What to expect from the Silver Ferns in 2026 after messy coaching saga
Sunday, 28 December 2025
This story first appeared on The Post and is republished with permission.
ANALYSIS: Soaking up the summer sun and enjoying some deserved downtime should feel liberating for the Silver Ferns.
How could it not after a tumultuous 2025 dominated by the Dame Noeline Taurua coaching saga and deep concerns about Netball New Zealand’s (NNZ) handling of the event.
Resting up for a brief off-season break, the Silver Ferns can only hope 2026 is smoother with their deeds on the court regaining the headlines.
After copping back-to-back 17-goal drubbings in the first two Constellation Cup matches in Australia in October, and the Taurua situation raging on, the Ferns could have easily imploded.
To their credit, they pushed the off-court chaos aside to produce some impressive play to finish the Constellation Cup.
The Ferns resembled a different side back in New Zealand, overpowering the world champion Diamonds in Hamilton and Christchurch. They went within a whisker of retaining the Constellation Cup, only to be denied in the inaugural edition of ‘series decide time’ at the end of game four.
A memorable 2-1 away series win over England, where they overcame a stomach bug which swept through the team to win the decider in Manchester, only reinforced the Ferns’ pleasing progress.
Had the Ferns been swept in the Constellation Cup and lost their series to England it would have been the stuff of nightmares for NNZ – on top of the Taurua fiasco.
There was another twist in the tale to close out the year with NNZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie resigning a week out from Christmas after 16 years with the organisation (the last nine as CEO), following a turbulent year for the sport.
Interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie, who did a stellar job stepping in for the sidelined Taurua, now heads back to Tipene St Stephen’s School in south Auckland, where she is co-principal with husband Nathan.
With Taurua officially returning to the role after a very public 51-day stand-down, all eyes will be on the Silver Ferns in 2026.
Given how well McCausland-Durie did with the team, taking them over at short notice, there will naturally be pressure on Taurua to deliver results.
How the Ferns perform at their pinnacle event, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, starting in late July, will define their year. It looms as a critical event for the group as the clock counts down to the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney.
Resurgent Silver Ferns play aside, the dilemma facing Taurua will be the limited preparation time she has with the players before Glasgow.
The Silver Ferns have their own individual programmes in the off-season and won’t be overdoing the Christmas pudding or pavlova.
Then, it will be into pre-season preparations for the ANZ Premiership, which begins on April 11. National squad members Grace Nweke, Maddy Gordon, Karin Burger, Kate Heffernan, and Kelly Jackson are all featuring in Australia’s Super Netball, which starts even earlier on March 14.
A NNZ spokesperson said the Ferns were finalising their programme for 2026, but there was likely to be some national training camps prior to the Games.
With a short turnaround between the end of the ANZ Premiership and Super Netball, and the Commonwealth Games, it was almost certain the next Ferns’ international would be their opening match in Glasgow against Scotland on July 25.
When Taurua was reinstated to the role in late October, NNZ said in their release they and Taurua had agreed to “implement enhancements to support wellbeing and performance, including strengthening the player voice”.
Just what that looks like and whether any distinguishable differences can be noticed in the Ferns’ environment will be fascinating to see.
Whether Taurua makes any slight changes to her coaching style promises to be equally interesting.
The Ferns will know they are capable of winning gold at the Commonwealth Games if they perform like they did to end the year.
Little usually separates Australia, New Zealand, England, and Jamaica on the netball court and it often comes down to the crunch moments in close games.
Superstar shooter Nweke makes the Ferns a formidable test any time they take the court, providing a headache for opposition defences and their coaches alike.
Add in Gordon, who has quickly become one of the premier midcourters in world netball, and the dependable Heffernan (at either wing defence or centre), and New Zealand have proven match-winners.
Burger, who did such a fine job taking over as captain at a highly challenging time for the sport in New Zealand, and Jackson, are a world-class defensive unit.
The big questions for Taurua loom over goal attack and whether former Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio is interested in returning to international netball. Ekenasio, a 79-test veteran and 2019 Netball World Cup winner, would be a valuable addition for the Commonwealth Games. Should she return, Ekenasio would likely step in as the No 1 goal attack partnering Nweke.
If Ekenasio remained unavailable, Georgia Heffernan, Martina Salmon, and Amelia Walmsley would be the contenders for minutes at goal attack.
Mila Reuelu-Buchanan remains the frontrunner to start at wing attack in the big games, but has not quite locked down the starting position. She should be the favourite to wear the wing attack bib in a knockout Commonwealth Games match, but faces competition from Kimiora Poi. Gordon, New Zealand’s top centre, is also a skilled operator at wing attack.
With the Taurua saga mostly in the rear vision mirror and heartening results to close out 2025, Christmas lunch would have tasted much better for the Silver Ferns.
They will be acutely aware of the challenge ahead in 2026, knowing they cannot afford a misstep at the Commonwealth Games as the scrutiny ramps up on the returning Taurua. - The Post