Netball: ANZ Premiership final - what you need to know
Photo:
Joshua Devenie / Photosport
The ANZ Premiership winner will make history in Auckland on Sunday. Either the Tactix will win a maiden title or the Mystics will win a three-peat, something no other team has done.
Mainland Tactix v Northern Mystics
4pm Sunday, 27 July
The Trusts Arena, Auckland
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Since the competition began in 2017 three franchises have lifted the trophy - the Steel twice, and the Pulse and Mystics three times each.
The Mystics will become the most successful team in ANZ Premiership history if they win Sunday's final and claim a record fourth.
The Mystics have home advantage having finished on top of the regular season.
This will be the Tactix' third ANZ Premiership grand final. The side lost to the Pulse in 2020 and the Mystics in 2021, where they lost by just two goals.
Six of the eight previous ANZ Premiership grand finals have been won by the team who finished top of the regular round and claimed the minor premiership.
The only two occasions the top team after the minor round hasn't won was in 2018 when the Steel defeated the Pulse. And last year when the Mystics beat the Pulse, but that can be attributed to the fact that strike shooter Grace Nweke was out injured for part of the season, which saw the Mystics slip down the ladder in 2024.
The Mystics have won every grand final they have appeared in.
When the teams last met in Round 10 the Mystics
defeated the Tactix 70-56 in Auckland
.
The Tactix won the Round 4 meeting 61-50 in Rangiora, but the Mystics were without star shooter Donnell Wallam in that game.
But the Tactix are coming off an impressive
57-52 victory over the Pulse in the Elimination Final
.
Coach Robyn Broughton and captain Bernice Mene after Southern Sting beat Canterbury Flames in the 2001 Coca Cola Cup domestic final.
Photo:
Photosport
Two ANZ Premiership grand finals have been decided by one goal; Last year
the Mystics pipped the Pulse by one goal
in the dying seconds.
In
2018 the Steel overcame the Pulse 54-53
, incredibly the same score as last year's grand final.
The Tactix would claim their region's first National League title if they can defeat the Mystics.
The Tactix and their National League predecessors, the Canterbury Flames, have not won a title since the introduction of franchise netball in 1998. The Flames played in four Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup finals but lost all four to the Southern Sting.
If they take the win, the Mystics will become the first New Zealand team to claim three consecutive titles since the Southern Sting, who won six titles in a row between 1999 and 2004.
Donna Wilkins has led the Tactix to the grand final in her first season as head coach. Tia Winikerei is the most recent head coach to claim the title in her first season, when she led the Mystics to the 2023 title.
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NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Mainland Tactix end 28-year wait with ANZ Premiership victory over Northern Mystics
Pedersen retired from the game back in 2021, after the Tactix narrowly lost the Premiership grand final to those same opponents. But this time, everything was pointing to a very different ending. The Tactix were in control – up by 11 at three-quarter time after a dominant first-quarter blitz that knocked the stuffing out of the defending champions in their own sold-out stadium. As her side refused to let the Mystics back into the game, Pedersen was confident this was finally Canterbury's time. Erikana Pedersen: "Everything was completely gone." Photo / Photosport After a short breather on the bench in the final spell, Pedersen was sent back on court by first-time head coach Donna Wilkins – who wanted her captain, who'd given one of her finest performances in 101 matches with the Tactix – to be out there when that moment came. But with just over a minute left, Pedersen reluctantly limped to the sideline. By then, though, the game was well and truly won. The Tactix' emphatic 58–46 victory ended a 28-year wait for a national netball title to be claimed by a Canterbury franchise – a win built on grit, belief, and a complete team performance. 'We had a lot of people doubting us, as they should – we came to Mystics' territory and they were No 1,' Pedersen said. 'But we had full belief. It was a grind at times, but Donna said 'It will come. We don't care if it takes 50 passes to get in there; we don't care if it's pretty or ugly. We just want to get those goals in'.' Victory in the final could mark Erikana Pedersen's last top-flight netball match. Photo / Photosport There's a strong chance this was Pedersen's final game of elite netball – and she won't be the only Tactix player weighing up her future in the next few weeks. But not all for the same reasons. Shooter Ellie Bird, who nailed 50 from 54 and stole two unlikely intercepts in the final, had already confirmed this season would be her last – another who came out of retirement for a last shot at a championship. Veterans Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Jane Watson, both unavailable for the Silver Ferns, are nearing the end of their careers – in New Zealand at least. Karin Burger – widely tipped as the next Silver Ferns captain – was immense on defence in the final, which should further bolster interest from top clubs in Australia and England. And now, with Netball New Zealand's U-turn on Silver Ferns eligibility for offshore players, the door is officially open for players of Burger's calibre to leave. The Tactix celebrate their first ANZ Premiership crown. Photo / Photosport Especially with the future of our domestic league still, incredibly, up in the air. Beyond the promise of a six-team competition in 2026, there are still no confirmed dates or a broadcast deal announced. Franchises would usually be signing players in the weeks immediately after a grand final. At the trophy presentation, Netball New Zealand head Jennie Wyllie spoke of the league's record-breaking crowds, outstanding broadcast figures, and exciting innovations (namely the two-point shot) this season – but made no mention of the next. 'We don't know who's going to come back next year. We've left that ... our focus has been on finals,' Wilkins, a former Silver Fern, said of her Tactix squad. 'For some of those old heads and those experienced ones that keep coming back because they wanted to win a championship – that's what I'm most proud of, now they've got it. 'But who knows what next year brings for them? I don't actually want to talk about it. I just want to enjoy this moment; take that trophy back to Christchurch. It's a long time coming ... we'll worry about next year next week.' The Mystics, lugging around a world of hurt after relinquishing the silverware, also weren't ready to talk about what lies ahead. 'We wanted to win a grand final first. We'll deal with that in two weeks' time,' captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson said. Next, they need to get to the bottom of what went wrong. The Mystics knew the juggernaut was coming – they'd embarrassed the Tactix by 14 goals at the same venue just a fortnight ago. This time they simply had no answer for how to stop it. 'They did exactly what we thought they were going to do,' head coach Tia Winikerei said afterwards. 'Which is probably why it hurts a lot,' continued Sokolich-Beatson. 'Because nothing blindsided us. We were so prepared for them to be that good.' So why didn't the Mystics, three-time Premiership champions and clear favourites to pull off the league's first threepeat, have a game plan to combat that? 'I don't know the answer to that right now,' Winikerei said. 'All I can say is we weren't good enough for what we knew was coming.' Donna Wilkins: "I actually brought Robbie with me." Photo / Photosport Wilkins described the Tactix' first-quarter assault as 'next level' – stifling the Mystics' key weapon Peta Toeava, successfully getting inside the head of shooter Donnell Wallam, and patiently threading the ball down the court to Bird. A run of seven goals took them out to a 17-8 lead at the first break, and from then on, they rarely gave the Mystics a sniff of a comeback. Burger and Watson responded to Wilkins' call to get early touches to ball destined for the Mystics' shooting circle. 'Jane did that right from the get-go,' said Wilkins. 'We needed to nullify that connection between Peta and Donnell. They were doing one or two more passes before they were launching it in, whereas a couple of weeks ago, it was just catch, boom.' There was more disappointment for the Mystics after their defeat. At the same time, but across the Tasman, Grace Nweke's Swifts stunningly lost their Suncorp Super Netball elimination final, 66-65, to the Melbourne Vixens – losing a 10-goal lead in the final quarter. Winikerei felt for Nweke, who left the Mystics this season to grow her game up against different defenders. 'Love you, Gigi. It's heartbreaking to lose, because of all the work that goes in,' she said. 'We got you back here.' The Pollyanna in Sokolich-Beatson was able to see the Mystics' success this season as creating a new legacy at the club. 'We got some young kids on the court tonight in a grand final, and the way that they stood up, they held their own,' she said, referring to their two young goal keeps, Charlotte Manley and Catherine Hall (who was arguably the Mystics' standout player on the night). 'I think we're building something greater than a win here at Mystics.' The Tactix will hope their triumph marks the beginning of a new era (even if it's the only time their name is engraved on the ANZ Premiership trophy, should there be a new naming sponsor for next year's league). It was a victory built on legacy. The late Robyn Broughton, one of New Zealand's most successful domestic coaches, helped shape players in the Deep South like Wilkins, who broke down in tears speaking about Broughton's influence on her first season as a premiership coach. 'I actually brought Robbie with me,' Wilkins said. 'I normally talk to her before we play our home games, but this week I thought I better take her with me, and I think it might have helped.' This story was originally published at and is republished with permission.
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Luxon booed by netball fans at final
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have been booed by spectators at the ANZ Premiership netball finals over the weekend. Luxon was on stage to present awards after the final game. Loud jeers from the crowd could be heard as Luxon was introduced, video from the official broadcast shows. What prompted the crowd's reaction is unclear. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon presents the trophy to Erikana Pedersen of the Mainland Tactix after the ANZ Premiership final in Auckland yesterday. The Mainland Tactix broke their ANZ Premiership drought, dethroning two-time defending champions Northern Mystics 58-46 in the grand final at Auckland's Trusts Arena. Comment has been requested from the prime minister's office. He is due to speak to reporters at the Beehive about 4pm for this regular post-Cabinet press conference.
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon booed at ANZ Premiership netball final
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon received a frosty reception at netball's ANZ Premiership grand final on Sunday, with members of the crowd at Trusts Arena booing him. The Mainland Tactix claimed their first title in the franchise's 28-year history, beating the Northern Mystics, the two-time defending champions, 58-46 – and Luxon
