Netball: Central Pulse chief executive warns of dwindling ANZ Premiership talent pool as more Silver Ferns head to Australia

The Central Pulse’s chief executive is warning the ANZ Premiership talent pool will continue dwindling.

Netball New Zealand’s change in eligibility rules has opened the door for Australian Super Netball clubs to swoop in, and snap up the Silver Ferns’ best and brightest.

Karin Burger has joined Kelly Jackson, Maddy Gordon, Kate Heffernan and Grace Nweke as the fifth Silver Fern to receive an eligibility exemption and join Australia’s Super Netball.

However, other players have departed their ANZ Premiership franchises.

Former Ferns skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio has confirmed she is leaving the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic. Pulse midcourter Whitney Souness is headed to the Giants, while shooter Tiana Metuarau is also departing in addition to the Jackson and Gordon exits.

The Mainland Tactix in particular have been decimated.

As well as Burger, Jane Watson, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Ellie Bird have all departed after winning the 2025 ANZ Premiership title, with a question mark still hanging over the future of captain Erikana Pedersen.

Pulse chief executive Ann Hay told Newstalk ZB more players are likely to depart, for different reasons.

“The pool that is left for us to create our new teams from is much smaller than it has been,” she said.

“We might have a group of players that may retire after a World Cup, but I don’t think it’s in the same numbers as what we’re about to see for next year.”

Hay said the loss of four starting players with international experience was a massive blow to the franchise.

“It basically means that we are in a rebuilding phase. That is made more difficult by that fact that there are so many players who are not playing ANZ Premiership.

“It certainly makes the whole landscape around contracting very different.”

Hay claims the lengthy period of uncertainty around the ANZ Premiership’s future is a key reason in the exodus of talent.

Netball New Zealand signed a one-year broadcast deal for 2026 with TVNZ last month.

Chief executive Jennie Wyllie admitted it will have to use cash reserves to make ends meet and refused to say whether players will take pay cuts.

Hay said the wait for confirmation caused frustration.

“When that happens, there’s voids. People will create stories and make up their minds without having the information.

“The way to prevent this is having real clarity about what the future looks like. What are we trying to achieve?”

The Pulse chief executive also admitted there is worry that the same thing will happen next year, given the one-year term with TVNZ and the uncertainty around 2027.

Hay said NNZ’s update to the ANZ Premiership’s import criteria is much needed.

Each franchise can now sign up to two overseas players instead of one, which is hoped to offset the exiting talent.

Hay said the Pulse would look to fill its new void with experience.

“And sometimes looking at a young person maybe that we’ve got a gap - and we just don’t have someone here - that we can pull from Australia or England or somewhere in Africa.”

Earlier this year, the New Zealand Netball Players Association suggested shifting the ANZ Premiership so it does not clash with Super Netball, thereby allowing top talent to play in both.

Hay said the idea had merit and Netball New Zealand should be considering every option.

“Whether players would opt to play in Suncorp, ANZ and then do internationals, I don’t know. Some might, some may not, so it may not be the silver bullet we all think it might be.

“But it certainly provides some options, so we should be investigating that.”

Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the New Zealand Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.