Temepara George

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Temepara George (born October 23, 1975) is a New Zealand netball player. She has been a member of the Silver Ferns national squad since 1996 and has earned 57 test caps since her first in 2000. She is currently the Silver Ferns' Vice-Captain. In the National Bank Cup domestic league, she captains the Northern Force.^[1]

George was spotted as a talent in netball early, being selected for the Silver Ferns squad in 1996, but did not make her international debut until four years later, against the Silver Ferns' arch-rivals Australia, at that time the No. 1 ranked team in the world. The Silver Ferns were ranked No. 2, having lost in a dramatic final to Australia at the 1999 Netball World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand by a solitary goal scored in the final second, after New Zealand had led by six at three-quarter time. George made her debut in 2000.

[edit] World Champion and Crowd Favourite

The next three years saw George make her mark on the international circuit as she gained experience to back up her impressive array of ball skills and her trademark explosive, blistering speed. Her commitment and skill were on full display in the final of the 2003 World Netball Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, during which she scored numerous spectacular intercepts and became a crowd favourite, as did the Silver Ferns, despite having beaten the home team Jamaica the previous day. George was sent off the court by an umpire during the final quarter of the match due to the many penalties she had incurred while contesting almost every ball, but returned to the court one minute later (the banishment was "until two goals are scored") and continued her crowd-pleasing form. The Silver Ferns won the match 49-47 and were crowned World Champions, a title they will defend in Fiji in 2007. George was unsurprisingly named the Player of the Match for her performance in the final.

Since 2003, George has been a key member of the Silver Ferns and in 2005 was named Vice-Captain of the team. In October 2005 the Silver Ferns scored a record victory over Australia, winning by 25 goals.

In March 2006, George added a Commonwealth Games gold medal to her trophy cabinet as the Silver Ferns won in another thrilling final against Australia, 60-55.^[2]

George is currently in preparation with the Silver Ferns for their defense of their Netball World Championship title in 2007.