An ANZ Premiership coach and the Players Association have defended the depth of talent in New Zealand netball after 48-year-old Leana de Bruin and 40-year-old Casey Kopua took the court in round four of the domestic competition.
Stars assistant coach, 138-test former international de Bruin and 112-cap former target="_self" rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/netball/silver-ferns/dame-noeline-taurua-on-reuniting-silver-ferns-for-commonwealth-games-netball-nz-ceo-on-earning-trust/RWJWHLZO5BFLPLUWKPPZVUSMMM/">Silver Fern Kopua both featured in the Stars’ 56-39 thumping of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in Auckland.
Player depth in New Zealand has been a talking point since many high-profile Silver Ferns departed to Australia’s Super Netball after the change in test eligibility rules.
De Bruin covered for the injury of goal keep Lily Tokoduadua, with replacement Kate Walsh arriving on Thursday from Canada ahead of Sunday’s game. Kopua joined the Magic as injury cover with defender Oceane Maihi on limited minutes, despite fellow defenders Losa Fifita and Brooklyn Murray being available.
Stars head coach Temepara Bailey is no stranger to having to adapt to injury, with the Stars last year losing Burley, Greer Sinclair and Charlie Bell in their opening contest.
Bailey told the Herald that every franchise faces different scenarios in bringing through younger talent.
“As I learned last year, when you bring a player in, they need to have that experience around them for them to be successful. The one thing I don’t want to do is bring a young one out on court and be like a possum in the headlights, and they don’t enjoy that experience.
“There’s age and stage through this process. We do have young ones coming through and have included them in our Stars environment. So you’ll see the benefits of that in probably the next two or three years, where they will be ready and available at the ANZ level.”
Bailey said Walsh was only allowed about seven minutes of court time, with Amy Landrigan and Kate Burley their only other options.
“So if anything happened to Kate and Amy, who were originally out there, we had no one there to actually jump on court who was experienced and had that ANZ experience as well.”
NZ Netball Players’ Association executive Debbie Christian told Newstalk ZB’s Sportstalk with D’Arcy Waldegrave the Magic’s use of Kopua was not about depth issues.
“They’ve got a wealth of talent sitting on that bench, so I don’t think it’s a lack of talent, and I don’t think for some of them it’s a lack of experience. I think it’s the situation. The Stars are a very good team, but I think the coach has to weigh up what’s happening this week for this team, and there’ll be things that we don’t know about.”
Christian defended Aotearoa’s player depth, saying she strongly believes the pathways are working.
“I was just at under 14 trials, and I see some beautiful talent coming through. Like any sport, when you have one of your senior players move from the top place, it does open up that bottom space for people to come through. You only have to have a look at the likes of Catherine Hall [Mystics], Laura Balmer [Tactix]. There are some really great young ones.”
The National Netball League [NNL] feeder side to the Stars is the Comets.
While Bailey said the jump from NNL to ANZ level is not too difficult, NNL is only a five-week competition from May to June.
“They don’t get a massive amount of time together as a team, and that opportunity to be seen out there on court. It’s obviously up to the franchise on how they integrate those players throughout the preseason, so they understand the structures and game plays if they do get that call-up.”
Bailey said the Ōtaki preseason tournament in March is when NNL players get an opportunity to showcase their potential, and when coaches decide whether they are ready to play ANZ netball.
Bailey was asked if changes need to be made to the development system.
“There’s been some issues in that Netball New Zealand space, and they’re trying to resolve that. As franchises, we need to ensure we have a pathway that sees players coming through and getting that opportunity at the ANZ level. But it depends on the player, the franchise, where the ANZ team is and what their needs are in particular.”
Interim Netball NZ chief executive Jane Patterson told the Herald last week the governing body is looking at changes to the ANZ Premiership before approaching broadcasters with a pitch for 2027 and beyond.
Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic coach MJ Araroa declined to comment, but team relationship manager Gary Dawson issued a statement.
“The decision to bring Casey Kopua in as an interim player was made by the coaching staff based on their assessment of what the team needed at that point in time.
“Coaching decisions around player selection are made with full knowledge of the squad and what each player brings. We fully support our developing players and remain committed to their growth within the programme.”
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ 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.