Silver Fern’s future with the Pulse in doubt
Silver Fern Ameliaranne Ekenasio has revealed she is weighing up her future at the Central Pulse after falling down the pecking order during the team’s best ANZ Premiership season.
Despite returning from maternity leave to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, Ekenasio has played just 351 out of a possible 840 minutes during the domestic campaign, with Pulse coach
Yvette McCausland Durie preferring the combination of promising teenagers Aliyah Dunn and Tiana Metuarau.
Although she is happily settled in Wellington, Ekenasio said she has reached the stage in her career where she needed to be playing on a regular basis, and that is likely to swing her decision.
‘‘It’s actually a really tough decision because obviously my family are here. I’m really happy here but if it comes down to just court time, I’m at the point where I do need to be playing. I actually do want to be playing anyway. I’ve done my time on the bench. I’ve done years on the bench,’’ she said.
But as much as Ekenasio admitted that it has taken some time to adjust to her new role as impact player, she has tried to maintain a positive attitude throughout what has been an extremely successful season for the Pulse, who are already guaranteed to host the final.
Behind the scenes she said she has been working harder than ever before in an attempt to win back her starting role and has thoroughly enjoyed the added responsibility of helping mentor Dunn and Metuarau, the two players she is competition with.
After 12 consecutive games on the bench, Ekenasio was handed a rare start in last week’s game against the Northern Stars, putting up respectable shooting figures of 29 goals from 35 attempts. So while she may have spent most of the season on the bench, Ekenasio said she would be doing everything she can to get on the court for the final.
The Pulse host the Northern Mystics in their final regular season game at TSB Arena tomorrow, in a match that should decide whether the Mystics qualify for the preliminary final.