Tactix dynamo Pedersen ruled out for season

The Good Oil Tactix midcourter Erikana Pedersen will miss the remainder of the 2019 ANZ Premiership season with a ruptured ACL.

Pedersen suffered the injury in the opening minutes of her side’s Round 1 match against the Magic, with scans this week confirming the extent of the injury.

A permanent replacement for Pedersen will be confirmed as soon as possible.

The Good Oil Tactix head coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek said it was a significant blow to the team.

“It’s a huge blow to lose Erikana. She had just made Silver Ferns for the first time and was in the best physical shape of her career” she said.

“Erikana was a leader down our attacking end and within our team. She will be a very difficult player to replace and as a team we will need to regroup and work hard to build on new connections quickly.”

In her fifth season with the Tactix, Pedersen has developed into a key playmaker for the Tactix having played more than 50 games in the ANZ Premiership.

The 24-year-old is a former World Youth Cup winner and made her debut for the Silver Ferns during last year’s Constellation Cup.

It’s a cruel blow for the Tactix, who lost influential defender Temalisi Fakahokotau in the off-season while former captain Jess Maclennan and Zoe Walker are still rehabilitating from major injuries.