Netball NZ chief Jennie Wyllie has say on Silver Ferns, Super Netball and the trans-Tasman game
Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie has revealed her organisation remains in constant talks with Netball Australia over the future look of trans-Tasman netball.
Netball New Zealand intends to stand firm on its rigid Silver Ferns eligibility rules for the “foreseeable future” as it revealed it remained in constant talks with its Netball Australia counterparts over the future look of trans-Tasman netball.
Silver Ferns star goal shooter Grace Nweke created headlines last month when she was announced as the New South Wales Swifts’ big Super Netball signing for 2025, surrendering her eligibility to play for New Zealand next year.
Netball New Zealand has maintained a firm stance on Silver Ferns eligibility for players who have moved across the ditch to play in Super Netball, prioritising its own national league, the ANZ Premiership.
Nweke will still be eligible for the 2024 internationals for the Silver Ferns, by virtue of having played for the Northern Mystics in the ANZ Premiership this year.
But if Nweke wants to return to play for New Zealand at the 2026 Commonwealth Games – provided they proceed – her Super Netball foray will have to be short-lived.
Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie said there were no plans to wind back the eligibility rules to allow an easier passage for Silver Ferns stars to play in Australia.
“Our board has reconfirmed our eligibility rule still stands for the foreseeable future,” Wyllie said from New Zealand.
“But we are in a place where we are looking at what our competition might look like in ‘26 and beyond and I think, with that, brings some new and different thinking.
“That’s not to say that anything will change, but it might mean that we revisit as those options become a bit clearer.
“We had really good conversations with (Nweke), she is an intelligent young woman.
“We understand her rationale, but she is also very cognisant of the rationale behind the eligibility, the role of the bigger system and Netball New Zealand’s job and ensuring the longevity of it.
“So, it would be great to have Grace playing, but we are also incredibly pleased that a lot of our players are in-country, they understand the bigger system and having 60 athletes in New Zealand that are Kiwis that can go on and represent New Zealand is a really important part of our strategy.”
It has now been eight years since the division of the former trans-Tasman netball league, which featured five franchises each in Australia and New Zealand.
In its place, the eight-team Super Netball competition was born in Australia, while New Zealand now has its six-team ANZ Premiership.
Questions persist over the likelihood of New Zealand teams joining the Super Netball competition in the future, but Wyllie gave little away about the possibility.
Wyllie said the execution of the former trans-Tasman competition could have been sharper and any potential reunion had to be relevant for fans and for the benefit of the game.
“I have had visibility of the trans-Tasman (competition) previously …. and at that time, that concept was absolutely right, but the execution of it could have been better,” Wyllie said.
“I have had the benefit of seeing it as a joined up competition and I have also seen how it works when they are not joined up.
“There is always the chance of that next iteration, you have got to keep ensuring your relevance to fans and consumers, so I think any decision around what a future state it might look like, whether it be a crossover or a trans-Tasman league, it needs to be in the eyes of what the consumers actually want and what is the right thing for the game.
“Looking forward I think we have to be driven by some clear objectives of what both parties would be after, but also what the consumer wants and how fans want to engage with the game – that’s super important.”
Wyllie said Netball NZ continued to talk with Netball Australia over the future shape of trans-Tasman netball and, alongside the domestic leagues, finding a way to enhance the Constellation Cup.
She said consecutive drawn series between the Diamonds and Silver Ferns had been “unsatisfying” for fans and the series needed a result.
“We are always in conversations with Netball Australia and one of the things that we are working on currently is the Constellation Cup. It is the biggest rivalry in the netballing calendar and we are looking forward to that this year,” Wyllie said.
“But over the last couple of years we have had two drawn series and for the netball fans, that is unsatisfying, they want to see the game go to a result.
“So from our perspective, that is a really good opportunity for us to work with Netball Australia around, ‘How do you bring that element of jeopardy to the very last game as well?’ So there is a bunch of work going on in that space.
“(An extra game) is certainly one of the options in the future. How do you take that to a new market and make it fresh and exciting? (To) get to a conclusion, our fans are asking for it, so it is certainly something that we are listening to.”
Wyllie also supported the idea of a world club championship between the top teams, winners of grand finalists from the leading leagues around the world.
But she said any new products had to help the overall growth of the game globally.
“Historically, we have staged a world club championship, which was called Super Club and that was well-received here,” she said.
“We certainly had some of the high-profile English teams, and our top teams and the top teams out of South Africa and representation from some of the Australian franchise clubs.
“That was a great concept to be able to pull together.
“From a world netball perspective, growing eyeballs on the game and ensuring that it remains relevant, that’s why Fast5 is a product that is super important.
“Commercially the growth in women’s sport is massive and in world netball there is an opportunity now, the window is open to step in and cement netball’s place in that growth.
“The product needs to be relevant, there needs to be a really strategic vision for what we are doing and why we are doing it.
“There are a bunch of things that are probably still on the table.”
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