Temepara George

New Zealand midcourter of Māori and Samoan descent who starred in the Silver Ferns' 2003 World Championship triumph and won two Commonwealth Games golds.

Temepara Anne George (later Bailey) was born on 23 October 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand, of Māori and Samoan descent. First called into the Silver Ferns squad in 1996, she made her senior Test debut in 2000 and quickly became a fixture in New Zealand's midcourt over an international career spanning 2000 to 2011, with a break in between. George's defining moment came at the 2003 World Netball Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, where she was sent off during the final against Australia for accumulated contact fouls — the first player ever sent off in a major netball final — before returning to help New Zealand win 49–47 and claim the world title. She added Commonwealth Games gold in 2006 (Melbourne) and again in 2010 (Delhi), the latter an 84-minute overtime epic that remains one of the longest matches in the sport's history. George stepped away from international netball between 2007 and 2009, during which time she won the New Zealand version of Dancing with the Stars, before returning to help the Silver Ferns win the inaugural World Netball Series in 2009. She retired from international netball for good after the 2011 World Championships, finishing with 89 Test caps, and continued as captain of the Northern Mystics domestically. She was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2012 for services to netball, and has since moved into coaching, including a head coaching role with the Northern Stars.

Crafty, competitive midcourter known for turning games through intercepts and sharp distribution

Remembered as one of New Zealand's most beloved and combative midcourters, whose feistiness became a hallmark of the Silver Ferns' 2000s golden generation

• World Netball Championships Gold 2003
• Commonwealth Games Gold 2006, 2010
• MNZM for services to netball (2012)