Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie resigns after Dame Noeline Taurua saga
Thursday, 18 December 2025
Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie has resigned after the Dame Noeline Taurua saga and a troubling year for the sport.
Wyllie’s departure with immediate effect was confirmed on Thursday morning. The statement from Netball NZ’s board said she was taking time out with her family and would explore other opportunities after 16 years in netball.
In a statement, Wyllie said: “It has been a privilege to work with such talented and passionate people, and I am thankful for the opportunities and many memorable moments. There have also been challenges along the way, which come with any leadership role. Now, it feels right to focus on my family and look ahead to new opportunities.”
Netball NZ chair Matt Whineray added: “Jennie has guided the organisation through significant change and challenge, and we wish her all the very best for the future.”
Wyllie had been chief executive since 2016. The high point of her reign with the Silver Ferns’ World Cup win in England in 2019.
She was in charge when Netball NZ stood down Taurua, the Silver Ferns coach, ahead of their series against South Africa in September.
Taurua and her staff were suspended following a review sparked by player complaints, some reporting they felt “unsafe” in the environment. However, Taurua was reinstated as coach in October.
The spat between Taurua and Netball NZ splintered the netball community and dragged on for two months.
It was an ugly look while concerns about the viability of the domestic league, the ANZ Premiership, continue after struggling to obtain a broadcast deal for next year that matched its previous financial arrangement with Sky Sport. TVNZ will be showing the competition on free-to-air television from 2026.
TV money was a major financial crutch the domestic game relied on to pay its talent.
Another problem to surface has been the defection of top Kiwi players, including Silver Ferns, leaving to play domestically in Australia’s Super Netball league.
Still, the Taurua situation was the burning issue in the public’s consciousness.
Even with Taurua’s reinstatement, the interim coaching staff led by Yvette McCausland-Durie remained at the helm for the remainder of their tests this year against Australia, Scotland and England.
Results were still positive in her absence. They won their series against South Africa, Scotland and England and drew 2-2 with world champions Australia in a hard-fought Constellation Cup campaign, albeit surrendering the trans-Tasman trophy.
Taurua will resume her coaching job after Christmas in preparation for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Their World Cup-winning coach from 2019 who has been at the helm for seven years, she said the row with Netball NZ was “very horrific” and that she was still in the dark about the players’ concerns.
“I sit here feeling happy. I don’t take my role lightly. I feel I am a guardian as a head coach, No 11, and I don’t own it,” Taurua said in October.
“So to some degree I feel vindicated. It was a necessary statement that was included in the public statement by Netball NZ but a long way to go.”
Speaking in October, when Netball NZ’s employment dispute with Taurua was settled, Wyllie said the organisation would be “stronger in the long run”.
She said it had been a “really challenging process in the public eye’’.
“I think we had to cover many bases, and we had to ensure that our stakeholders were engaged in it,” Wyllie said of Taurua’s comeback
“It was always going to be tricky.’’
Wyllie added: “We’ve certainly heard the views of our fans, we’ve heard the views of players and management.
“And the balancing act is to find the common ground in those views and make sure that we all learn and strengthen our system going forward.’’
Wyllie offered her resignation less than two months later.
Netball NZ said the board will be seeking her replacement in the new year and David Cooper would be acting chief executive.