The 23-year-old, who was also at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, is one of just two Ferns playing in the world-leading English Women’s Super League — having completed three seasons — and is in the form of her life.
In her season-ending game for Aston Villa in May, she executed eight great saves to prevent Manchester City winning the league — and was named player of the day.
She’s also just re-signed with Villa for a third season with the option of a further one.
Growing up, Leat — whose uncle Grant Murphy and grandad Gordon Murphy were Wakatipu and Arrowtown Rugby Club stalwarts, respectively — attained a purple belt in karate and represented New Zealand at an under-age competition in Japan.
That was thanks to funding from Queenstown’s Bruce Grant Youth Trust.
"This just gave her a lot of confidence to compete at the highest level," her dad Steven Leat says.
Meanwhile, Anna had taken up football at 4, copying her elder brother Michael.
Queenstown coaches Phil Markham, Stu Cordelle and Mark Jessop were all influential, and in 2011 she played in the under-10 Central Otago boys’ team that won the South Island U10 title.
As a keeper, Anna’s benefited from the fearlessness, reflexes and tumbling ability she picked up in karate — and also from playing in boys’ and men’s teams even after moving to Auckland, when she was 10, to further her career.
She played the first of her 18 games for the Ferns at 15, and at the U17 World Cup in 2018 scored the winning penalty goal to propel NZ into the semis.
That goal won the public’s ‘favourite sporting moment’ vote at the subsequent Halberg Awards.
"She absolutely wants to play in a high-pressure environment and she wants to be compared with the best in the world," Steven says.
Anna played just one game at the 2021 Olympics, against the United States, and missed out on game time at the Women’s World Cup last year — albeit she was carrying a foot injury — but hopefully gets a look-in during the Ferns’ three tough pool games in Paris over the next week.
They’re due to face defending Olympic champs Canada tomorrow — a side accused of spying on the Kiwis.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee formally lodged a complaint with the International Olympic Committee integrity unit early yesterday after a drone was flown over the NZ women’s training session in St Etienne on Monday, Paris time.
Team support members reported the incident to police — the drone operator, a support staffer of the wider Canadian women’s football team, was subsequently detained.
Team Canada’s issued an apology and is investigating the incident.
