NZ Netball Round Up - #2

Welcome to Netball Scoop: New Zealand edition. Each month we will bring you the latest in Kiwi netball, covering everything from how the season is going, World Cup prospects and other interesting news.

Contributors: Nicole Mudgway + Graeme Laughton-Mutu

It’s almost halfway through the 2024 domestic season, and the assumption that teams are now well settled would usually be a safe one. Not this year! The 2024 season has been plagued by injury; each week teams are being kept on their toes as they adjust to new teammates and opposition.

The shooting end has been hitting teams the hardest, with Grace Nweke (Mystics), Amorangi Malesala (Stars), Amelia Walmsley (Pulse), Tiana Metuarau (Pulse), George Fisher (Steel), Jen O’Connell (Steel) and Aliyah Dunn (Tactix) all sidelined with injuries – there is a starting player from every team, so at least the teams are sharing the burden.

Just before the hallway mark of the season, there was a distinctive split between the top half of the table (Pulse, Tactix and Mystics) and the bottom half (Magic, Steel and Stars). However, Round 7 brought with it a number of upsets, once again narrowing the table.

Given all the young and exciting talent being injected onto the court, perhaps it isn’t a surprise that some teams are taking slightly longer to find their feet.

The season so far

Round 4 – Steel v Stars, one of the teams was destined to get their first win on the board. For Southern netball fans they certainly played a part in getting the home side, Steel across the line, 63-61 in extra time. This ended a remarkable 713 days since their last win! It was the one that got away for the Stars, who relinquished an 8 goal lead going into the 4th quarter.

The Mystics (without Grace) suffered a second consecutive loss, this time to the (undefeated) Pulse, despite having a lead of 12 earlier in the game. The Pulse took the win 52-47.The last match of the round, Tactix v Magic proved to be a real nail-biter, as the Magic pushed the Tactix throughout the full 60 minutes. The Tactix clinched the win 54-53, but the Magic will be pleased to have won their first second-half quarter since the Premiership started.

Hannah Glen is relishing the court time in the absence of Grace Nweke. Image – Nicole Mudgway

Round 5 – After their one goal loss last round, the Magic bounced back to beat the Steel 54-45. The teams were 38 all heading into the last quarter, before the Magic notched things up a gear and raced home for a compelling win. Previously undefeated, both the Tactix and Pulse faced off in what ended up being a bizarrely low scoring, defensive heavy battle. The Pulse were victorious, posting a 36-30 win (yes, you read that right!) – one of the lowest ever recorded in the league’s history. Last but not least, the Mystics returned to winning form winning 56-51 against the Stars in the first of the season’s much anticipated Auckland clashes.

Round 6 – With three of the Pulse’s key players sidelined, their match-up against the Stars was never a given. Debutant Martina Salmon slotted in seamlessly, offering an easy target and obvious contender for MVP in the team’s 58-52 win. The Steel were unable to go back-to-back in their 44-53 defeat to the Tactix, with another strong defensive performance by the Tactix forcing 6 held balls against the Steel. In honour of Heritage Round, the Mystics took to the court wearing a replica of the team’s very first dress (2008) and put on a convincing first-half display of netball at home against the Magic. Captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio was absent with sickness, and although the Magic improved significantly from halftime, the hosts enjoyed a 55-44 win.

To celebrate Heritage round the Mystics wore a dress from the days of the ANZ Championship. Image – Nicole Mudgway

Round 7 – The Magic showed their fans why they should be considered a threat with their compelling win against the Pulse (58-41), the Magic successfully getting all 10 players out on court. The injury depleted Pulse struggled to adjust to their new line up and were out-played in most areas of the court. The Steel also produced another win at home, this time to a shell-shocked Mystics team (47-43). The victorious Steel also claimed the Georgie Salter Memorial Trophy, in memory of the late former Silver Fern. The last match of the round almost saw another upset, but the Tactix managed to fend off the Stars for a 58-57 win, seeing them finish the round at the top of the table.

Ladder at the completion of Round 7 (taken from the ANZ Premiership website)

Milestones and Debuts

Shooter Martina Salmon has been recruited by the Pulse as a replacement for Amelia Walmsley. She made her debut in Round 6 and was awarded MVP in the same game. Down south, midcourter Charlotte Lourey has joined the Steel as a replacement for Shannon Saunders, also debuting in Round 6. Eagle-eye fans may remember her previously from a stint with the Waikato/BOP Magic back in 2021 and more recently turned out for Sunshine Coast Lightning at the Australian Netball Championships in 2022.

