Rotorua United's Kim Macguire (left). Photo/Stephen Parker
Rotorua United's Kim Macguire (left). Photo/Stephen Parker
Two Rotorua United players are included in WaiBOP Football's first three player signings for the 2016 National Women's League.
Striker Kim Maguire had a stellar season for WaiBOP Women's Premier League champions, Rotorua United.
Maguire's goals helped fire her side to the title and an NRFL play-off against Northland FC.She was a runaway winner of the Premier League's Player of the Year vote, securing more than half the votes received. A dominant performer and personality for the champions, Maguire's ability was clearly noticed by players and fans of other teams too.
A native of New Caledonia, Maguire lists appearances in the 2011 and 2015 Pacific Games for her country of birth as her career highlights.
Joining Maguire in the squad is goalkeeper Amanda Wilshier, also from Rotorua United, and midfielder Naomi Courtney-Tennent from fellow WaiBOP Women's Premier League club, Northern United.
Wilshier is back with WaiBOP after taking several seasons out from the game. A strong, confident goalie, she was a vital figure in Rotorua United's 2016 WaiBOP Women's Premier League championship winning season. Her presence between the sticks helped ensure United had a strong defensive base, something that's crucial for title winning sides.
Courtney-Tennent, from Hamilton-based Northern United, is an experienced midfielder who also knows how to find the back of the net. After Northern's slow start to the WaiBOP Women's Premier League season, she helped pull her side into what, for quite a while, was a tight title race with Rotorua United. In the end, Northern finished second, but Courtney-Tennent's form for her club, which saw her finish as runner-up to Maguire in the Player of the Year vote, has been rewarded with a place in the National Women's League squad.
