Source: Radio New Zealand
Katrina Rore last played for the Silver Ferns in 2019. SWpix.com
Silver Fern great Katrina Rore has come out of retirement to join the New South Wales Swifts as a temporary replacement player in Australia’s SSN competition.
Rore will provide cover for injured Diamonds defender Sarah Klau, who is rehabbing a quad injury.
Rore was a Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) champion with the Swifts in 2019, the same year she won an elusive World Cup with the Silver Ferns.
The 38-year-old officially announced her retirement from international netball in 2022, ending a decorated career with 137 caps. Her last appearance for the Silver Ferns was in 2019.
Rore planned to make her domestic comeback in 2022 with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, but that did not eventuate when she discovered she was pregnant with her second child.
Rore, who now lives in Australia with her family, was called up to provide short-term injury cover in the 2023 ANZ Premiership for the Stars and Pulse.
The former New Zealand captain joins current Silver Fern shooter Grace Nweke at the Swifts, as well as her former New Zealand team-mate Gina Crampton.
Rore will become the 10th Kiwi to play in the this year’s SSN, after a number of players crossed the ditch thanks to Netball NZ loosening its eligibility rules last year.
Swifts head coach Briony Akle said she was delighted to welcome Rore back to the environment.
“Katrina did an amazing job for us in 2019 when Kate Eddy went down and her accomplishments in the game need no introduction.
“Like Sarah, Katrina is a world-class defender and a Premiership and World Cup champion. Recently she’s been playing a very high level of club netball in Brisbane, so I know she’s ready to step back into the elite level because her class is permanent.”
Akle said Rore has only been named as cover for this weekend’s game at this stage, with Klau expected to make a quick recovery.
“We’ll do an assessment next week to see if she’s ready to face the Firebirds in Round 6. It’s a massive year for Sarah, not just for the Swifts but also for the Australian Diamonds so we won’t get her on court her until she’s fully right.”
Meanwhile, former Silver Fern defender Jane Watson is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks of her debut Suncorp Super Netball season with the Giants.
Watson had to leave the court during the Giants’ round four game on the weekend with scans revealing a torn MCL on her left knee and medium-grade calf strain on her right calf.
Rore will be in the Swifts’ team for Saturday’s game against the Melbourne Vixens.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
