Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio won't return to Central Pulse for the 2022 ANZ Premiership, but the Wellington side have confirmed the return of Tiana Metuarau.
Ekenasio, 30, took a break from netball in March, before revealing she would miss the entire 2021 season, pregnant with her second child.
But while Ekenasio plans to return to the court in 2022, it won't be with the Pulse, where she's played since the 2015 season, winning the ANZ Premiership in 2019 and 2020.
Ekenasio hasn't revealed where she will play in 2022. Her departure comes after veteran Silver Ferns defender Katrina Rore also announced she would not return to the Pulse, after giving birth to her first child in May.
Instead, the Pulse have recaptured the exciting Metuarau, 20, for the 2022 season, reforming a shooting combination alongside Aliyah Dunn.
Metuarau enjoyed a prolific season with Southern Steel in 2021 and her form has been rewarded with a Silver Ferns call-up from coach Dame Noeline Taurua.
The move sees Metuarau return to the Pulse, where she made her debut as a 16-year-old in 2017, before moving south to the Steel for the 2021 season. Dunn, 21, has also committed to staying with the Pulse for 2022.
"This has been a partnership that has worked in the past and it's a real positive to have homegrown talent return home," coach Yvette McCausland-Durie says.
"The game-time she's had with the Steel has given her a great opportunity to progress and that has to be celebrated, when seeing her jump from the NZ U21 squad to now be included in the Silver Ferns squad.
"Aliyah is a terrifically accurate shooter and I'm expecting the pair to go well together. They are both still young players and that's exciting, because it leaves plenty of room for growth and development.
"This is deja vu of 2017, when Ameliaranne was out with pregnancy and Tiana came in, and we went on to reach the Grand Final."
Metuarau and Dunn also led New Zealand to victory at the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup.
