Netball NZ finally sits down with players to talk about the future

After months of silence, Netball New Zealand has finally sat down with ANZ Premiership players to discuss the future of the domestic competition - but the long-awaited meeting produced few answers.

RNZ has learned a group of players met with the governing body for the first time on Wednesday night, just days after the season ended, after lobbying by the New Zealand Netball Players' Association for a seat at the table.

Silver Ferns midcourter Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, who is part of a player working group representing all six ANZ Premiership teams, said the meeting was long overdue.

"It was a really good opportunity for us to share our perspectives and to be heard as a playing group. It was the first time we've actually had a meeting with them and been part of conversations and the Players' Association really pushed to have us there and I believe we should be there, we should be part of the conversations."

It is the third straight year players have entered the ANZ Premiership season without certainty over the competition's future, with Netball NZ relying on a series of short-term broadcast deals to keep the league going. But with the season now over and still no announcement about next year, the competition has never looked more vulnerable.

The governing body has yet to outline its plans for next season and has given no guarantee the league will continue in its current form. There is also no broadcast agreement in place beyond 2026.

Reuelu-Buchanan said the players were frustrated it had taken so long to get around the table with the national body.

"We've been told the same things year after year but it's just worsened. You put your trust and confidence in those leading the space only to be let down year after year but look that's in the past and we want to focus on ensuring that we have some sort of pathway for our players here.

"We're the ones living and breathing the sport and there's so much value in having player input. Netball New Zealand acknowledged that they should have had us in conversations earlier, but they also assured us that moving forward we will be working together in whatever way that looks like."

At the end of a turbulent year for Netball NZ, Jennie Wyllie stepped down as CEO in December after nearly a decade in the role. Earlier this year several members of the Netball NZ board stepped down, including long-standing chair Matt Whineray.

In April, Alastair Carruthers was named Netball NZ's new chair and in May, Jennah Wootten its new chief executive. Jane Patterson has been acting as interim chief executive since January and will hand over the reins to Wootten in the middle of August.

Reuelu-Buchanan said they also acknowledged there had been a reshuffle at Netball New Zealand.

"People have come in and kind of inherited these massive challenges. I just believe that if we work together something positive can come."

She said Netball NZ were not able to share any real updates about what its plans are for the domestic competition, nor any guarantees that the six current franchises will survive into next year.

"There wasn't really much information that they could give us and obviously it becomes frustrating because people need to know do I need to find a job or what do I need to do if this is not going ahead.

"It's important moving forward we work together and we [as players] get to discuss what it is that we want and how we can get there. But again I'm not sure what that looks like, there really wasn't much information that came from that."

Reuelu-Buchanan, who captains the Stars franchise, said the player working group had been established to be the vital link for the athletes.

"We have a player rep from each team plus two or more players and we've been meeting regularly to discuss the issues or questions that we wanted to ask Netball New Zealand as we headed into that. And a few of those players will be part of the next process of what is the competition looking like, the bargaining side of things."

See the potential

Netball continues to be the most popular sport for women and girls in New Zealand by some distance. It is the most played sport at high school level.

Coupled with that, Reuelu-Buchanan believes the ANZ Premiership is a quality product, and the players highly marketable so she can't fathom why investors are not seeing the potential in the sport.

"It actually blows my mind that we are here, I thought that investors would be banging down the doors wanting to be part of this incredible environment that we've created. It makes me wonder you know what are we missing?

"What more do we need to show to get investors on board with us because all these players are incredible women who work extremely hard. These players have the most incredible characters and personalities and are extremely passionate about the sport we love."

Two weeks ago Reuelu-Buchanan was named in the Silver Ferns team for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, in what will be her first pinnacle tournament.

She said despite the uncertainty around the domestic competition, the Silver Ferns will be able to switch focus as they prepare for the Games, which start later this month.

"What I've learned over the last couple of years is that we can still get the job done when there are challenges around us. You learn to just kind of get on with it, we have a job to do and a lot of the players in the Silver Ferns have been around for a little while."

Reuelu-Buchanan's Silver Ferns team-mate Amelia Walmsley told RNZ on Wednesday that players will be forced to look overseas or leave netball altogether if Netball NZ doesn't quickly come up with a plan.

"So like Amelia and like myself, we want to advocate for those who don't know how to use their voices and we've been given the blessing and support by the Silver Ferns staff.

"But once we get into Silver Ferns camp on Monday, we will really hone in on that and we won't be part of the conversations and the Players Association obviously want us to just purely focus on Comm Games. We trust that the other players, who will be part of those conversations, will be massive advocates for all of us."

Is she confident that there will be a league next year?

"That's a really challenging question ... it makes me sad that I can't confidently say yes. I'm confident that something's going to happen, I don't know what that looks like and playing for New Zealand is the ultimate honour but the Silver Ferns don't exist without the pathways beneath them.

"We need to ensure we have a thriving, sustainable competition that continues to develop home-grown talent so I hope and pray that there will be something because that's what scares me the most is if there isn't then what does the future look like for netball?"