New era in New Zealand netball begins with a bang in Hamilton
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and New Zealand’s netballers are feeling good.
The ANZ Premiership begins today, with all six teams gathering in Hamilton for a triple-header, looking to put the old transTasman league behind them.
That’s a lot of netball in a short space of time, but it will provide an early look at how everyone is shaping up.
The Southern Steel are widely considered the favourites to take out the title, bringing back nine members of last year’s squad that went through the round robin unbeaten, including shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who is by far the standout among the competition’s six imports.
They will be the first team in action, taking on the Northern Stars, who are a new addition this year, coached by Australian Julie Hoornweg and captained by Leana de Bruin, who has moved north from the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic. With Kayla Cullen and Maia Wilson also on board, they have the potential to make an impact right away.
After that come the hosts, the Magic, against perennial strugglers the Mainland Tactix, who have suffered an injury crisis in the defensive circle, losing Jess Moulds to a knee injury last August, and Temalisi Fakahokotau to a back injury in the past week.
The Magic have regained the services of Casey Kopua, who is back after taking a year off to have her first child, and have a solid midcourt with Sam Sinclair and Grace Rasmussen, while there is plenty of interest in what 22-yearold South African shooter Lenize Potgieter can do.
The Tactix, on the other hand, have lost two of their stars – Malawi shooter Mwai Kumwenda and Silver Fern Bailey Mes – and are set for another season of propping up the table.
Likely to join them down there are the Central Pulse, who have strength on the defensive end in Ferns captain Katrina Grant and Phoenix Karaka, but have lost one promising young shooter, Wilson, to the Stars, and another, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, to the sidelines while she has a baby. To replace them, they have brought in former Fern Cathrine Tuivaiti.
Tuivaiti has come from the Northern Mystics, who play the Pulse in the final match of the day, and despite having lost Cullen across town, they are well set-up to succeed, with Anna Harrison anchoring them at the defensive end, and the all-international combination of Mes and Maria Tutaia combining in the shooting circle.
Of the 60 players handed contracts, 10 are still around from the days of the National Bank Cup, and 33 got their start at some point during the trans-Tasman league’s nine-year run, but 17 never played at that level, which suggests plenty of up-and-coming talent is about to be given a chance.