BRAYDEN & GEORGE'S PERFECT MATCH 'WE WERE FOOLISH FROM THE START!'

It was love at first sight for the Kiwi basketballer and the English -born netball star

- Leena Tailor

It only took one date for Kiwi basketballer Brayden Inger to know he'd found the muggle of his dreams. The Southland Sharks player was out with Southern Steel netball star George Fisher when she made a memorable quip referencing Harry Potter.

"We went to the cinema, got food, then I was like, 'You could never be a Gryffindor. You couldn't be a main character - you're a Hufflepuff at best, which is so rude!" laughs George. "But he went home and was like, 'I'm gonna marry that one.""

A Harry Potter fan himself, Brayden loved the good-humored remark and as the couple, both 24, recount their love story to Woman's Day, George is even wearing a Harry Potter Oodie.

So, will they have butterbeer at their upcoming nuptials? Plans are still in the works, but it's undoubtedly going to be a party fit for the Great Hall as the couple bring together family and friends they've made from around the world throughout their successful sporting careers.

Sports was in the genes for Auckland-born Brayden, whose dad played rugby, mum played touch and brother repped New Zealand in high jump. He has played for the Tall Blacks, the Cairns Taipans and is now with the Southland Sharks.

George was, meanwhile, "sports-crazy" growing up in Hertfordshire, England. Keen on rugby and soccer, she exclaimed, "Ew, girly sport!" when a teacher suggested netball, yet it stuck. Soon she was joining England's Roses and getting a sports degree.

She had just wrapped hotel quarantine in Aotearoa in 2021 and arrived in Invercargill to begin training with the Southern Steel when she saw Brayden at the gym. "I thought, "That tall, hairy one with tattoos is handsome!"

Brayden also noticed George and asked her out for a game of frisbee golf via Instagram.