“We want to keep playing’’. That was the impassioned plea to the powers-that-be from Northern Mystics captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson after the ANZ Premiership final on Saturday. Netball New Zealand has still not confirmed the future of the competition. Netball writer Kayla Hodge was in Auckland and felt the frustration in the air. Elite netballers have been left in the dark as they continue to fight for the survival of their sport’s domestic league.
The ANZ Premiership wrapped up with the final on Saturday, but Netball New Zealand has remained tight-lipped on the future of the league.
If there is even a competition in 2027 remains to be seen as players wait to know their fate.
“Unsettling’s the word,’’ Southern Steel coach Wendy Frew said about the uncertainty of next season.
“I haven’t had an update from anyone. I have no idea and it’s the grand final.
“The sad thing is it’s people’s income. Some people actually pay bills from being a netballer.
“I just really hope that things can be resolved and there’ll be a competition, because it’ll be really hard to come back if there’s nothing in place.’’
Players and coaches have been walking on eggshells for the past two seasons.
The competition was slashed by 33% last year, reduced from three rounds to two, and players managed to hold off pay cuts.
But they were not so lucky this season, forced to take a 20% pay cut — retainers now range from $20,800 to $44,800 — after NNZ signed a one-year broadcast agreement with TVNZ following months of negotiations.
How much TVNZ was actually paying for the rights, if anything at all, had not been disclosed, RNZ reported.
Amid all of that, nine New Zealanders suited up in Australia’s Super Netball this season to secure their future and test themselves against world-class players.
The emotional toll of fighting for survival was palpable after Saturday’s final.
Northern Mystics captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson was in tears — for the second straight year in a post-game speech — as she spoke about the state of netball, and coaches spoke about the uncertainty for livelihoods and the impact no competition would have internationally.
Mystics assistant Rob Wright previously called the situation a disgrace, Mainland Tactix coach Donna Wilkins said her players had fielded offers from England and Northern Stars captain Mila Reuelu-Buchanan encouraged people to use their voice to advocate for the future of the sport in a stirring speech during their awards night.
Mystics coach Tia Winikerei questioned how they could develop talent and give players something to aspire to without an elite competition.
If the ANZ Premiership was scrapped for a year, she worried the sport would lose players to other competitions or retirement.
“We’ll have to start the building blocks and it’s too hard to start those building blocks with young players who don’t have any support around them,’’ Winikerei said.
“It’s a real tough job. It can be done, but I think it will take the sport years to recover.
“You can’t run what we do on an amateur league.
“You don’t get enough access to players. People say self-led training, but that’s a flawed model from a league point of view.
“You need to be able to maintain the staff structures within that and I worry we’ll lose good people... because people need to work and they’ll have to make decisions based on what’s on offer to them.’’
Having no elite domestic competition would hurt the Silver Ferns, because players would not be prepared compared to others who are playing professionally, Winikerei said.
Moving the timeframe of the ANZ Premiership had been on the table several times, but how that would work around the international season remained to be seen.
But creating as many opportunities for players and coaches to be involved in the sport year round was a good consideration, she said.
Frew acknowledged the speculation about players heading to Australia would make the ANZ Premiership weaker, but felt the league had held its own this year.
The Steel had sell-out crowds nearly every week, there were extra-time thrillers and they proved their worth.
“For me as a coach going into this, I wanted to put a good spectacle of netball on for the fans, and the viewers at home, and I really feel like we succeeded in that,’’ Frew said.
“I feel like as netballers we’re doing what we can to keep the game humming.
“I really hope this league continues for these players, that they can keep progressing into this hard competition and making sure it grows.’’
Steel stalwart Georgia Heffernan agreed the quality of netball was strong in 2026, but it was unsettling not knowing what the future held.
Steel captain Kimiora Poi said there was “a little bit of uncertainty in the air’’.
“Being left a little bit in the unknown is not very helpful to plan life and, for me, I’m a big planner and not having my life sorted is a little bit unsettling,’’ Poi said.
“I guess we just have to trust that they’re doing the work behind the scenes to get something sorted.’’
Sokolich-Beatson would hate for her younger team-mates not to have the experiences she had been afforded throughout her career.
She believed there was still an appetite for professional netball in New Zealand after a sold-out final — “I don’t think I’ve ever been in the Trusts Arena that loud’’ — and the love for the game remained.
“I understand that there’s all these moving parts behind the scenes that I have no control over,’’ Sokolich-Beatson said.
“But I would just like to see something for the girls that are going to keep playing the sport.’’
