Pulse netballers to take on Magic in Manawatu
The Central Pulse are returning to Palmerston North next year.
The draw for the new New Zealand elite netball league was released yesterday and the Pulse are back in Palmerston North after a year away. It will be the eighth time the Pulse has played in Manawatu.
They will play the Waikato-bay of Plenty Magic at the Arena on Monday, June 5, the first time the Magic has played in Palmerston North.
The last Pulse visit was last year when they drew with the Southern Steel.
The rest of the Pulse’s home games are split between Wellington and Porirua.
Otherwise the introduction of ‘‘Super Sundays’’ in Hamilton, Invercargill and Auckland are the main feature of the new competition.
The domestic league starts with the first Super Sunday on March 26 in Hamilton, with the Southern Steel versus the new Northern Stars combination, as all six teams play one match at the same venue on the same day.
The Pulse’s first game is against the Mystics.
The other two Super Sundays take place in Rounds six and 12, in Invercargill and Auckland respectively, before the 13-round competition culminates in a two-game finals series featuring the top three teams. Matches will be played on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, with the finals series beginning on Sunday June 25, involving the elimination final between the second and third ranked sides after the regular season.
Another new feature of the competition is a Wednesday night grand final on June 28.
The competition has six teams, with the Mystics, Magic, Pulse, Tactix and Steel to be joined by the Northern Stars.