Netball: More opportunities in Australia 'ideal outcome' - players association

The NZ Netball Players' Association would like to see athletes have more opportunities to play in Australia, as uncertainty around the future of Aotearoa's domestic competition remains.

When the 2025 ANZ Premiership season begins in a few days, New Zealand's elite netballers won't know whether it will be the last year of the domestic competition as they know it.

The ANZ Premiership replaced the former trans-Tasman ANZ Championship, which ended in 2016 when New Zealand and Australia went their separate ways.

But what the domestic competition might look like next year is anyone's guess with Netball New Zealand in the process of negotiating a new broadcasting deal, which could have a huge impact on the salary caps of the franchises.

RNZ reported last year that Netball NZ's one-year extension to their broadcast partnership with Sky TV was for a significantly reduced amount of money.

Players managed to avoid pay cuts under a new collective employment agreement signed last year - but that was only for a one-year period.

RNZ also reported that the one-year broadcast extension was to effectively buy the national body some time to explore joining Australia's Super Netball competition (SSN).

The NZ Netball Players' Association executive manager Steph Bond said it was something Netball NZ needed to investigate.

"It's definitely something that I think in the long term really needs to be considered as sort of more of a natural progression of the ANZ Premiership and something I think everyone should be sitting down and looking at for maybe a medium to longer term pathway," Bond said.

But it seems that 2027 would be the earliest that any new franchises would be considered in the SSN with the broadcast deal underpinning that competition in place until the end of next year.

"There might be more of a short-term picture and long-term picture there. I think at the moment it does not appear that teams in the Australian competition is achievable right now."

So where does that leave players who are looking for opportunities to extend their game and earn more money now?

Netball New Zealand's current eligibility policy means star shooter Grace Nweke has had to give up her place in the Silver Ferns this year, because she is playing in the Australian competition.

Bond said it would be something the Association raises when it goes into collective bargaining negotiations with Netball New Zealand this year.

"There will be a discussion around how players have more opportunities to play in Australia, particularly if the competition looks different here or if the medium to long term future is that we're part of the Australian competition.

"How in the short term do we make sure that players are having that opportunity to play across the Tasman as well? Because I know there are players that I think would enjoy and embrace that opportunity."

Bond said if New Zealand teams did join the Australian competition in the future, it didn't mean the end of a domestic competition in Aotearoa.

"There's so many different options in terms of how it could continue, you could still have a competition here and only have a couple of teams in the Australian competition.

"You could have both competitions joined, you could play at a different time to Australia. I think there's a whole lot of different mechanisms in which that could play out and it really depends on where each country sits at a point in time in which that could come together.

"And both countries probably need to be on the same page around what the future might look like for netball on both sides of the Tasman because it was a great competition when it was both New Zealand and Australia and I think all the players would agree that having some opportunities over there would be an ideal outcome."

The bargaining process for 2026 and beyond between the Players' Association and Netball New Zealand can't start until the national body reaches an agreement on broadcast rights.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to go into bargaining as soon as they get an answer and hopefully meet that date so that players do have some kind of runway into what it might look like next year, so they can plan their lives for next year."

Bond said they had been kept across the broadcast negotiations to date but did not have any indication whether a new deal would be able to sustain the ANZ Premiership at the same level.

"We don't really know yet. Obviously ideally, we'd like to maintain or increase what it looks like for players so that we can maintain that professionalism of the sport because it has come a long way in the last 10 years. It would be great if we could maintain what that looks like so young girls looking to different sports to play still have netball as an option in which they can both love playing the sport but also be able to earn an income out of it."

Bond is hopeful they will have some answers before the end of this season so players can enter into negotiations with franchises for 2026.

"There's no doubt the timeframes are now sort of creating a little more angst and uncertainty really amongst the playing group."

Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie said they were working in a more competitive environment than they were five years ago.

"The sporting landscape has definitely become more competitive over the past five years, particularly in the women's space. This shift presents both challenges and opportunities, and it reinforces the need for us to continue evolving and innovating in our sport.

"We're currently working through what the 2026 ANZ Premiership will look like, with the aim of ensuring the competition continues to evolve and support the high-performance needs of our athletes. With planning underway, we're conscious of the need to provide clarity to franchises and players as soon as possible," Wyllie said.

Until this year the competition has not undergone any real change since its inaugural 2017 season.

This year the ANZ Premiership has been cut from three rounds to two, in an effort to create more intense competition from the first whistle. This season will also see a handful of new rules introduced, the most notable being a two-point shot in the final five minutes of each quarter.

The competition starts 10 May when the Pulse host the Magic in Palmerston North.

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