\u201cIt is really disappointing that this is where we\u2019re at, and the uncertainty is really scary. These are people\u2019s lives and careers we\u2019re working with here. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing patient and knowing there are some really good people doing a lot of work behind the scenes is really important. But yeah, it is scary. It is very scary.<\/p>\n
Martina Salmon, Amelia Walmsley, Mila Reuelu-Buchanan and Catherine Hall will represent the Silver Ferns at the Commonwealth Games. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have much idea of what\u2019s going on next season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fifty-two test Wilson, who missed out on Dame Noeline Taurua\u2019s<\/a> squad, is fresh off her maiden ANZ Premiership title with the Mystics<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking ahead of the final, the veteran shooter said she has no idea what the plan is for next year.<\/p>\n \u201cNo news at all \u2013 which is really unsettling and can be quite frustrating for people. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is very concerning and quite disappointing for the pathway and the future, not just of the Silver Ferns and the ANZ Premiership, but actually for grassroots netball as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow Silver Fern Mila Reuelu-Buchanan asked her teammates to speak out about the uncertainty at the Stars\u2019 end-of-season awards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an incredibly uncertain time for our sport. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe that in 2026 \u2013 with netball still being the most played sport by females in New Zealand, and after proving its value to communities across the country time and time again \u2013 we still don\u2019t know what the future looks like.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing I\u2019d ask of you all is, remember: our voice is our strength.<\/p>\n \u201cUse it. Advocate for our sport. Honour those who have paved the way before us and helped create opportunities for the generations to come.<\/p>\n \u201cNetball may not be where we want it to be right now, but together we have the power to shape where it goes next.\u201d<\/p>\n Winikerei admitted to Newstalk ZB she is genuinely worried for the people involved in netball<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re in this position is a disaster, really. We should be able to position ourselves so we\u2019re a viable and attractive option. <\/p>\n \u201cThe sport\u2019s amazing, like when people come and watch it for the first time, they keep coming back. We probably need bigger stadiums because the stadiums have been packed out the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n After the Mystics\u2019 grand final victory over the Steel, skipper Michaela Sokolich-Beatson got emotional at the state of the competition.<\/p>\n \u201cAs players and management, we have dedicated our lives to this sport. It makes me sad because you all know the state of netball at the moment. We really want to keep playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Salmon<\/a> recently admitted to the Herald the uncertainty is annoying, but hopes they will find out soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to know what the future\u2019s going to look like so I can plan my life out. It\u2019s hard not knowing what next year\u2019s looking like.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s New Zealand\u2019s No 1 women\u2019s sport, but it doesn\u2019t feel like that sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n The New Zealand Netball Players Association (NZNPA) met with NNZ on Friday last week to discuss the situation, with collective bargaining to begin on Thursday.<\/p>\n NZNPA general manager Pippa Moore said the continued lack of clarity is taking its toll.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand it is really frustrating for the players and the coaches, because this has been three years of uncertainty, and frustration is coming through. We\u2019re frustrated and empathise with the players.<\/p>\n Moore could not divulge any information from the meeting, but admitted irritation the NZNPA was not included in the conversation sooner.<\/p>\n \u201cCould it have happened earlier? Yep.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not always going to agree, obviously. We have different perspectives on things, but getting in the same room and meeting with NNZ was positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, NNZ changed Silver Ferns eligibility rules so that top players could receive exemptions to play overseas but remain available for test selection. <\/p>\n It saw Karin Burger, Kelly Jackson, Kate Heffernan, Grace Nweke, Maddy Gordon, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Jane Watson and Whitney Souness all leave the ANZ Premiership to join Super Netball.<\/p>\n Wilson still believes the New Zealand competition as a product is solid, but the now-departed Silver Ferns have left a noticeable hole.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pay cut had a massive impact on why people have gone, and for the first time, I have had to work in my career, and it has been a busy juggle sometimes. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m leaving home at 4am to do breakfast radio, then come straight to training and be here for six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Winikerei said netball could have a personnel issue<\/a> in the near future, particularly with looming retirements after next year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could lose a whole group of players. <\/p>\n \u201cIf we were to lose a group because there was no competition, plus retirements, plus some going to Australia, I wonder what we would have left to build from. <\/p>\n \u201cYou need a viable, elite competition that young people aspire to. Without that, what do they look to?<\/p>\n \u201cThe other side of it is the staff infrastructure. We\u2019ve spent years building the expertise at Mystics, and I 100% know we\u2019ll lose really good people. <\/p>\n \u201cThey have to go somewhere, and when there\u2019s nothing on offer for them, they\u2019ll turn their expertise elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson said last year\u2019s uncertainty felt especially scary, having exited the ANZ Premiership early with the Stars.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really scary. I\u2019m surprised we\u2019re still in this position. As a player, you don\u2019t want that uncertainty, and not only for our current future, but the future of netball in five to 10 years. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on now, how do we know what the state of the game\u2019s going to be like then?\u201d<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Super Netball sides are scheduled to begin assembling next year\u2019s rosters after Saturday\u2019s grand final. <\/p>\n The signing window for the United Kingdom\u2019s Super League \u2013 which attracted former Silver Fern Tiana Metuarau last year \u2013 opened on June 22 and ends August 31.<\/p>\n Walsmley said she is open to going overseas, but loves playing at home.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want people to leave New Zealand. It\u2019s definitely something I\u2019d want to do at some point in my career if that\u2019s what I have to do to continue to grow my netball. <\/p>\n \u201cBut ideally, I would like to stay in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson said the overseas leagues do provide potential options.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long do you wait to see if there\u2019s something here in New Zealand that is at the moment not guaranteed because we have nothing? <\/p>\n \u201cDo you go to the UK? Do you go to Australia? It\u2019s an age and stage kind of thing and where you\u2019re at in your career, but it is very unsettling.\u201d<\/p>\n NNZ was approached by the Herald for comment, but referred to last week\u2019s statement in response to criticism from Mystics assistant coach Rob Wright, who labelled the situation \u201ca disgrace\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cResolving the future of our domestic competition is a major focus for Netball New Zealand and its recently refreshed board,\u201d said NNZ.<\/p>\n \u201cA decision on the future of the current ANZ Premiership competition hasn\u2019t been made, but the board is meeting multiple times this month to continue working through the options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe acknowledge this period is difficult for our athletes, coaches, umpires, and teams, who naturally are looking for certainty regarding their near futures. That is front of mind as we work through this process, and we will provide clarity as soon as we can.\u201d<\/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 rugby and netball for Gold Sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt is really disappointing that this is where we\u2019re at, and the uncertainty is really scary. These are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1443,12465,18614,10541,3011,3273,305,15415,27135,16762,63560,111,139,69,3272,1118,13180,7457,10814,20492,213,9938],"class_list":["post-500470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-about","tag-anz","tag-clarity","tag-ferns","tag-four","tag-future","tag-have","tag-information","tag-lack","tag-netball","tag-netballs","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-nzs","tag-of","tag-premiership","tag-silver","tag-slam","tag-slamming","tag-sports","tag-united"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500470","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=500470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Maia Wilson and Tia Winikerei’s Mystics celebrate winning the 2026 ANZ Premiership title. Photo: \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Rob Wright (left) labelled the ANZ Premiership’s uncertain future a “disgrace”, while Tia Winikerei (centre) called it a “disaster”. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n