Monica Falkner (born 1996) is a

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

player from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. As of the end of 2021, she had represented the

New Zealand national netball team The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns ( or ), represent Netball New Zealand in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Netball at the Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Games, the ...

on three occasions.

Early life

Monica Falkner was born on 8 April 1996 in

Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...

in the eastern

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand. Falkner is descended from the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

people of Tūhoe and Whakatohea. She was brought up by her father on a farm in the

Waimana Waimana is a rural valley in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in the northern Te Urewera. Waimana River, originally known as Tauranga River, runs through the valley, joining the Ohine ...

valley of

Whakatāne District Whakatāne District is a territorial authority district on the North Island of New Zealand. The Whakatāne District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Whakatāne. The district falls within the Bay of Plenty Region. Victor Luca has ...

in the Bay of Plenty region and attended Trident High School in

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...

. She started to play netball at the age of eight.

Netball career

Falkner joined the

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. The team were formed in 1998, following the merger of Waikato Wildcats and Bay of Plenty Magic. In 1997, Wildcats and Magic had been founder members of the Coca-Col ...

for the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

season, playing in the Goal shooter (GS) and Goal attack (GA) positions. That year she was selected to play for the New Zealand Youth Team in the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup. The tournament was won by New Zealand. She was selected for the full national squad, known as the ''Silver Ferns'', for 2017-18 but did not play in any matches, although she did play in the

2018 Fast5 Netball World Series The 2018 Fast5 Netball World Series was the 9th Fast5 Netball World Series. Australia hosted England, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand and South Africa in a series, played in October 2018, at the Melbourne Arena. With a team coached by Debbie Fulle ...

which New Zealand won. At the end of 2019 she suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

, a common problem for netball players, and was out of the game for 15 months. After recovering, she made her debut for the ''Silver Ferns'' in October 2020, against England in the 2020 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, being the 176th women to play for the team. For the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

season she joined the

Northern Stars Northern Stars are a New Zealand netball team based in South Auckland. Since 2017 they have competed in the ANZ Premiership. The team was named after the Matariki star cluster which is also featured on the team's logo. They were grand finalist ...

but her playing time was limited by a further injury to the same knee. She transferred to the

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

for the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

season.

References

External links

Falkner talks of her life and career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkner, Monica 1996 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic players Northern Stars players Northern Mystics players ANZ Premiership players Sirens Netball players People from Ōpōtiki Ngāi Tūhoe people Whakatōhea people People educated at Trident High School Sportspeople from the Bay of Plenty Region New Zealand Māori netball players New Zealand international Fast5 players 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen