How the once struggling Steel have turned it around with former captain now coach Wendy Frew
Saturday, 20 June 2026
The Southern Steel haven’t made an ANZ Premiership final since 2018, when captain Wendy Frew helped lead the team to a thrilling 54-53 win over the Central Pulse. Now Frew has the chance to take the Steel to another grand final – this time as coach.
Frew retired from netball after winning the 2018 title, finishing her domestic career with over 200 matches played for the Southern Steel/Sting. Last year, she took the reins as head coach of the Steel, hoping to turn around the team’s poor form.
In both 2023 and 2024, the Steel finished bottom of the ladder, not winning a single game in 2023 and just two in 2024. Since Frew was appointed, the team has surged, jumping to fourth last year – narrowly missing the elimination final – and second this year.
“I still feel like I’m so new into this, being year two,” Frew says of her head coach role.
“But it’s actually not just coaching; there are so many more factors that go on, and for me, I really try to look after the players – look after the person before the player. Because when I had the likes of Robyn [Broughton] coaching me, that was her mentality, and for me, I loved that as a player.
“Those hard conversations you need to have with players, and when you’re not giving some players court time, it is really hard, but having those honest convos when you can to make sure everyone’s aligned.”
The person-first approach is the key philosophy Frew brings, learnt from her many years playing professional netball; at just 17 years old, Frew was approached by Broughton to play for the Sting. Broughton passed away in 2023 and is still a big influence for many who were coached by her, including Frew and Tactix head coach Donna Wilkins.
'There are a lot of experienced players in this team, so it’s not like you’re teaching them how to play netball,” Frew explains of her role.
“It's just those little things or those one percenters that might make them play better than the opposition. Or at the breaks, that one key message they need to adapt or change.”
The Steel started their season with a 55-42 loss to the Tactix, and Frew says it was a rough start to the competition.
“That first one was a big loss. You go 10 weeks pre-season, slogging, and then go out and lose by 13, so that was really, really tough,” she says.
“Definitely a little bit stressed after that game, just thinking how can I turn this around and what more do I need to do better as a coach? How can I look at the game and see where we can improve and all those little areas to make sure we come out firing the next week, and certainly grateful we did.”
The Steel only lost one other game this season, finishing the round eight match against the Mystics all tied 52-all and then experiencing a horrible extra time period, where they lost the match 61-53.
“We were obviously in the hunt the whole game, and the Mystics are a class side with a lot of experience, and we look back and reflect, and there are different pieces of that game we wish we had done a little bit better,” Frew says.
“That’s how it goes, and in the overtime, we got absolutely pumped in that, so that was disappointing. But we know in that 60-minute performance, we were right in there with them, and we definitely played some good phases in that game.”
The Steel hosts the Tactix in the elimination final on Sunday, with the winner heading up to Auckland to face the Mystics in the grand final in a week’s time. The elimination final is a repeat of the last match of the season, where a late run by the Steel saw them win 56-54 and earn a home playoff.
“It’s going to be a big game on Sunday; both teams are very skilful, and they don’t give up a lot of ball, so for us, we really need to make sure our turnover score improves,” Frew says on the key game.
“It’s something we’ve been doing really well the last few weeks, and we let ourselves down slightly in the game against the Tactix with our numbers on that. So we just need to make sure that if we get a turnover, we actually score it because they’re going to be hard to come by against a sharp Tactix side.”
Having home advantage means no need for travel or staying in a hotel but also playing in front of the very loyal Steel fans.
“The crowds down here are amazing, the support’s been good, there’s a real good vibe down here in Southland at the moment, so it’s pretty exciting,” says Frew.
One standout for the Steel has been goal shooter Aliyah Dunn. Not only has she scored the most goals this season (ahead by over 50 shots), she’s also the most accurate – at an incredible 97 per cent. She also has 18 rebounds for those moments when her teammates miss.
“She’s just a remarkable person; she reads the game so well; she sees everything before everyone else does,” Frew says of her star shooter.
“She’s a really talented netballer with a huge netball brain, and she brings a lot of good conversations to training and a lot of good feedback and energy.”
While Frew admits it would mean a lot to the team to make their first grand final since 2018, she says all the focus is on the upcoming elimination final.
“We’re just trying to stay humble, focused, one game at a time… We've got a big task ahead of us this weekend against the Tactix.
“It’s not going to be an easy win; we’re going to have to put everything out there and improve immensely to make sure we secure that win at home.”