Central Pulse Netball: History, Titles and the 2026 Rebuild

Based in Wellington and known in full as Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse, the Central Pulse is one of New Zealand’s six professional netball franchises and among the most successful teams of the ANZ Premiership era. Representing the Netball Central Zone, the yellow-and-black side climbed from a winless debut in 2008 to win three national titles between 2019 and 2022. This guide traces where the team came from, how it built a winning culture, who leads it after a near-total 2026 rebuild, and why its development pathway keeps producing Silver Ferns.

From Capital Shakers to Central Pulse: the 2007 merger

The Central Pulse was created in 2007 for the launch of the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship, the semi-professional league that brought New Zealand and Australian clubs together for the first time. The franchise was formed by merging two Wellington-region sides from the old National Bank Cup — the Capital Shakers and the Western Flyers — into a single team that would represent the lower and central North Island from the 2008 season.

The new side inherited a large catchment. Rather than serving a single city, the Pulse represents the whole Netball Central Zone, which spans Wellington, Taranaki, Manawātū-Whanganui and Hawke’s Bay. That regional identity still shapes how the club recruits, where it plays and how it connects with grassroots netball across the lower North Island. Wellington remains its base, and the team is a fixture of the capital’s wider sports community.

Early struggles in the ANZ Championship (2008–2016)

The Pulse’s first seasons were difficult. In their inaugural 2008 campaign they finished last and failed to win a single game. Their first-ever win did not arrive until the following year, and it took several seasons of patient rebuilding before the team became competitive. Their best result of the ANZ Championship period came in 2013, when they won eight matches and finished fifth.

Those lean years were not wasted. They established the regional fan base, blooded future leaders such as defender Katrina Rore (née Grant), and forged the underdog identity the club later leaned on. By the time the trans-Tasman league ended in 2016, the Pulse had the foundations in place for the professional era that followed.

The ANZ Premiership rise: three titles in four years

When the trans-Tasman competition closed and the all-New Zealand ANZ Premiership began in 2017, the Pulse transformed from a mid-table team into the competition’s benchmark. They reached the first four grand finals in a row (2017–2020), losing the first two narrowly to the Southern Steel before breaking through for back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020. A third crown followed in 2022, making the Pulse the first franchise to win three ANZ Premiership titles.

The breakthrough 2019 final, a 52–48 win over the Northern Stars, is remembered as the start of the club’s most successful run. The table below lists every ANZ Premiership grand final the Pulse has reached.

Building a high-performance culture

The Pulse’s success rested on more than talent. The club invested in sports science, video analysis and non-negotiable fitness standards, and it paired senior internationals with players promoted from its own reserve programme. That stability let the team keep competing even as rivals poached its stars — a pattern that would be tested to the limit heading into the 2026 season.

The coaches who shaped the Pulse

Several coaches have led the franchise, but Yvette McCausland-Durie is the name most associated with its rise. She had multiple spells in charge — in the early ANZ Championship years, through the title run of the late 2010s, and again in the early 2020s — and is credited with the aggressive, ball-hunting defensive style that became the club’s trademark. Earlier coaches included Robyn Broughton during the Championship years, while Gail Parata also had a spell at the helm.

Anna Andrews-Tasola took over as head coach and has guided the team through its recent transition, including the 2025 and 2026 campaigns. Her challenge has been to protect the club’s identity while rebuilding a roster that lost most of its biggest names in a single off-season. She has been blunt about expectations, stating that a coach’s job is to win the championship.

A defensive identity

Whatever the roster, the Pulse are known for pressure defence. From Katrina Rore to Silver Ferns goal keeper Kelly Jackson, the club has produced some of the league’s best defenders, favouring a proactive approach that hunts intercepts in the midcourt rather than simply reacting to the shooter. Forcing early turnovers takes pressure off the attacking end and has long been central to how the team wins tight games.

The 2026 squad: a near-total rebuild

The 2026 season marked the biggest reset in the club’s recent history. The Pulse retained only three players from their 2025 squad — defender Parris Mason, midcourter Ainsleyana Puleiata and shooter Khiarna Williams — and brought in seven new faces. Within one off-season the club lost its captain and three of its most recognisable attackers. Goal keeper and 2025 captain Kelly Jackson and midcourter Maddy Gordon both crossed the Tasman to join the Queensland Firebirds in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball, while Silver Ferns goal shooter Amelia Walmsley signed with the Northern Stars.

Shooter Tiana Metuarau also departed, heading to the Birmingham Panthers in the United Kingdom’s Netball Super League. Her exit was symbolic: she had become the youngest New Zealander to reach 100 premiership matches, left the club with around 125 games, and had won all three of the Pulse’s titles.