Serina Danaukamakama, Mystics training partner and mid-courter found herself playing for the opposition in her debut, when she took the court for the Steel in their Round 7 win against the Mystics. Serina finished a 60 minute performance with 11 goal assists, one intercept and only two turnovers. Could she be wearing the Steel dress for more games this season?

In the Round 7 match up between the Tactix and the Stars, Gina Crampton returned from Australia, where she is currently a training partner with GIANTS Netball, and played her 150th National League match taking the court for the Stars in Christchurch. Crampton who debuted in 2012 and went on to play 98 games with the Steel before moving to the Stars in 2021.

Players to watch

Hannah Glen: her development in 2023 was curtailed by injury, but prior to that Glen, as a local Cantabrian, had been a training partner for the Tactix. Moving up to Auckland in 2024 for a place in the Mystics was a great decision: with Nweke’s injury, Glen is seeing regular minutes on court and is improving vastly each week. Her calm demeanour and easy height offers Mystics feeders something familiar, yet her mobile game brings something spicy to the Mystics shooting circle.

Greer Sinclair: after a breakthrough season last year for the Tactix (before missing the later stages of the season due to injury), 2024 has seen Sinclair cement herself as an integral impact player in the Tactix. She may be most familiar at WD, but her vision down court has led to some very promising minutes being played in the C bib.

Georgia Takarangi: the tenacious defender never fails to impress with her speed, reach and agility in the Magic defensive circle. She may be one of the country’s shorter circle defenders (however at 1.83cm, she is still 2cm taller than Jane Watson!) but her athletic ability certainly makes up for it, and she is a relentless and crucial influence in the Magic’s recent successes. With her incredible hops, there’s no reason we won’t continue seeing this incredibly hard worker in and around the Silver Ferns squad.

Martina Salmon: making her debut in Round 6 for the Pulse, she was awarded MVP in her very first full appearance. She had already in fact debuted earlier in the season for the Steel, but with the Pulse squad depleted further after Walmsley’s injury, she’s likely to stay on with the Pulse. The leggy shooter (1.9m) is Kiwi born but she is Brisbane raised, so could she be another from Queensland who could potentially wear the black dress one day?

Injuries

The Pulse seem to be carrying more than their fair share of injuries, with Tiana Metuarau yet to take the court, Maddy Gordon remaining sidelined and now Amelia Walmsley too, after hurting her knee during a slip against the low-scoring Round 5 game against the Tactix. Good news is that Tiana is set to return to play in the next few weeks, however she will likely remain on managed minutes for some time.

Other injured shooters include Grace Nweke (Mystics), whose knee injury will likely see her remain on the bench for another few rounds yet and Aliyah Dunn (Tactix) and Amorangi Malesala (Stars) also still recovering from their respective injuries, although we did see Malesala make a return to play for the Stars in round 7, clocking 15 minutes on the court.

Following Round 6, Steel midcourter Shannon Saunders has been ruled out of the remainder of the ANZ Premiership after a niggly knee injury. Disappointing as we only just saw the veteran return to the court after having her first child in 2023!

Talking Points

On May 21, Netball New Zealand was the first netball body in the world to celebrate a 100 year milestone. In 1924, a group of trailblazing women voted to create the New Zealand Basket Ball Association, the governing body that would later become Netball New Zealand. Despite Netball New Zealand pioneering the sport in many other ways, it was ironically the last country in the world to adopt the name ‘netball’ – changed from ‘women’s basketball’ in 1970. A celebration for many, here’s to the next 100 years of New Zealand netball!

It has been announced that Netball New Zealand Sky have agreed to a one-year extension of their existing broadcasting partnership, meaning all ANZ Premiership games will continue to be streamable on Sky. The arrangement with TVNZ (free-to-air coverage of Saturday matches) has also been renewed for another year.

In addition, ANZ Premiership fans (and players!) can expect a new format in 2025. There will be 30 round robin matches, split into two rounds and finals, occurring over a 12 week period. Previously there were 45 matches and finals played over a 17 week period and this revamp is intended to increase the intensity of the competition.

Silver Ferns head coach Dame Noeline Taurua is joining Briony Akle for a 2 week stint. Image: Hannah Howard/On the Ball media.

Lastly, it was announced recently that Silver Ferns coach, Dame Noeline Taurua, would be assisting the NSW Swifts in a consultancy and specialist coach role, as part of her professional development. The partnership will occur over a period of 9 days and will no doubt grant Taurua with a unique and exciting opportunity to learn valuable skills (and hopefully insights, if you’re a Kiwi fan) in a new training environment.

Stats so far this season:

Penalties