Mystics defend national title by thinnest margin

After a ferocious battle that wasn’t decided until the final second – when Grace Nweke sunk a shot she missed at first attempt – the Mystics have retained their ANZ Premiership title with a 54-53 victory over the Pulse.
Nweke, who put away 48 goals in the grand final, bawled her eyes out in relief – and maybe a little disbelief – to have scored the winner in a drama-filled, see-saw encounter where Pulse, the minor premiers, could never quite shake off the dogged Mystics – even when they were down to six players on court.
“It feels so surreal… it could have gone anyone’s way. But there was a lot of belief that we were capable,” Mystics defender Phoenix Karaka said. Karaka was unhappy with herself for copping a two-minute suspension in the last quarter for a late challenge on Pulse feeder Whitney Souness, who was already sporting stitches for a gash to her head.
Such was the intensity of the match, which saw the Mystics become only the second team – alongside the Pulse – to win three premiership titles.
It was the closest ANZ Premiership grand final since 2018 – when the defending champions Steel also came from behind in the final minutes to tip out the favoured Pulse by a solitary goal.
That showdown had so much in common with this grand final in Wellington – which sold out in minutes. Pulse, the minor premiership victors as they were in 2018, have been tenacious, barely dropping their guard throughout the season even after losing pivotal players to injury. And co-captain, Kelly Jackson, has led by example as the top defender in the league.
Mystics, the defending champions, were also stricken with injuries, but dropped six key matches mid-season and slumped to fourth. Since the return of their explosive attacking duo, Grace Nweke and Peta Toeava, they’ve been on a winning streak and would be difficult to stop.
They proved in last week’s 68-64 elimination final victory over Tactix they could hold their nerve, coming from behind in the final quarter. But Pulse were much more decisive shaking off Tactix in their last match – a strong first half and a run of 11 unanswered goals in the final stanza cementing a 14-goal win.
Before the grand final, LockerRoom looked at the statistics behind the match-up (with the help of netball’s peerless historian and statistician Todd Miller), and beyond the season finale.
What might the 2025 premiership look like? And could the contentious two-point ‘super shot’ finally work its way across the Tasman and give some vital zing to the Kiwi competition?
An unusually high number of injuries impacted on this year’s league, affecting every team’s starting line-ups. Both finalists now have their full complement of players back for the showdown.
Mystics coach Tia Winikerei and Pulse coach Anna Andrews-Tasola have the least experience as head coaches in the ANZ Premiership – which, it seems, doesn’t matter a jot.
Half of the premiership franchises are now in the process of finding new head coaches for 2025 – with the Stars’ Kiri Wills joining the Queensland Firebirds in the SSN competition; the Tactix Marianne Delaney-Hoshek taking a break from netball after 13 years in the league; and Reinga Bloxham leaving the Steel after eight seasons at the helm to coach the Cardiff Dragons in the UK’s Netball Super League.
It’s understandable why coaches at this level head offshore for experience. Netball NZ has this week reappointed Deb Fuller as the Silver Ferns assistant coach to Dame Noeline Taurua, so positions at the top of the sport don’t come around often.
The question is, has Netball NZ done enough to bring through the next generation of head coaches? They have a high performance coach development programme which has brought through the likes of Taurua and Fuller, Magic head coach Mary-Jane Araroa, NZ U21 coach Julie Seymour and Paula Smith – who’s been assistant coach to Wills, and would be a strong candidate for the Stars role.
The National Netball League – below the ANZ Premiership – has fostered some strong talent like Andrews-Tasola and winning Comets coach Michelle Parsons.
Or will Kiwis working overseas, like Temepara Bailey coaching the Gold Coast Titans, be lured home?
So we know the New Zealand competition will reduce from three rounds to two next season – 12 weeks instead of 17 – in response to “team and audience feedback”.
It may not be a bad thing. It should bring more urgency to teams to deliver from the start of the competition – so dropping a game could be ruinous.  
And it could mean there’s a larger window to have a trans-Tasman play-off competition against the top sides in Suncorp Super Netball. Our elite netballers need to experience as much international play as they can.
There’s a strong likelihood more New Zealanders will end up in Australia’s league in the next couple of seasons. And Netball NZ will have to consider their eligibility rules for Silver Ferns.
It wasn’t the most gripping premiership this year, and most fans would agree, Netball NZ needs to try something different to boost interest, up against competition from other sports.
There’s plenty of talk around the two-point shot – a feature of Super Netball across the Tasman since 2020. Netball NZ trialled it the recent men’s series between the Mystics and the Stars, where it was played through the whole game, rather than the final five minutes of each quarter in the SSN.
A LockerRoom straw poll on whether the two-point shot should be introduced in the ANZ Premiership next season found at least three out of four people were in favour.
Among those ‘for’, one said: “It was interesting to watch the men’s games live this season –  [the two-point shot] really changes up the goal circle activity.”
Another: “It will spice it up a bit. We can keep the traditional game for international tests; but let’s try something.”
And those against: “It’s not a World Netball rule so it has no place in the game.”
There will be slight changes to the way the premiership is televised in 2025. Next year’s broadcasting deal has been signed – with a one-year extension of the existing Sky Sport sponsorship, and a 12-month free-to-air deal with TVNZ for Saturday matches. But Netball NZ will self-produce those Saturday games, which will screen delayed on Sky.