Sunshine Coast Lightning will welcome Kristiana Manu’a to the Club on a permanent replacement player contract for the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball Season.
Manu’a will replace Ava Black in the contracted 10 squad, who suffered a ruptured ACL during a pre-season training in January.
While most recently playing for the Melbourne Mavericks in 2024, Manu’a was a foundation player at GIANTS Netball, playing at the club for five seasons before crossing the ditch to play with the Central Pulse in the ANZ Premiership.
Lightning Head Coach, Belinda Reynolds spoke about replacing Black with Kristiana’s skills and experience, and is looking forward to welcoming her to the Club.
“Ava is such a dynamic and versatile player and losing her is not only devastating for her and us, but leaves a significant gap in our line-up,” she said.
“Kristiana is a tenacious defender who can cover wing defence and swing into both circle positions, providing a valuable inclusion to Lightning’s defence line this season.
“She brings a wealth of experience playing across a number of Clubs in the SSN and in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership, and she will be an asset to our line-up.”
Sunshine Coast Lightning will work closely with Manu’a to support her move to the Sunshine Coast over the coming weeks.
