Interim CEO Jane Patterson is choosing not to speak to the media until there are changes to announce. Patterson intends to lead through her actions rather than words. While this is admirable in principle, it has meant the organisation has remained mostly silent. Presumably, a plan is in action to regain the trust of the netball community, but we as the public are none the wiser.<\/p>\n
Jane Patterson is acting chief executive of Netball NZ until the end of the Commonwealth Games. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
The empty chairs<\/p>\n
Who will take over as CEO, board chair and head of high performance?<\/p>\n
Many consider the resignations of chief executive Jennie Wyllie<\/a> and Whineray to be necessary changes to a sport desperate for a freshen-up. The pair ultimately failed to secure a healthy trajectory for the sport, which, less than 10 years ago, was flourishing. NNZ staff even expressed concerns about the organisation\u2019s workplace culture,<\/a> calling for an overhaul of the leadership. Also resigning from the board alongside Whineray were Pavan Vyas, Stephen Cottrell and Aliesha Staples. Head of high performance Stephen Hotter resigned in December. No permanent replacements for any of these positions have been announced.<\/p>\n NNZ is looking externally to find a new board chair<\/a> to revitalise the leadership, breaking with its tradition of appointing a new chair from within the existing board. A decision was expected fairly quickly, as the chair needs to be involved in appointing a new CEO. However, it\u2019s been over a month since the resignations were announced, and there\u2019s been no update. In fact, on March 18, NNZ posted an advertisement on Instagram asking for applicants for a new chair and directors.<\/p>\n Standing next to Dame Noeline<\/p>\n Who will replace Deb Fuller as Silver Ferns assistant coach?<\/p>\n Deb Fuller has been Taurua\u2019s partner in crime since 2018, but last month took up a position with Malawi\u2019s coaching staff.<\/a> However, it was Fuller\u2019s statement about why she left that was truly bizarre. She told the Herald she simply hadn\u2019t heard what was happening with her role, claiming she genuinely didn\u2019t know whether she would be offered work this year ahead of the Commonwealth Games. While Fuller has always been a contractor, it seems strange that no one at NNZ would give Fuller an indication of her place in such a crucial year, especially after Taurua emphasised she wanted to keep the same coaching group together when she was reinstated.<\/p>\n Fuller is adamant she was not pushed out after Bryan Stronach\u2019s review into the Silver Ferns\u2019 high-performance environment last year. NNZ supported Fuller\u2019s move, with Patterson sending a letter to the Malawi Netball Association confirming there was no conflict of interest in Fuller signing with the Queens.<\/p>\n However, there was no statement from the Silver Ferns or NNZ regarding Fuller\u2019s departure before being contacted by the Herald. Not even a social media post. Instead, the news broke via a Malawian website. Once contacted for comment, NNZ said, \u201cHead of performance \u2013 Silver Ferns, Chelsea Lane, is playing a key role in helping to assemble the management team that will take the Silver Ferns programme forward and is currently working through the associated timing and process.”<\/p>\n In the Ferns camp<\/p>\n Will Dame Noeline Taurua and the Silver Ferns be able to mend their relationship?<\/p>\n While Taurua was ultimately reinstated as head coach of the national team, there will undoubtedly be a hangover from the tumultuous events of last year.<\/a> The 2019 World Cup-winning mentor has not been with the Ferns since she was stood down due to player complaints ahead of the Taini Jamison Series in September. She therefore hasn\u2019t coached a test since October 2024. According to Stronach\u2019s investigation<\/a>, the players\u2019 issues with Taurua included fear of speaking up, favouritism, mixed messages, and shifting standards.<\/p>\n Taurua obviously has some support in the dressing room, displayed by Grace Nweke\u2019s passionate plea for her return<\/a> after the final test against South Africa. Taurua said last year that she had received messages of support from players, and captain Karin Burger stated she has no issue with the coach. However, Nweke\u2019s perspective wasn\u2019t shared by all her teammates. With no face-to-face contact between Taurua and the wider team, it is hard to imagine that the issues have been resolved.<\/p>\n It is also worth pointing out that the newer players in the Silver Ferns \u2013 the likes of Amelia Walmsley, Martina Salmon and Catherine Hall, among others \u2013 have yet to work under Taurua and are not involved in the dispute, which was ultimately between Taurua and the 2024 team.<\/p>\n The domestic competition<\/p>\n Will the ANZ Premiership exist beyond this year?<\/p>\n The ANZ Premiership\u2019s battle to acquire a place on television has been well publicised. However, with NNZ securing only one-year deals \u2013 this time with TVNZ \u2013 the question over 2027 must once again be asked.<\/p>\n The value of the broadcast deal with TVNZ is unconfirmed, but Wyllie told Newstalk ZB last year that NNZ will use cash reserves to make ends meet. Players Association boss Steph Bond confirmed to RNZ that players are taking a 20% pay cut<\/a> this year. Athletes are often forced to work other jobs for extra money, and coaches have limited time with their teams. This is likely to hit the Mainland Tactix and Central Pulse the most, as their rosters have been all but overhauled from last season. Players face another nervy wait to see whether there is a professional future for domestic netball in New Zealand.<\/p>\n Out to launch<\/p>\n Why has there been no ANZ Premiership season launch?<\/p>\n Usually, the coaches, a couple of key players from each team, NNZ representatives and media would gather to start the tournament officially. It\u2019s a chance for the sport to get in the spotlight and say to the public, \u201cHey! We\u2019re back!\u201d It\u2019s also an opportunity for the media to ask officials about the bigger issues the sport faces.<\/p>\n However, this year, there has been no mention of a season launch, with teams left to organise their own individual events. It begs the question \u2013 why?<\/p>\n Nathan Limm<\/a> has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast<\/a> and commentates on rugby and netball for Gold Sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Interim CEO Jane Patterson is choosing not to speak to the media until there are changes to announce.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[95,12465,2947,3278,10541,3273,1043,184539,89505,16762,111,139,16759,69,184538,38630,102566,213,184537,173899],"class_list":["post-346875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-and","tag-anz","tag-dame","tag-facts","tag-ferns","tag-future","tag-leadership","tag-limm","tag-nathan","tag-netball","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-noeline","tag-nz","tag-premierships","tag-rift","tag-risky","tag-sports","tag-tauruasilver","tag-void"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Deb Fuller (right) has worked as Dame Noeline Taurua’s assistant coach since 2018. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Silver Ferns goal shoot Grace Nweke called for Dame Noeline Taurua’s reinstatement after the final Taini Jamison match last year. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Mainland Tactix celebrate their first ANZ Premiership crown. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n