Long-serving Silver Ferns defender bows out
With three Netball World Cups, three Commonwealth Games and over 200 combined national league games to her name, defender Katrina Rore has called time on a long and decorated international career.
Becoming just the seventh Silver Fern to register 100 international appearances, Rore ends her time as the fourth most capped New Zealand player of all time after bowing out with 137 caps to her name.
Time, loyalty and resilience were synonymous with adding the lustre to Rore’s ever-evolving career which included becoming the Silver Ferns 26th captain in 2017.
A regular since making her debut in 2008, Rore’s international career looked all but over when she fell out of favour in 2019 but on the back of a stellar domestic season, her indomitable spirit shone through to provide a compelling fairy tale.
From the despair of losing her Silver Ferns spot, the whole-hearted and athletic 1.86m defender made all the right noises with a triumphant response, bouncing back to complete a 2019 to savour, and in the process claiming a unique treble.
In the space of a few short months, Rore captained Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse to the ANZ Premiership title, helped the Silver Ferns win the Netball World Cup for the first time in 16 years after earning a recall, and was also part of the NSW Swifts team which clinched the Australian domestic title. All were first time achievements for the long-serving Rore.
Predominantly an in-circle defender throughout her career, Rore played an impressive hand from the largely unfamiliar wing defence position throughout the 2019 Netball World Cup campaign.
As one of the ‘fossils’ in the World Cup-winning 2019 team, Rore clinched an elusive first in the pinnacle event while also winning Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi, in 2010, and silver at Glasgow in 2014.
Rore spent two years with the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in 2008 and 2009 while studying in Dunedin before moving to the Capital and the Pulse in 2010.
Rore experienced the complete set of emotions during her long tenure with the Wellington-based team, her loyalty and resilience overcoming some tumultuous times with a glorious run to four successive Grand Final appearances since the inception of the ANZ Premiership in 2017, culminating in a maiden title in 2019 which was successfully defended in 2020.
As the elder stateswoman of the 2020 ANZ Premiership netball league, Rore wore her new-found status as the league’s oldest player like a badge of honour. A consummate professional, the seasoned defender’s experience and guidance was key to the Pulse growing a vibrant and winning culture in recent years.
Assuming the captaincy in 2011, Rore led the Pulse into battle on 141 occasions and clocked up 146 consecutive games for the team from 2010 - 2020.
After the birth of her first child, Lilybud in 2021, Rore had intended to resume her career with Splice Construction Magic in 2022 before announcing her second pregnancy and welcoming a second daughter, Lola in September.
For Rore, the time has come to put her time and energies into her husband Joel and young family.