Netball: Mystics' Cullen game's best young player

Kayla Cullen, 19, of the Mystics was 'shocked and excited' to learn she had won the award. Photo / Getty Images

Run your eye over the Northern Mystics starting line-up and one name stands out from the rest.

Cathrine Latu, Maria Tutaia, Megan Dehn, Temepara George, Joline Henry, Kayla Cullen, Anna Scarlett. Wait a minute, Kayla who?

Cullen is the only player in the Mystics run-on side who does not have an international cap to her name. Yet the 19-year-old has not looked out of place alongside her experienced teammates this season.

She was last week named in the competition's dream team and today adds to her impressive resume the ANZ Championship young player of the year award.

In a unanimous decision by the judges, Cullen beat Chelsea Pitman (Firebirds), Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick (Magic), Kate Shimmin (Thunderbirds) and Ashleigh Brazill (Swifts) for the rookie award.

Cullen said she was "shocked and excited" to learn she had won the award. But she has her sights set firmly on an even bigger prize - helping her team to an ANZ Championship title this weekend, when the Mystics take on the unbeaten Queensland Firebirds in the grand final.

"It's great to get those awards and it is pretty exciting, but I'm more focused on the team stuff now. We really want to win [the title]," she said.

Mystics coach Debbie Fuller said she was not surprised Cullen had made such a big impact.

She highlighted Cullen's speed, athleticism and instinctive read on the game as key attributes behind the young woman's success.

"Netball is about timing and vision and understanding how the ball moves, and she's got that understanding obviously at a really young age."

Cullen, a former high school sprint champion, was first selected in the Mystics squad last season as a shooter. But a string of injuries in defence during the pre-season saw the teenager fill in down the other end of the court for a few trial games.

Her coaches immediately saw her potential there, with Cullen demonstrating strong defensive instincts and an eye for the intercept. And so the switch was made.

Cullen impressed in a couple of cameo appearances for the Auckland franchise last year, but this season she has made even bigger strides, taking the court in every game.

With Henry sitting out over half the season with an ankle injury, Cullen has spent a good chunk of the year at wing defence. But since the Silver Fern has returned to full fitness, Cullen has reclaimed the goal defence bib, where she is more comfortable.

Back in the defensive circle, the teenager has proved one of the stars of the Mystics' brilliant finals run, out-playing Australian international Susan Pratley in the minor semifinal win over the NSW Swifts.

She backed that up with a heroic performance against the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in the weekend's preliminary final, turning over some key ball in the pressure-filled final minutes.

This weekend's grand final will not only be the biggest game of Cullen's career, but she will be tasked with containing the Firebirds' key play-maker Natalie Medhurst.

But Fuller believes her young charge will stand up to the pressure.

"She's a person that takes everything in her stride and she doesn't seem to fold under pressure, she's the type of player that likes the big games," Fuller said.

KAYLA CULLEN
Born: February 13, 1992, Auckland
Height: 1.85m
Positions: GD, WD

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
* First selected in the NZU21 side as a 16-year-old.
* Named in the 2010 Mystics squad when she was 17.
* A member of the 2010 Fastnet Ferns team that won the World Series
* Selected in the ANZ Championship 2011 all-star team.
* Named 2011 young player of year.