After being instrumental in helping Southern United to two national women's league wins in the past month, the 26-year-old has been named in the Football Ferns squad.
She will travel with the side to Thailand in just over a week when it will play the national team in two matches.
Believed to be the first player chosen for the top-flight international side while playing in the South in the past 20 years, she was excited by the news.
``I don't think it's quite sunk in yet, I'm still buzzing,'' she said.
``It's something I've been hoping for since I was in the [New Zealand] under-20s campaign and I've been working towards as well.
``So all the hard work has paid off, which is nice.''
She said it was good to show you could make the national team while playing for Southern, with it offering an increasingly good platform to make it to the next level.
That recognition was beginning to spread more widely, as Southern enjoys its best season in more than a decade.
Coming off a 2-1 upset win against Canterbury United, it heads into a top-of-the-table match against Northern tomorrow.
For a side that had won only two matches in the decade leading up to this season, that has significance in itself.
It has secured the services of several class players who were not in last year's side, one of whom was Mamanu-Gray.
Having lived in Melbourne for the past six years, she returned after coach Terry Parle asked if she would come back.
She has been playing for Heidelberg United in the Premier League over there while working for cycling company Rapha.
While only back short-term, she was enjoying living in Dunedin again and felt her football improved in her time away.
The league in Australia was more physical, which had brought a lot to her game.
She felt the New Zealand league had improved since she last played in it, though.
Making the Football Ferns had always been her main goal, although a move to Europe was a possibility in the next few years.
She was enjoying being back with her family, many of whom had their share of sporting successes too.
Her father played football for New Zealand, while her mother represented the Cook Islands in netball.
She also had two older and two younger siblings, including a brother who had played age-grade rep football and a sister who played netball and tennis for the Cook Islands.
Having attended Queen's High School, she spent time at both Roslyn-Wakari and Dunedin Technical football clubs.
While she has fond memories of those clubs, they will no doubt seem distant when she leads Southern into its biggest game in years tomorrow.
``I think we can come away with three points.
``We've been training really strong. The girls we're all buzzing, and I think we all feel we can get a result and we're all working hard towards that.
``On the pitch and off the pitch, I feel like we're quite cohesive.
``We've been pushing a thing in the team environment for trusting each other, and I think that's really starting to come through in our results and how we're playing on the pitch.
``I think we're playing some beautiful football at the moment so, hopefully, we can keep that going into the weekend.''
