Netball's radical change is a long shot, but it could change the game forever

NZ Herald

09-05-2025

What to expect from the super shot
Don't expect miracles, but be prepared for surprises.
Since its 2020 debut across the ditch, the super shot has delivered mixed results – sometimes flipping games in the final five minutes, other times fuelling lopsided scorelines.
Accuracy continues to be a sticking point. In last season's Super Netball league, 54% of the super shots found the net. Though that's increased from about 51% in the rule's first year.
'We know they're going to miss as many as they're going to get,' new Tactix head coach Donna Wilkins says of the shooters in the ANZ Premiership.
Sunshine Coast Lightning goal attack Steph Fretwell (nee Wood) leads the super shot count four rounds into this year's SSN league, with 16 goals from 29 attempts. Swifts' English international Helen Housby boasts the best accuracy – sinking 66% of her 21 shots, contributing to her team's 61% success.
A University of the Sunshine Coast study on the effect the super shot has on a team's technical and tactical performance showed winning teams score at a higher rate – and sink more super shots – than losing teams in the 'Power 5″ period. Across the 2023 season, goal conversion fell by 7% with missed two-pointers leading to more turnovers.
And sports scientists at Deakin University found nine out of 10 goals were still shot from inside 3m of the goalpost, and the rate of scoring slowed down when teams passed the ball around the circle more to get their shooter into the super shot zone.
'When you look at Australia, they don't use it as much as you'd think,' says Pulse defender Kelly Jackson. 'They're only putting up 10 shots a game on average, and their zone is half a metre closer than ours.'
Look out for players you don't usually see inside the circle moving in for the five-minute period.
Players such as Peta Toeava, one of the game's greatest feeders, who also possesses a mean long shot. She's been trialled at goal attack for the super shot in pre-season games with encouraging results.
'Everyone knows the impact Peta can make when she's playing,' Mystics coach Tia Winikerei says. 'It's given us an opportunity to explore that with her. When it happens, if it happens… we always play it as we see it. But we know what's possible after trialling a few things in preseason.'
Why the Kiwi super shot is tougher than the Aussie's
The two-point scoring zone in the ANZ Premiership (to be called the Summerset Super Shot) is narrower – and further from the post – than the Australian version.
Their zone is 3m from the goal, out to the 4.9m traditional circle edge, while New Zealand has gone for a 3.5m distance from the post, in line with the Fast5 two-point zone. Netball NZ consulted players and coaching staff on what they wanted.
'I'm a fan of it,' Mystics coach Tia Winikerei says. 'Three metres is really a midrange shot. I think 3.5m makes it a specialist gig. You must be on-point to be successful from that long range consistently.'
New Mystics goal shoot Donnell Wallam, fresh from three seasons with the Queensland Firebirds, says it makes a 'huge difference' having the zone half a metre further away.
'When I'm shooting in the two-point zone here, it's such a longer shot compared to SSN, which is more of a midrange shot. So it's been challenging for me to adjust to,' says the 1.93m Wallam, who's happy shooting from range.
Magic captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio expects to thrive under the new rule.
'The stakes are higher, and the reward is greater,' she says. 'It's always been a strength of mine shooting from distance, so this is an exciting opportunity for me.'
From a shooter's view
Ekenasio has been an advocate of the two-point shot for a few seasons, which makes obvious sense when you're the country's best long-range shooter.
'It's a shooter's dream to be rewarded for the long shots,' the 34-year-old says. 'It's changed the game in ways I didn't realise it could; it's totally opened up the court. We've become so used to seeing teams just feed a tall shooter, who bangs it in, but the two-point shot really opens that up.
'But it's a lot to get your head around. When is the right time to use it? Are you in the right position? What's happening on the scoreboard?'
Maia Wilson, in her ninth season heading the Stars shooting end, has seen how the super shot can turn a game on its head. In a pre-season clash with the Magic, the Stars took a nine-goal lead into the final quarter, and drew.
'I'm very much a netball traditionalist, but this is engaging and exciting. And hopefully it gets more bums on seats,' Wilson says.
'I enjoy the game IQ of netball, understanding the strategies. And this is challenging me to look at the structure of the game differently.
'Like understanding the momentum. Look at Fast5, and the importance of ticking over the ones instead of bombing in the twos and missing. If you're in front, keep the score ticking over, but if you're on the spot, put it up. You just don't want to go overboard with [the super shot].'
Wilson, who will pair up with Monica Falkner and Australian Charlie Bell (who has super shot experience), stresses the importance of having two shooters willing to put up long shots.
'I've been shooting them – not too badly to be honest. I wouldn't say I'm Ameliaranne, who has the most beautiful high arc shot. But when you have nothing to lose, why not give it a crack?'
