{"id":110888,"date":"2026-01-25T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=110888"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:45:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:45:35","slug":"manua-returns-to-strikers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/sport\/manua-returns-to-strikers\/","title":{"rendered":"Manu’a returns to Strikers"},"content":{"rendered":"

KRISTIANA Manu’a has revealed her next move following her retirement from elite netball by signing with Bendigo Strikers.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand-born 30-year-old will join the Victorian Netball League team for a second campaign, having played a handful of games in the Strikers’ first season in 2024 while part of the Melbourne Mavericks squad.<\/p>\n

Manu’a had planned to remain with the Strikers last season, training with the club before signing with Sunshine Coast Lightning as a permanent replacement player for the 2025 SSN season.<\/p>\n

She announced her retirement from elite netball at the end of the season, putting the seal on a distinguished 11-year career in Australia and New Zealand, during which she represented the Diamonds twice and Samoa on five occasions, while being part of the New Zealand Silver Ferns development squad in 2022.<\/p>\n

Strikers head coach Tracey Brereton hailed Manu’a’s commitment as “immense” for a team looking to build on last year’s semi-finals appearance and first finals campaign.<\/p>\n

“We are thrilled to have Kris back; she’s been with us from the first year, but she got the call-up to Sunshine Coast Lightning,” Brereton said.<\/p>\n

“To have her back is going to be amazing for our young and newish group.<\/p>\n

“Kris also did a bit of coaching with our VNL Reserves last year, which was a real thrill for those girls.”<\/p>\n

Manu’a is expected to slot seamlessly into a Strikers defence that has operated like a well-oiled machine in the club’s first two years in the VNL, led by last year’s vice-captain Zoe Davies, two-time best and fairest Charlotte Sexton, and Ruby Turner.<\/p>\n

All three players played in last year’s Super Netball Reserves competition \u2013 Sexton and Turner with Melbourne Vixens and Davies with Melbourne Mavericks, who made it through to the grand final under Brereton’s coaching against West Coast Fever.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Before joining Sunshine Coast Lightning last season, Manu’a was an assistant coach of the Strikers’ VNL Reserves team, led by head-coach Jody Richards. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sexton will play with the Mavs’ reserves team this season, having signed with the club as a training partner.<\/p>\n

Brereton said Manu’a would only bolster an area of the court that has been an undisputed strength for the Strikers.<\/p>\n

“The beauty of Kris is she can actually play across all three defensive positions, which is a real plus,” she said.<\/p>\n

“She’s aggressive and has a real crack; she talks and provides real voice, which will be really important for our defence end.”<\/p>\n

Raised from an early age in Australia, Manu’a launched her stellar elite netball career in 2015 with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.<\/p>\n

She joined the GIANTS as a foundation player in 2017, serving as a vice-captain during her five-year stint.<\/p>\n

At the end of 2021, Manu’a departed GIANTS and joined the Wellington-based Central Pulse in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership, helping lead the team to the league title in 2022.<\/p>\n

She made the move to Melbourne Mavericks as a foundation player in 2024 before joining Sunshine Coast Lightning for her final SSN season last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KRISTIANA Manu’a has revealed her next move following her retirement from elite netball by signing with Bendigo Strikers. The New Zealand-born 30-year-old will join the Victorian Netball League team for a second campaign, having played a handful of games in the Strikers’ first season in 2024 while part of the Melbourne Mavericks squad. Manu’a had […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":110890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-110888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nManu'a returns to Strikers - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kristiana Manu'a returns to Bendigo Strikers for the 2026 VNL season, strengthening their defence after retiring from SSN.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/sport\/manua-returns-to-strikers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manu'a returns to Strikers - 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