Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. Between

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, they played in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. Since

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they have represented Netball Central in the

ANZ Premiership The ANZ Premiership is the top level netball league featuring teams from New Zealand. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from Australia, as the top level netball league in New Zealand. It is organised by Netball ...

. Netball Central is the governing body that represents the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

and

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

s. Pulse were

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and 2022 ANZ Premiership winners. They also won the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament.

History

Formation

Central Pulse were formed in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. The new team was effectively a merger of two former

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship. Format In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams ...

teams,

Capital Shakers Capital Shakers are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Wellington. Between 1998 and 2007, Shakers played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2000 and 2002, Shakers were semi-finalists three years in success ...

and

Western Flyers The Western Flyers were a New Zealand netball team which represented most of the Central, Southern and Eastern North Island in the National Bank Cup. The team was formed in 1998 and played all ten seasons of the competition. At the end of the 20 ...

. Pulse subsequently became founder members of the

. The former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

head coach,

Jill McIntosh Jill McIntosh is a former Australia netball international and national team head coach. As a player, McIntosh was a member of the Australia team that won the gold medal at the 1983 World Netball Championships. She later coached Australia at th ...

was appointed director of coaching,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

head coach, Kate Carpenter, was appointed head coach and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international,

Sonia Mkoloma Sonia Mkoloma (born 17 January 1979) is a former English international netball player. Mkoloma made her international debut for the English national team in 1999, and during her career has competed at three Netball World Championships, three Co ...

, became the team's first player.

ANZ Championship

Between

and

, Central Pulse played in the

. On 5 April 2008, Pulse hosted the very first ANZ Championship match at the

TSB Bank Arena The TSB Bank Arena (formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre) is an indoor arena in Wellington. About The arena hosts mainly basketball games and is the home arena for the Century City Saints and part-time home arena of the New Zealand ...

, losing 33–50 to

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 ...

. During the early ANZ Championship era, Pulse struggled to establish themselves both on and off the court. In 2008, Pulse suffered a

winless season A winless season is a regular season in which a sports team fails to win any of its games. The antithesis of a perfect season, this ignominy has been suffered twelve times in professional American football, six times in arena football, three times ...

. The only point they gained was by default. In their Round 10 match against

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, th ...

, a leaky roof at

Challenge Stadium Perth Superdrome, known as HBF Stadium under a commercial naming rights arrangement, is a sports complex in Perth, Western Australia. It is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). The venue is located in the suburb of Mount Cl ...

saw the match called off and declared a draw. Each team received one point. Carpenter was subsequently replaced as head coach by

Yvette McCausland-Durie Yvette McCausland-Durie is a New Zealand netball coach and former netball player. As a player, she played for Western Flyers during the National Bank Cup era and represented New Zealand at under-21 level. She was a member of the New Zealand te ...

. Meanwhile, off the court, Pulse lost their main sponsor after just one season and needed financial bailouts from both

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

and the league itself. Ahead of the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

season, Pulse found themselves fined for missing the deadline to announce their squad. There was also speculation that Netball New Zealand wanted to use the franchise as a development team for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

under-21 players. After 24 games, Pulse eventually won their first ever match when they defeated

New South Wales Swifts New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have represented Netball New South Wales in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team wa ...

53–52 in a 2009 Round 13 match at the

Te Rauparaha Arena Te Rauparaha Arena is a multi-purpose indoor sports and entertainment centre, with pools, dash swim school, a fitness centre and indoor sports stadium and venues, in Porirua, New Zealand. The centre, which cost NZ$17.5 million to construct, was of ...

. Pulse enjoyed their best season during the ANZ Championship era in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, when with a team coached by

Robyn Broughton Robyn Denise Broughton (née Quirk) is a New Zealand netball coach. Broughton coached the Southern Sting from 1998 to 2007 during the National Bank Cup, winning seven titles in ten years. She was also an assistant coach for the New Zealand nati ...

, captained by

Katrina Grant Katrina Rore ( née Grant; born 6 May 1987 in Papakura, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand international netball player. Rore is the current vice-captain of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and plays for the Central ...

and featuring

Joline Henry Joline Henry (born 29 September 1982 in Whanganui, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player. Henry is a current member of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and has played for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic (2008-2009) ...

Caitlin Thwaites Caitlin Thwaites (born 29 December 1986) is a former Australian netball player and volleyballer. Career Caitlin Thwaites was born in Bendigo, Australia. Thwaites began her career at for the Melbourne Kestrels of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy at t ...

and

Donna Wilkins Donna Wilkins ( née Loffhagen) (born 29 April 1978 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand representative in netball and basketball. She married Southland farmer Mike Wilkins on 17 March 2007. Wilkins returned to the Southern Steel for t ...

, they won eight matches and finished fifth. ;Regular season statistics

ANZ Premiership

Since

, Pulse have played in the

. During the early ANZ Premiership era, they emerged as one of the leagues strongest teams. Between 2017 and

, with a team coached by

, captained by

and featuring, among others,

Karin Burger Karin Burger (born 12 April 1993) is a New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2019 Netball World Cup and the 2021 Constellation Cup. Burger has also played for both Central Pulse and Mainland T ...

, Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Claire Kersten, Pulse played in four successive grand finals. Between

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

they won three successive minor premierships. Pulse were the

and 2020 overall champions. They also won the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament. ;Regular season statistics

Grand finals

;

Netball New Zealand Super Club The Netball New Zealand Super Club was a netball tournament organised by Netball New Zealand. It featured teams from the ANZ Premiership as well as invited overseas teams, including teams from Australia, Great Britain, South Africa and Singapo ...

Home venues

Pulse's main venue is

. They have also regularly played home matches at

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

and at the Fly Palmy Arena at the

Central Energy Trust Arena Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It has three linked indoor stadiu ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

Notable players

2023 squad

Internationals

; ; *

Rachel Rasmussen Rachel Rasmussen (born 5 June 1984 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player of Samoan descent who plays in the position of goal defense and goal keeper. She has represented both New Zealand and Samoa at the international level ...

; *

Jane Altschwager Jane Altschwager (born 25 August 1980) is a former Australia netball international. During the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era, Altschwager made 81 senior appearances for Adelaide Thunderbirds, Sydney Swifts and Hunter Jaegers. Between 1999 and 2 ...

* Kristiana Manu'a *

Chelsea Pitman Chelsea Pitman (born 8 June 1988) is an Australian-born netball player representing the England National Netball Team internationally. She is currently contracted as a training partner for the West Coast Fever playing in the Suncorp Super Netbal ...

; *

Ama Agbeze Ama Agbeze (born 12 November 1982) is an England netball international. She was captain when England won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2019 she received an for her services to netball. She was also a member of the England ...

Sara Bayman Sara Francis-Bayman ( Bayman, born 23 December 1984) is a netball player and coach from Billinge near Wigan, England. She represented England in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At a club level, Bayman has represented Team Bath, Manchester Thunde ...

; * Susan Tagicakibau * Kelera Nawai ; *

Victoria Smith Victoria Smith (born 8 January 1983) is a New Zealand netball player in the ANZ Championship, who has played in both Australia, New Zealand and international competitions. Representing the Wellington-based franchise, Central Pulse team in the ...

; *

Althea Byfield Althea Latoya Byfield (born 28 November 1982 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican international basketball and netball player. Byfield has represented Jamaica in both sports, and is a current member of the Jamaican netball team. ...

; * Joyce Mvula ; *

Cathrine Latu Cathrine Tuivaiti (née Latu; born 25 October 1986 in West Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player of Tongan, Samoan, and Māori descent. Career Early career Cathrine Tuivaiti was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Schools ...

* Ainsleyana Puleiata *

Frances Solia Frances Solia (born 20 September 1976) is a Samoan netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in New Zealand. She previously played for the Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team ...

Saviour Tui Saviour Tui (born 17 October 2001) is a Samoa netball international. Tui was a member of three title winning teams in New Zealand's National Netball League. In 2018 and 2019, Tui won titles with Central Zone/Central Manawa. In 2021 she won a ...

; *

Irene van Dyk Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen; born 21 June 1972) is a South African-born New Zealand netball player. A goal-shooter, van Dyk is one of the world's best-known netballers and is the most capped international player of all time: in every game she ...

Captains

Award winners

ANZ Championship awards

; ANZ Championship MVP ;Notes *

Romelda Aiken Romelda Aiken-George (néé Aiken) (born 19 November 1988) is a Jamaican netball player. Aiken debuted for the Jamaica national team in 2005 as a replacement for regular shooter Elaine Davis. The shooter rose to international prominence durin ...

and

shared the 2008 award.

New Zealand Netball Awards

;ANZ Premiership Player of the Year

Coaches

Head coaches

Assistant coaches

Main sponsors

Reserve team

Since 2016, Netball Central have also entered a team in the National Netball League. They are effectively the reserve team of Central Pulse. Between 2016 and 2018 they played as Central Zone. Since 2019, they have played as

Central Manawa Central Manawa are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Since 2016 they have represented Netball Central in the National Netball League. Netball Central is the governing body that represents the Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, T ...

. Between 2017 and 2019, Central Zone/Central Manawa won three successive NNL titles. In 2022, Central Manawa won a fourth title.

Honours

**''Winners'':

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

**''Runners Up'':

**''Minor premiers'':

**''Winners'':

References

External links

Official website

Central Pulse on Facebook

Central Pulse on Twitter
{{Sport in Wellington ANZ Premiership teams ANZ Championship teams Netball teams in New Zealand Sports clubs established in 2007 2007 establishments in New Zealand Sport in Wellington