Wallam's experience playing the super shot will be a bonus to the Mystics side, left with a chasm to fill after Grace Nweke departed for Australia.
'I'm a big fan of the super shot,' Wallam says. 'It brings the crowd into the game, and lifts the energy when it goes in.
'It also adds extra pressure in the circle. You see a lot of defenders in the first 10 minutes of the quarter pushing the shooters out, and in the last five, they're pushing them closer to the hoop away from that two-point zone, which is quite unnatural for them.
'Thank god I'm not a defender, because it's so hard to defend.'
A disadvantage Wallam sees is two in-form shooters on a roll in the super shot blowing out the scoreline. 'But I think the competition is so even this season that we'll see a lot of close games,' she says.
From a defender's angle
Kelly Jackson, the 2024 Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award winner, reckons you have to be 'a mind reader' to figure out how to defend the super shot. 'It adds a huge element of problem solving to the game, and having to think on your toes,' she says.
The conundrum it presents is whether one defender goes out to the zone to block the shot, or whether both circle defenders wait under the post to claim the rebound. Most teams LockerRoom spoke to agreed it was a challenge knowing exactly how to defend it.
'It's about trying to always be one step ahead, and closing down the space they want to shoot from. In a lot of situations, they're still going to go for the one point,' Jackson says.
The Pulse went to Sydney to play the Giants, whose long-range impact shooter Matisse Letherbarrow is among the best in the league. 'We picked their brains around their super shot strategies, and it was pretty evident they'd played it for a few more years than us,' says Jackson. 'It's taking us a little while to get used to.'
Winikerei believes defenders are finding it harder to adapt to the new rule. 'Attackers are used to being creative with the ball,' she says. 'Our defenders have to play according to our game plan, but continue to disrupt both areas of the circle. To just give up one point may not be the best strategy at the time, there are so many variables. It's hard.'
The long bomb can also create more opportunities for defenders to take intercepts. Former Silver Fern defender and coach Yvonne Willering predicts we'll see more passing to get the shooter in the best position for a super shot.
'Now do we really want players passing the ball around that much in the circle? That's a concern, because that can create more intercepts,' she says.
'We have a bad habit in New Zealand netball – when shooters first get the ball in the circle, they pass it out again trying to get closer to the post. Hopefully the super shot will encourage them to at least turn to the post first.'
From a coach's perspective
Getting the message to shooters – and defenders – in the heat of the two-point period isn't easy, Donna Wilkins says.
In another change this season, coaches can stand in a box in front of their team bench for more 'direct engagement and strategic communication' during the game. But Wilkins hopes her players have the confidence to make the call themselves.
'It's understanding the moment. You can yell at them, or you can train them for it, but ultimately it comes down to their decision,' she says. 'If we practice it enough, we've got to trust they're going to make the right call in the moment.
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'We're lucky we have Martina [Salmon] and Te Paea [Selby-Rickit] who can shoot long, and even [goal shoot] Ellie Bird is getting a bit of range out there in training.
'There will be a lot of mind games going on this season. And it will be interesting to see how different teams defend the super shot, or will they just play like normal, and not read too much into it?'
New Steel head coach Wendy Frew has also been encouraging her shooters to think for themselves.
'If they're on, they should have a go and back themselves. But with 10s to go in the game, I'm sure there will be a few messages from the bench,' she says.
'We're still learning how we can defend it. But you could also get technical and see what other people are telling their team to do, too.
'It's adds a pretty exciting element to the game.'
No go for world netball
After the SSN 'trial', World Netball considered allowing the super shot at its last rules review in 2023, but decided to retain the traditional one-point rule in the international game. Rules are reviewed every four years by the rules advisory panel (which includes New Zealanders Wai Taumaunu and Jono Bredin). And it's likely to be considered again in 2027, with two more of the world's top netball nations employing it.
But Willering says she can't see the two-point shot being adopted for test netball in the near future.
'The traditional game won't change. We already have super shots in Fast5, and that's fine,' she says.
'It was introduced as an addition to the SSN for a point of difference, for the audience and commercial reasons, and to start making shooters look longer. And I think that's worked.'
With netball desperate to become an Olympic sport at the 2032 Brisbane Games, it's likely the super shot will be part of the push, but in a more razzamatazz game like Fast5.