Netball: Katrina is ready to roar and fight back

Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua. Photo / George Novak

When Katrina Rore (nee Grant) steps on to the court today in the opening round of the 2019 ANZ Premiership, she'll have one goal on her mind — to play good netball.

The Central Pulse captain will have the opportunity to prove her worth to Silver Ferns head coach Noeline Taurua throughout the season after being dropped from the Ferns squad before January's Quad Series.

But although admitting World Cup selection was on her mind, the dynamic defender said the domestic season would be her sole focus.

"Everyone keeps reminding me and asking me how much pressure I'm putting on myself but it's one of those things where I'm here to play for the Pulse and I'm trying to play some good netball," Rore told the Herald on Sunday. "If that works it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

"I just want to win some games for the Pulse and try to go one better than what we did last year and right now that's my sole focus."

Rore led the Pulse to the top of the leaderboard last season before the Wellington side fell short in the grand final to the Southern Steel on home ground.

"That final last year, it was not ideal, it was pretty heartbreaking for us," she said. "We've done a lot of work already in training to put ourselves under pressure ... so when it comes to games it hopefully won't be as much of a shock and we won't lose our momentum as much as what we did in that final."

Meanwhile, the Steel will be determined to make history again and win the title for the third year in a row.

And without their former captain Wendy Frew, who retired after last year's final, co-captains Gina Crampton and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit lead the way.

"Obviously [we] miss Wendy a lot and she was a big part of our team but we have to move on from that," Crampton said.

"It would be really great to stamp our mark but I think a lot of hard work is going to have to be put in for that to happen. All the teams are really consistent across New Zealand, all the teams are really strong, so it's going to be an exciting competition."

The premiership season tips off this afternoon at Hamilton's Claudelands Arena with the first of three Super Sunday events.

The Steel, Stars, Magic, Pulse, Mystics and Tactix will play each other three times across 13 rounds before the top three teams battle for a shot at the premiership trophy.