Anxiety mounts among New Zealand’s top netballers with ANZ Premiership future still unclear ahead of grand final

Friday, 26 June 2026

Mystics centre Tayla Earle and Tactix opposite Holly Mather contest possession in last year’s grand final in Auckland.

The gruesome prospect of no flagship netball competition in New Zealand breaks the heart of veteran Silver Fern Phoenix Karaka.

Karaka and her Northern Mystics side host the Southern Steel in Saturday’s ANZ Premiership grand final in Auckland, but beyond that the future of the league is again unclear.

The vastly experienced Karaka, one of the longest-serving players in the premiership, would much rather have been talking about the title match.

Uncertainty around New Zealand’s elite netball league has again dominated the conversation with players having no clarity from Netball New Zealand (NNZ) if they will have a competition next year. NNZ’s revamped board had met several times to discuss how the ANZ Premiership could look in 2027 and beyond, but had yet to guarantee its future or confirm anything.

“Being in limbo is really scary for everyone who’s involved – the officials, the umpires. It would be a really sad day if there was nothing,” Karaka a 70-test Silver Fern, who made her domestic netball debut in 2013, said.

Mystics veteran Phoenix Karaka says elite netballers are frustrated and disappointed not to have clarity around the ANZ Premiership.

“To see how far we did come when I first started to see where it is now is really disappointing.”

NNZ have a new board chair, Alastair Carruthers, and incoming chief executive Jennah Wootten, who will start in the top job in August. NNZ’s board will be assessing the best competition model for the sport in New Zealand and the long-standing broadcast deal dilemma.

“We 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,” a NNZ spokesperson said on Thursday.

The Mainland Tactix celebrate winning their first ANZ Premiership title in team history last year.

The past two years, New Zealand netballers headed into the premiership not knowing if they would have a competition the next season. Eventually, they received confirmation, but only for the following year.

This year, there is even more angst with players, coaches, management, and umpires still in the dark a day out from the grand final.

“To think we have development programmes like the Future Ferns and there’s potentially no future for them. It’s a scary place to be in,” Karaka said.

“We need to remember these are people’s lives and to have this uncertainty and not have a succession plan is just crazy and mind-blowing.”

Former netballer Paris Lokotui, second from left, celebrates a Matatū try in their win over Chiefs Manawa at One NZ Stadium.

Karaka fell in love with the sport through her nana, learning netball positions by drawing them on a piece of paper. Not having an ANZ Premiership would be a monumental blow for the game in New Zealand, she said.

The ANZ Premiership returned to free-to-air TVNZ this season on a one-year contract on a vastly reduced deal. NNZ even invested its own resources into the production and delivery of the 2026 competition. Players also had to take 20% pay cuts this season with ANZ Premiership retainers now ranging from $20,800 to a maximum payment of $44,800.

The continual uncertainty around the competition every season was hugely unsettling for players, Karaka said.

Some players may consider their future in the sport with former Silver Ferns development squad member Paris Lokotui switching to rugby. Lokotui, a lock, is playing in Super Rugby Aupiki for the first time this season for South Island side, Matatū.

Tactix coach Donna Wilkins says not being able to offer players contracts until there is clarity on the ANZ Premiership is tough.

With the rules relaxed around New Zealanders competing in Australia’s Super Netball, several leading Kiwi players headed across the ditch this season, where they can earn significantly more money.

Karaka wanted elite netballers to be included more in NNZ board meetings and believed they had a lot to contribute.

“How can we make this better so when these younger girls are coming through from high school into a franchise team they can just play and not worry about the next year. The only thing they have to worry about is being contracted to a team.”

Former Silver Ferns great and Mainland Tactix coach Donna Wilkins stressed everyone in the competition was desperate for answers.

Teams could not offer contracts to players for 2027 until they had word from NNZ what was happening. The threat of England’s Netball Super League, and Australia’s Super Netball loomed large for New Zealand netballers. At least one Tactix player had already been approached by an English club, Wilkins said.

“This is their livelihood. They only play elite sport for a short amount of time, so you kind of want to know where your future is at. It’s just really hard on the players when they don’t know.

“It’s hard as a coach when you want to retain your team. You can’t really hold them back if you get a good offer either.”

Whatever NNZ decided on, Wilkins said it was imperative a domestic netball league existed for New Zealand’s premier netballers.

With eight Kiwi netballers featuring in Super Netball this season, opportunities and court-time had opened up for emerging Kiwi talent. Defender Laura Balmer, who joined the Tactix from the Central Pulse, was one of the breakout players of the season.

“You want to keep these players in the game, so you need to have an elite competition and whether that’s five teams, six teams, or however it looks, we have to have something for these athletes.

“I don’t know what the best model is, but we can’t go backwards and have nothing.”