The Southern Steel have signed New South Wales Swifts midcourter Courtney Tairi and the Otago pair of Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Louise Thayer for the 2012 trans-Tasman netball league.
The 23-year-old Tairi was born and raised in Sydney but has New Zealand parents which allows her to play for Steelas a non-import player.
Shooter Selby-Rickit returns for a second season with the franchise, while Thayer, a defender, earned a contract after impressing at Steel's preseason tournament in Queenstown earlier this year.
Former Silver Ferns shooter Jodi Brown and midcourters Wendy Frew and Hayley Saunders have already confirmed their allegiance to Steel.
Tairi, who made her trans-Tasman league debut against the Steel in Invercargill as an injury replacement in 2009, said the prospect of being coached by former Australian international Natalie Avellino was a factor in her switch.
