KEY POINTS:
Star England defender Sonia Mkoloma is undergoing a crash course in the New Zealand style of netball, with her new side the Central Pulse.
Mkoloma is one of the biggest names in netball to be lured to a New Zealand franchise since Irene van Dyk in 2000. And
the Pulse's hopes of being competitive in the new league seem to rest squarely with her.
But with the start of the ANZ Championship just weeks away, the lanky defender faces a race against time to get familiarised with her teammates and what she describes as a "whole new ball game".
So far, Mkoloma says she has been adjusting well but figuring out what her teammates are saying is proving a challenge for the Londoner.
"It's not as hard as I thought it was going to be. It's just the terminology is a bit tricky sometimes and I don't always understand what people are saying but I'm getting there."
But the rangy defender's knack of spoiling the ball for the opposition attack certainly hasn't been lost in translation. Mkoloma impressed in her first few runs for her new side in a pre-season tournament in Sydney last weekend.
The 71-test veteran says she is starting to develop strong defensive combinations with her new teammates. "It's been quite good actually - we've been turning over quite a bit of ball, so it's been easy to fit into."
With the import rules for the New Zealand franchises a lot more restrictive than they are for their Australian rivals, Mkoloma is the only real glamour international signing in a Kiwi side.
But if any franchise needed to inject star power into their defence it was the Pulse, who have struggled for the past few seasons as the Shakers, in the now defunct National Bank Cup.
There's no doubting Mkoloma is a true world-class defender but with very few other notable names in the Pulse line-up there are doubts about just how much impact she can make on the team.
The Wellington-based franchise boasts a largely young and inexperienced line-up and the early predictions are the Pulse will be one of the competition cellar-dwellers in the inaugural year.
But Mkoloma believes her side shows promise and is confident they can compete with the league favourites.
"I'm hoping to bring an impact to the team and hopefully we can perform above everyone's expectations in the league," the 29-year-old said.
"While we don't have a lot of stars, there are a couple of under-21 players in there so there's certainly a lot of talent in our team."
The defender was the target of several other franchises in the league but in the end it was the Pulse who were able to nab her signature.
Mkoloma says the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the world week-in, week-out in a semi-professional environment was too great an opportunity to pass up.
Since she first began playing netball as a youngster, she had always dreamed that the game would expand and there would be opportunities to make a living playing the sport overseas.
"I was always hoping it would happen in my time and it has," she said.
While her England teammates Geva Mentor, Tamsin Greenway and Karen Atkinson are scattered around various franchises in Australia, Mkoloma is the only one turning out for a New Zealand franchise - partly due to the stringent import rules.
She says she would like to see these rules relaxed to allow more overseas players in the competition, making it more like English football's Premier League.
"Hopefully next season there'll be a couple more changes and a bit more leeway - see how it goes from there.
"I think it'll just become bigger and bigger because it's the only semi-pro netball league going around in the world.
"I'm sure there are a lot of girls who will jump at the opportunity to come and play in this league."
But Mkoloma hasn't decided just how long she plans to stick around. She said it was a season-by-season proposition.
"I'm just going to see how this first season goes and see how I feel and we'll take it from there I guess."
The ANZ Championship gets underway when the Pulse take on the highly fancied Melbourne Vixens in Wellington on April 5.
SONIA MKOLOMA
Born: London
DoB: 17/01/1979
Height: 1.84m
Position: GK/GD
Test caps: 71 (England)