In response the Pulse blended experience with youth. Veteran Silver Fern Ameliaranne Ekenasio returned to the club after four seasons with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, and she and rising defender Parris Mason were named co-captains for 2026 under Andrews-Tasola. Several players were promoted from the reserves or recruited from overseas, including South African international shooter Ine-Mari Venter.

How the Pulse plays: positions and the two-point shot

Like every netball team, the Pulse field seven players, each confined to set areas of the court: goal shooter and goal attack in attack, three midcourters (wing attack, centre and wing defence) linking the thirds, and goal defence and goal keeper protecting the ring. If you are new to the sport, our guide to the seven netball positions explains who does what. The club’s tradition of strong defenders means the back line is usually its calling card, while the midcourt’s job is to turn turnovers into quick scoring chances.

Tactics have also had to adapt to a scoring change. The ANZ Premiership introduced a two-point “super shot” in 2025 and has kept it since: in the final five minutes of each quarter, a goal scored from the outer section of the shooting circle (beyond 3.5 metres from the post) is worth two points instead of one. The rule rewards accurate long-range shooting and can swing a close game late, so shooters now train specifically for that zone and coaches plan their final-five-minute rotations around it.

Home courts: TSB Arena and the regional roadshow

The Pulse’s main home is the TSB Arena on Wellington’s waterfront, where big matches draw strong, vocal crowds. True to its zone-wide identity, the club also takes regular-season games to the regions — most often Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua and Fly Palmy Arena in Palmerston North — so fans across the central and lower North Island can watch top-level netball in person.

Playing beyond the capital keeps netball visible as a leading women’s sport across the region and feeds interest at club and school level — the base of the club’s talent pipeline.

Central Manawa: the development pathway

A big reason for the Pulse’s sustained competitiveness is its reserve and feeder team, Central Manawa, which plays in the National Netball League (NNL). Known as Central Zone in its early years and as Central Manawa since 2019, the team is the most successful side in NNL history, with five titles (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023). It acts as a finishing school where emerging players learn the club’s systems before stepping up.

The pathway is deliberate: Central Manawa players share coaching structures, strength-and-conditioning staff and match principles with the senior side, which makes the jump to the Premiership less daunting. Several members of the 2026 Pulse squad came up through this route, giving the club home-grown cover when senior players are injured or move on — and a ready source of replacements after a big off-season turnover.

Recent seasons and the road ahead

The Pulse stayed in contention through the mid-2020s but could not reclaim the title. In 2024 they reached the grand final again, only to lose a one-goal thriller to the Northern Mystics 53–54 after a last-second goal from Grace Nweke. In 2025 they fell in the elimination final to the Mainland Tactix, who went on to win their first championship.

The 2026 season was the rebuild year. The new-look Pulse finished outside the top four and missed the finals, which were contested by the Northern Mystics, Southern Steel, Mainland Tactix and Northern Stars. The Mystics went on to beat the Steel 56–46 in the grand final to claim a record fourth ANZ Premiership title. Off the court, 2026 brought a significant change for fans: the ANZ Premiership moved to free-to-air television with TVNZ, with matches on TVNZ 2 and streaming on TVNZ+. For the Pulse, the immediate task is to develop its new squad, lean on the Central Manawa pipeline, and rebuild toward the top of a league where the margins are routinely a goal or two.

Notable players and honours

The Pulse has been a consistent supplier of Silver Ferns and individual award winners. Katrina Rore was a long-serving captain and Player of the Year; Kelly Jackson earned the league’s top individual honour during the title years; and Maddy Gordon was recognised as one of the competition’s best before her move to Australia. The club has also been a base for well-known internationals including Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Tiana Metuarau, underlining its role as a place where New Zealand talent is developed and showcased.

Those honours reflect the club’s long-stated philosophy: individual brilliance tends to follow strong team systems rather than the other way round. Even through a period of heavy player turnover, that focus on structure, defence and pathway is what the Pulse is relying on to stay among the country’s leading franchises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Central Pulse based?

The Pulse is based in Wellington but represents the wider Netball Central Zone, which covers Wellington, Taranaki, Manawātū-Whanganui and Hawke’s Bay. Its main home venue is the TSB Arena on the Wellington waterfront.

How many ANZ Premiership titles have the Pulse won?

Three: 2019, 2020 and 2022. They were the first franchise to win three ANZ Premiership titles, and they have reached six grand finals in total between 2017 and 2024.

Who coaches and captains the Pulse in 2026?

Anna Andrews-Tasola is the head coach. For 2026 the team is led by co-captains Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Parris Mason, after 2025 captain Kelly Jackson left the club for the Queensland Firebirds.

What is Central Manawa?

Central Manawa is the Pulse’s reserve and feeder team in the National Netball League. It is the most successful team in NNL history, with five titles, and develops players for the senior squad.

Where do the Pulse play their home games?

Their primary home is the TSB Arena in Wellington, and they also host regular-season matches at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua and Fly Palmy Arena in Palmerston North.