Frustrated Silver Ferns taking offshore club offers seriously
Lingering frustration over the ANZ Premiership's uncertain future is causing senior Silver Ferns to look at overseas options more seriously.
Netball New Zealand is yet to confirm a broadcast deal for 2026, with the current one expiring this year.
Last month, NNZ reassured players and staff there will be a
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RNZ News
14 hours ago
- RNZ News
ANZ Premiership Netball: Waikato BoP Magic can't steal a win from rivals Southern Steel
From left: Steel Kimiora Poi, Aliyah Dunn, Georgia Heffernan and Renee Savai'inaea celebrate their win. Photo: Marty Melville A late comeback by the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic was not enough to stop a dominant Southern Steel from securing a 64-56 win in the ANZ Premiership in Invercargill on Saturday. The Steel are on a three-game winning streak and have taken outright third place on the points ladder with two more rounds before the finals. The Magic finished strongly with a last quarter flurry to win the final 15 minutes 18-11 but were outplayed across the first three quarters. Steel shooter Aliyah Dunn was nearly flawless from close to the hoop converting 43 of her 45 goal attempts. It was shooting accuracy which proved the difference at the end of the first quarter, the Steel leading 15-13 after nailing all their opportunities and the Magic missing two after both sides had equal attempts. In the second quarter the intense pressure employed by Carys Stythe and Abby Lawson under the Magic hoop resulted in turnovers while at the other end Dunn and Georgia Heffernan continued their recent strong form. The pair shared the load expertly and intuitively in feeding off each other with Dunn producing a standout first half through her positioning, pin-point shooting and rebounding ability. The home side were ahead 33-25 at halftime. The Magic struggled to keep up after the break with the Steel outscoring them 20-13 in the third period as the visitors' misguided passes and inaccuracies took a toll. The loss was the Magic's third defeat in a row and the second time they have lost to the Steel this season. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Netball's Super Shot - who's scoring, who's not and does it matter?
Stars shooter Charlie Bell has shot 10 two-pointers among her 220 goals this season. Photo: Blake Armstrong/Photosport Analysis - What do the statistics tell us about the two-point shot and its impact on this year's ANZ Premiership, if any? Netball New Zealand decided to introduce a 'super shot' to the domestic league this year, following in the footsteps of Australia's Super Netball league, which rewards shooters for taking longer shots. The two-point shot comes into play for the last five minutes of each quarter, so for a third of the game. Well after seven rounds, the stats suggest that there's no real correlation between super shots and winning games. Tabletopping Mainland Tactix have sunk the least two-point shots by far this season, with just eight, at a conversion rate of 35 percent. Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, who are second to bottom on the ladder, have scored the most super shots of any team with 34, at a success rate of 52 percent. Northern Mystics are second on the table and have converted the fourth-most with 27, but have the best conversion rate of any team at 57 percent. That's largely down to the shooting prowess of Filda Vui, who has the more two-point goals than anyone in the league with 23, at an impressive 62 percent. Magic shooter Saviour Tui ranks second with 21 and team-mate Ameliaranne Ekenasio third, with 13 super shots. Pulse replacement shooter Amorangi Malesala has only played 56 minutes this season, but has the fourth-most super shots with 12. Overall, 45 percent of attempts at the longer distance have been converted, which seems on par with the Australian league, given that the scoring zone across the Tasman is closer to the goalpost. Amelia Walmsley is the ANZ Premiership's leading scorer, but has not hit a 'super shot'. Photo: Photosport In last season's Australian SSN competition, 54 percent of the super shots found the net, where shooters are awarded two points for shots starting from three metres away. In the ANZ Premiership, the zone starts 3.5m away from the post. Northern Stars, who sit at the bottom of the table, have scored the second-most double-point shots with 31, at 41 percent. They have attempted more than any other team, which is not surprising, given they've trailled in most matches and have tried to make up ground by doubling their points. Central Pulse shooter Amelia Walmsley has scored the most goals this season with 307, at an incredible 96 percent. None of those goals include super shots. Second is Aliyah Dunn with 281, including 11 super shots, and Charlie Bell is third with 220, which includes 10 two-pointers. Tactix coach Donna Wilkins encourages her players to use the super shot sparingly. Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2025 Tactix coach Donna Wilkins, who played netball and basketball for New Zealand, has encouraged her shooters to use the super shot sparingly, noting the risk involved. A miss is often gobbled up by the opposition defence and turned into a goal at the other end of the court. Of course, its use can depend on who you've got in your team and whether you've got a high-volume shooter, like the Pulse do with Walmsley. Australian players have had a few years to get used to the rule change, which was introduced to their competition in 2020. Adelaide Thunderbirds won the premiership last year, but had by far the least two-point attempts in 2024. They won the grand final against the Vixens without putting up a single super shot attempt during the game. The success of the rule change shouldn't only be judged on whether it has an impact on results. If fans are more engaged by the anticipation and risk-versus-reward element, then that's a win. One of the most exciting finishes we've seen this season came in the final game of round seven on Monday, when Steel shooter Georgia Heffernan sunk a super shot in the dying minutes to help her side pip the Pulse. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Celebrate this test before it's too late
Test week! That is how we used to feel about it, anyway. In ye olden days, before The Last Word got weary and literally everything about the world got worse, the build-up to an All Blacks test in Dunedin genuinely deserved an exclamation mark. There was no ludicrous clash between club and international rugby, so both home and visiting teams were at full strength. Both teams would also — ALWAYS — arrive in Dunedin on the preceding Sunday, and do public trainings and be out and about in the city, which really helped the buzz grow. From tent villages at Bathgate Park to shops (with plenty of carparking) competing with one another to ''black out'' in greater style, there was such an incredible atmosphere here that many argued Dunedin was the best place to have an All Blacks test. It is a little different now, and without sounding too cynical, the changes have not been for the better. Let me stress that an All Blacks test is still brilliant, still far and away the biggest sports event we can hold, and we should be grateful Dunedin gets one most years. But the All Blacks do not arrive in our city until Tuesday night, the French do not even bother to come here until Thursday night, and there is not the slightest sign of rugby test buzz in town, and that makes me a little sad. International void While I am really winding up my levels of bitterness — note to self: must embrace positivity more — here is another thought. Two things each year are guaranteed to make my heart sink briefly, but it appears they cause mostly shrugged shoulders around Otago. The Silver Ferns announce their home schedule, and Dunedin is not part of it; and New Zealand Cricket reveals its schedule and the University Oval misses out on a test again. Let's get out and march in the streets over this appalling development. Dunedin has not hosted a Silver Ferns test since 2008 — the one before that was in 1998, when your man was in his first year at this fine newspaper — and the Black Caps have not played a test here since 2017. International hockey has not been seen in the city since 2007, the Tall Blacks have not played here since 2006 and the Tall Ferns since 2007, and the Kiwis test here in 2014 was the first in 86 years. The All Whites broke a 25-year drought when they played in Dunedin in 2013, though the city has seen top-level football thanks to the Fifa Women's World Cup in 2023 and the Under-20 World Cup in 2015. New Zealand Rugby, for its faults, still appears to value Dunedin as a venue — that cracking stadium helps — with the All Blacks coming most years, and the Black Ferns playing here just two years ago. A word of warning, though. Christchurch will open its fancy new house next year. The All Blacks now regularly play a ''home'' test overseas. And with an old-school tour of South Africa coming next year, and the World Cup the year after, there will be fewer home tests. Is it possible this French test will be the last time we see the All Blacks in Dunedin until 2028? Grudging acknowledgement The Crusaders are Super Rugby champions again. How wonderful for their long-suffering fans. Seriously, Chiefs: you had one job! Bazball again That was another stunning effort by the English cricketers as they chased 371 in the final innings to take a 1-0 lead in the test series against India. Hat tip to Michael Wagener, one of the cricket tragics I follow on X, for this outstanding snippet of information. He says that, in 148 years of test cricket, there have been just eight instances of a team chasing down a score of 250-plus to win a test while maintaining a run rate of better than 4.5 runs per over. Five of those eight chases have come from England since our Brendon McCullum became their coach. Plucky little amateurs This was the point when I assumed I would be mentioning Auckland City getting destroyed again, and mocking their presence at the bloated Club World Cup. My bad! It is legitimately amazing that New Zealand's battlers at the Fifa tournament managed to draw with Argentine powerhouses Boca Juniors. Bravo, lads. That lad again Sprint sensation Gout Gout continued his rapid rise by smashing the Australian 200m record in the Czech Republic earlier this week. The 17-year-old Usain Bolt Mark II clocked a sizzling 20.02sec. Only a matter of time before he is challenging Bolt's legacy. Birthday of the week Adolfo Carlos Julio Schwelm-Cruz would have been 102 today. Heck of a name, obviously. But the most interesting thing about the Argentine racing driver is that he was given a single race in a Formula One car, at his home nation's Grand Prix in 1953. One race! Even Red Bull gave Liam Lawson more than that.
