Manawatu Standard

Stars stun

- Brendon Egan

The new-look Northern Stars have made an emphatic start to the ANZ Premiershi­p, beating the Central Pulse for the first time in their history.

Led by 44 goals from 50 attempts from first-time skipper Maia Wilson, the Stars overcame the two-time defending champions 57-53 in Palmerston North yesterday.

In the opening game of the 2021 competitio­n, the Pulse and Stars played out a physical contest, where there were several tough battles for possession.

Never having beaten the Pulse in 12 previous attempts since their inception in 2017, the Stars will savour this win, but will know it is merely a start.

Fourth place finishers in 2020, the Stars were aggressive in offseason recruitmen­t and laid down an early marker to their premiershi­p rivals, knocking over the competitio­n benchmark.

Their prized off-season signing, Silver Ferns wing attack Gina Crampton, made an immediate impact after joining the south Auckland side after nine years with the Steel.

Former Ferns defender Anna Harrison, who stepped out of retirement, was busy in her Stars debut, causing trouble for the Pulse attackers and picking up regular defensive ball.

The Pulse were without Silver Ferns captain Ameliarann­e Ekenasio yesterday, who is on medical leave for fatigue. There is no timetable on the star goal attack’s return and her absence is a blow in their attacking end.

Missing the inspiratio­nal Ekenasio, it was a gritty second half performanc­e from the Pulse, who have a new coach this season with Gail Parata replacing Yvette Mccausland-durie.

Whether the Pulse can achieve a three-peat in 2021 is up for debate with former captain Katrina Rore (pregnancy) and Karin Burger (now at the Tactix) key losses from last year’s defensive end.

Trailing the entire game, the Pulse set up a frantic finish cutting the Stars’ lead to 51-48 with five to play. They had their chances in the closingmin­utes, but couldn’t stop the Stars when it counted.

Down 30-26 at halftime, the Pulse came out firing to start the second half, cutting into the deficit with a 7-4 burst.

Having struggled to find their attacking connection­s in the first half, the Pulse showed greater cohesion sending the ball through court.

Defensivel­y, Pulse midcourter­s Maddy Gordon and Claire Kersten were able to slow the flow of ball intowilson while also picking up turnover ball as a

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