NEW Zealand Silver Ferns versatile defender Kayla Cullen has signed with the NSW Swifts for 2020. The talented defender will fill the void left by Kate Eddy and add to the defensive stocks with the likes of Maddy Turner and Sarah Klau.
Despite her injury battles, Cullen is no stranger to the big stage having played with the Ferns and plying her trade with the Northern Stars throughout 2019. The Stars fell agonisingly short in the grand final this year but she showed moments of magic with her speed, long reach and ball winning ability. She can play both circle defence and wing defence credit to her read of the play, general netball know how and experience on the international stage.
Cullen made her debut for the Swifts earlier in the year acting as a temporary replacement player in Round 10 and 11 making her an exciting prospect for the coming seasons with the Swifts. With a premiership under their belt and captain Maddy Proud set to return some stage next year the Swifts are shaping up to be hot contenders once again next season.
With an already decorated trophy cabinet thanks to her Silver medal in the 2015 Netball World Cup and gold medal from the Fast5, Cullen will be looking to add to her collection and bring the heat in 2020.
Coach Briony Akle is excited to have the talented defender apart of her squad next year.
“Kayla is a world class player and to have almost 50 international caps to her name at her age is a testament to this,” Akle said. “With Kate Eddy moving to the Vixens and Katrina Rore back in New Zealand, we needed a top class operator to come into our defensive end, and Kayla has a massive body of work behind her so fits that bill perfectly.”
Having played in New Zealand for the past couple of seasons, Cullen is now ready to cross the ditch and play in the Suncorp Super Netball on a more permanent basis and is looking forward to the chance.
“I am really happy to have this opportunity to play with a club as welcoming and successful as the Swifts,” Cullen said. “I love living in Sydney and buy into the vision Briony and her team have. “They’ve had an amazing 2019 and I know they want to go better again in 2020, which makes me very excited.”
Diamonds delve into positives despite disapointing result
DESPITE having already lost the series, the Australian Diamonds still came away from Wednesday night’s final Constellation Cup match with something to smile about having convincingly won the final test. Reflecting on it all post match, Diamonds’ head coach Stacey Marinkovich described the importance of winning the match to bookend the year as “huge”. “I […]
Silver Ferns don’t clean sweep but still come away happy
WEDNESDAY’s final Constellation Cup match brought mixed emotions for New Zealand, because although they lost that match they were still able to celebrate post match because they had already won the whole series. Speaking after Wednesday night’s final test of the series, Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua was reflective of it all. “I thought […]
Kelpies big winners, but big picture shows plenty to still be done
DESPITE how things went for the Australian Diamonds in their recent Constellation Cup series against New Zealand, things could not have been more different for the Australian Kelpies, who clean swept their series with the Kiwis after a 71 to 39 goal win in game four yesterday. Speaking after yesterday’s match, star Kelpies’ defender Josh […]
Diamonds win match, but Kiwis still come away with big prize
THE AUSTRALIAN Diamonds have avoided an undesired series whitewash against New Zealand, winning the final match of the 2024 Constellation Cup 63 goals to 50. Proceedings were tight early, but then the Diamonds were able to really put their foot down in the second and third quarters to really open up the game on […]
Lightning strikes twice for Hobson
IMAGINE going in for a routine scan to see how your body is holding up and being told you had no ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). Being told that the previous surgery you had five years ago wasn’t performed correctly. Being told you had to have a corrective surgery right when you were climbing up ever […]
Kiwis claim series over disappointed Aussies
NEW ZEALAND has won the 2024 Constellation Cup after beating Australia 61-43 in the third test to claim the series. Diamonds’ coach Stacey Marinkovich swung the changes pre match, making three changes to the match day squad and a couple to the starting seven, but ultimately the outcome was the same result. By contrast New […]
NXT Gen League details revealed
IT WAS another important day in English netball overnight with important information released about the new Under 23 feeder league for the Netball Super League (NSL). Confirmed as the NXT Gen League, it has been designed as a development league for younger players trying to get into the NSL. Although most players named in the […]
Kiwis go two up, but not all hope lost for Aussies
NEW ZEALAND’S stranglehold of Constellation Cup matches in New Zealand has continued, after downing Australia again to take a 2-0 lead in the 2024 series. In what might have felt like a sense of déjà vu for Australia and its fans, New Zealand had a strong first half which really catapulted them to the successful […]
Celtic Cup squads begin to be announced
THREE of the four nations competing at the upcoming Celtic Cup have announced their squads for the series over the last few days. Northern Ireland has arguably the biggest names of the three announced squads so far, with Netball Super League stalwarts Michelle Magee, Emma Magee and Niamh Cooper all included. Northern Ireland coach Shenoah […]
