put through their paces both on and off the court while gaining an important insight into becoming a performance netballer.
With 11 players in total, Central has the strongest representation for the Invited Players Camp, followed by Northern with seven, Waikato Bay of Plenty five, South four and Mainland one.
Selection for the 2025 team will be based on performance and engagement with the NZSS programme throughout the netball season. All National Development Camp attendees, (including those injured and unable to attend) and secondary school players are eligible for selection.
Head coach Jo Morrison and the Netball New Zealand Emerging Talent Panel will continue their observations at the NNZ U18 champs and respective South Island Secondary Schools, Lower North Island Secondary Schools and Upper North Island Secondary Schools tournaments.
Details and opposition are yet to be confirmed but planning is underway for the 2025 NZSS team to showcase their credentials in late October.