Netball: Mainland Tactix retain core of squad for 2022 ANZ Premiership

The Mainland Tactix have named their squad for the 2022 season. Photo / Photosport

The Mainland Tactix have retained the core of their squad for the 2022 ANZ Premiership season.

Losing finalists this year, the Tactix have made three changes to their squad, with home grown talent Hannah Glen and Kate Lloyd joining the shooting circle and defensive end, while Fijian-born defender Kelera Nawai-Caucau heads south after a year with the Central Pulse.

The trio join the Tactix core which reached their second straight Premiership final this year, including the outstanding defensive combination of captain Jane Watson and Karin Burger.

Charlotte Elley, Kimiora Poi and Samon Nathan return to the midcourt while Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Ellie Bird will team up for their third season together in the shooting circle.

Departing the squad are veteran midcourter Erikana Pedersen, who has decided to step back from the elite game, while Sophia Fenwick and Jess Prosser also miss out on the 10-strong team.

Tactix head coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek said she was excited to have the core of this year's finalists back after a strong second half of the season.

"Our combinations are continuing to develop and to have those same connections back for 2022 will help us raise that performance bar yet again," she said. "Our on-court connections have been stable for a while now, which is a real positive, so it's about making little tweaks in different areas."

Glen is a member of the New Zealand U21 team and impressed during last year's Silver Ferns camp while Lloyd, who has made appearances for the Tactix (2019) and Magic (2018), also trained with the team this season and performed strongly for the Mainland team in this year's National Netball League.

Nawai-Caucau, who has an impressive reach and strong rebounding, was born in Fiji but came to St Andrew's College in Christchurch on a scholarship in 2014 and been involved in Canterbury netball for years.

Tactix general manager Haidee Stratford was pleased to be able to retain a settled squad for next year.

"We're thrilled to be able to retain the core of this year's group which I think speaks volumes of the culture that Marianne has developed in recent years," she said.

2022 Tactix

Ellie Bird, Karin Burger, Charlotte Elley, Hannah Glen, Kate Lloyd, Samon Nathan, Kelera Nawai-Caucau, Kimiora Poi, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Jane Watson.