Netball: League needs more transparency - Taurua

Magic coach Noeline Taurua. Photo / Dean Purcell

Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic netball coach Noeline Taurua has called for more transparency in the transtasman league as the battle among franchises to secure players for next season heats up.

Taurua acknowledged the Magic's roster, dominated this year by seven Silver Ferns, had been heavily targeted by other franchises since the ANZ Championship finished at the end of July.

Some players have now moved on - Silver Ferns goal attack Maria Tutaia has signed with the Auckland-based Northern Mystics, proximity to family being a prime motivation.

Another Silver Fern, defender Joline Henry, has also shifted to the Mystics, saying it was time to challenge herself after 10 years with Waikato-Bay of Plenty.

Taurua, disappointed to lose the duo, said she understood their reasoning and wished them the best.

However, she said, increasing chaos as players came off-contract at the end of the season was proving detrimental to the league.

"All the franchises went for all our players, every franchise," a matter-of-fact Taurua said.

"That doesn't change from year to year, they're targeted. It's something I've got used to, and it's because of the quality of the players."

But she said a lack of transparency left lingering doubt as to whether the salary cap imposed by the transtasman league was being adhered to, an accusation also levelled against the Magic in 2008.

The Magic were "stringently audited" at the time, Taurua said, and no discrepancies were found.

Last year's league winners, NSW Swifts, were also independently audited, but no other teams came under scrutiny.

This year, Queensland Firebirds coach Vicki Wilson repeated speculation the Magic had broken the salary cap, saying if players wanted to go and play for one team, that was fair enough: "But don't try and con us that you're all sitting under the salary cap."

Under the salary cap, each franchise has $300,000 to divide among 12 contracted players, with a minimum payment of $12,000.

Taurua was adamant the Magic had kept within the transtasman league rules at all times, although she was not convinced other franchises were doing the same.

"If there's rules, you follow the rules. If there's a salary cap, you keep to the salary cap," she said.

"I believe franchises are not keeping to the salary cap - they're offering other things to try and entice players into a franchise. Guaranteed first team places are being offered to some, that's how stupid it is.

"Franchises will do whatever it takes to get a signature."

The chequebook mentality that pervaded netball in New Zealand could ruin the game, Taurua said, adding that it had a "de-stablising influence" on teams as players began to chase the money.

Australian teams, in contrast, were more stable which enabled them to bond, build and develop team unity while New Zealand franchises often had to start from scratch at the beginning of each season.

New Zealand franchises were chasing the same limited number of front-line players, and Taurua said there was cause to reopen the debate around New Zealand having one team too many in the league.

"It's basically a numbers game, and we don't have the depth of talent the Aussies have got."

Franchises had to be run as businesses, and didn't have the time or resources to build and nurture up-and-coming netballers.

"I'm not too sure whether we will be able to continue to compete with the Australian franchises, because we just don't have enough players. There's not enough resources put into development, " she said.

"New Zealand's not developing enough new players for us to be able to sustain what's happening at the moment."

The Lois Muir Challenge competition was meant to bridge the gap to the transtasman league "but it provides no taste for what it's like at this level", Taurua said.

The competition is run over four weekends around New Zealand, finishing at the end of April. It was introduced last year to provide a development platform for players not in the trans-Tasman league.

The national championships runs as a round-robin from September 5-27 over four weekends before finals week in Invercargill from September 30-October 3.

An ideal answer, Taurua said, would be the introduction of a competition along the lines of rugby league's Toyota Cup, which develops players by running alongside the NRL.

However, financial constraints make that an unlikely proposition.

"It would be great if that happened, because it would give players a taste of what it's like at this level, at having to be able to perform week in and week out.

"At the moment, everything's a mismatch and it's quite frustrating. It's just too fragmented at the moment. Things needs to align."

- NZPA