MNZM Honours for top-class defender

Silver Ferns #128 Anna Harrison, of Waimauku, poses for a portrait after being acknowledged in the 2023 New Year’s Honours for her services and contribution to netball and volleyball by becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).

The 1.87m Harrison has been playing top-level sports for more than 20 years and is a triple-code New Zealand representative having played netball, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball at national level.

Harrison first represented New Zealand in indoor volleyball as a teenager and went on to debut for the Silver Ferns at 19, in 2002. Making her mark in netball as a defender, Harrison played 88 tests over 15 years, including playing in three Commonwealth Games, winning gold twice and silver once, and twice at the World Netball Championships winning gold and silver, before retiring from international play in 2017.

She began her netball career in Dunedin with the Otago Rebels in 2002, before relocating to Auckland to reside and play from 2006. She retired in 2018 for a brief period, before returning to the elite level with the Stars in 2021 to provide experience for a young defensive team. She officially played her last match in the ANZ Premiership grand final in 2022.

A formidable opponent across all three defensive positions, Harrison’s aerial ability, long reach and timing were key facets to her play. A menacing presence while adding variety at the defensive end, Harrison refined her craft over the years, was the ultimate competitor and a proven match winner.

Harrison played 14 seasons of national league netball, her physique and background in volleyball played a leading role in making her one of the game’s great innovators and she will go down in netball folklore after hitting the headlines when instigating the manoeuvre dubbed the ``Harrison Hoist.’’

Harrison played on the New Zealand beach volleyball tour from 2000 to 2010 and again from 2021 to the present.