Rore and Jury to lead Pulse defensive unit
Seasoned campaigners Katrina Rore and Kelly Jury will reunite as the in-circle defensive backbone for Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse in 2021.
Added to the defensive mix is multi-talented schoolgirl athlete Parris Mason, another exciting young prospect to emerge from Netball Central’s continued focus of investing in local talent.
“We’re fortunate to hold on to our two circle defenders (Rore and Jury) and I think we’ve got potentially the most promising up-and-comer circle defender in the country (Mason),” said Wai Taumaunu, Netball Central Director of High Performance.
“Parris is young but the time she’s going to spend and get with Katrina will be invaluable to her and an opportunity I know she will grasp with both hands.”
Returning for a 12th successive campaign with the Wellington-based franchise, evergreen Rore, 33, continues to be a strong presence within the Pulse ranks through her leadership and high playing standards.
“For Kelly and now for Parris, the ability to play with and learn off Katrina, who we all acknowledge is in the twilight of her career, is just incredibly fortunate and they should make the most of it for however long it proceeds,” Taumaunu said.
After making the move to the Pulse this year, Jury, 23, made a strong impact, her combination with Rore being a key ingredient to the team’s success. That is set to further blossom, an injury-free Jury revelling in the environment while earning a recall to the Silver Ferns squad.
Standing at 1.92m, Jury is one of the tallest defenders in the New Zealand game and has been capped 22 times for the Silver Ferns.
“I think we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface with Kelly. Her being injury-free was a priority for us and we’re delighted she came through on that front.
“Towards the end of the season, we were just really starting to see her quality and potential. She had a couple of MVP performances towards the end, so we’re hoping for more of that going forward.”
Originally from Taranaki, Mason, 17, represented New Zealand teams in netball, basketball and touch while a Year 10 student at New Plymouth Girls’ High School in 2017. For the past two years she has been at Manukura school in Palmerston North, earning selection to the NZ Secondary Schools netball team last year.
She was due to play in the Central Manawa Netball Beko League team this year before it was cancelled due to the on-going impact of COVID-19 but remained a contracted Pulse training partner.
In her final year at school, Mason will attend Victoria University next year.
Confirmed Pulse players for 2021:
Maddy Gordon
Kelly Jury
Claire Kersten
Paris Lokotui
Parris Mason
Katrina Rore
Whitney Souness