Netball Northern Zone

20/10/2026

A proud moment for our Northern umpiring whānau 💙

Five Northern umpires took to the courts at this month’s NZ Secondary Schools in Auckland:

👏 Niamh Galligan – North Harbour
👏 Natasha Mouat – Howick Pakuranga & Auckland
👏 Emily Stringer – Whangārei
👏 Olivia Wilson-Sharp – North Harbour
👏 Keyle Brown – North Harbour

Natasha and Keyle also achieved their NZ B Award, with Natasha officiating the third-place playoff and Keyle the final!

Congratulations to all five on your national appointments, and to everyone who has supported your progress along the way 💙

19/10/2026

A special shout-out to Junior Manapori, Netball New Zealand’s Volunteer Coach of the Year! 💙👏

With more than 20 years in netball and an estimated 624 volunteer hours this year alone, Junior has given so much to our game by sharing his knowledge, supporting fellow coaches and helping players grow in confidence.

Earlier this year, we caught up with Junior about his coaching journey and the people who inspired him to give back.

Congratulations, Junior! Well-deserved recognition for the time, care and passion you bring to our netball community. 🏐

Read his story here 👉🏽https://www.netballnorthern.co.nz/northern/news/junior-manapori-s-coach-journey.html

Ngā mihi nui to our incredible netball volunteers 🧡

Five outstanding volunteers have been recognised at this year’s WM New Zealand Volunteer of the Year Awards for the passion, dedication and aroha they bring to our sport 🏆

Meet Gayle, Junior, Gail, Rebecca and Charlotte, and discover the incredible mahi they do to help netball thrive in communities across Aotearoa 👉 https://bit.ly/4hVAMB6

11/10/2026

An all-Northern final and four schools in the top eight! 💙🎉

Congratulations to Saint Kentigern, who claimed the New Zealand Secondary Schools title with a 30–25 win over Mt Albert Grammar School last Friday. A huge congratulations to MAGS too, on a stellar tournament and silver-medal finish! 👏

We’re proud to celebrate our Northern Zone teams who finished in the top eight:

🥇 Saint Kentigern
🥈 Mt Albert Grammar School
6th - WGHS - Westlake Girls High School
7th - St. Mary's College, Auckland

Ngā mihi nui to the players, coaches, team management and supporters behind each campaign, and a big shout-out to Auckland Netball for hosting! 💙

Saint Kentigern College are the 2026 NZ Secondary School Netball Champions 🏆

Congratulations, and thank you, to every team, coach, umpire, volunteer and whānau member who made this week happen.

08/10/2026

MEET THE FERNS 🖤 🌿

🕙 10am — 12pm, next week Saturday 18 October 2026

📍Te Komititanga, Britomart in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Keen to meet the epic wāhine behind the black dress? Say no more 🙌

Come on down to Te Komititanga, Britomart in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on Saturday 17 October.

Meet the Ferns, get some autographs and get amongst some fun activities!

We can’t waaaait to meet you 🖤🌿

06/10/2026

Calling our Te Tai Tokerau coaches! 📣🏐

Want fresh ideas for your next training session? Join us this weekend to observe coaching in action, share your whakaaro and connect with other coaches.

Our Northern Zone Development Days offer practical learning alongside zone coach developers and high-performance players, with ideas you can take back to your own team.

📍 Saturday 10 October | Kerikeri Netball Centre
🕔5:00–7:30pm | Cobham Road, Kerikeri

📍 Sunday 11 October | Papa Hawaiki, Kaikohe
🕙10:00am–3:30pm | 36 Recreation Road, Kaikohe

Come ready to kōrero, connect and learn together. 💙

Register today
👉 www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/526928

Questions? Contact Tania Heap at [email protected] or BJ at [email protected]

29/09/2026

An exciting opportunity ahead for our Auckland athletes! 🏐💙

Introducing the players invited to our Northern Zone Auckland Development Days, 18 October & 8 November. Congratulations to everyone named! 👏

These days bring talented athletes together to train, compete and learn from each other, with guidance from our coaching and athlete development staff.

Players will build the skills, game understanding and training habits that support their progress in the performance pathway. Their involvement will also help inform Northern Zone Summer Training Squad selections and nominations for Netball New Zealand’s National Development Camp.

Behind every player is a community cheering them on. Thank you to the whānau, coaches, clubs, schools and centres helping these athletes grow.

22/09/2026

Plenty of memories, lessons learnt and “no regrets” 💙

With Erikana Pedersen and her Harbour teammates finishing second at the Netball NZ Opens, we’re sharing a few throwbacks to her high school, ANZ and Silver Fern playing days! 📸

Now our NetballSmart Development Officer, Erikana is bringing her experience back to the Zone that helped her grow by supporting players and coaches to reduce injury risk and perform at their best.

We caught up with her to talk about her netball journey, kōrero with rangatahi and the advice she’d give her younger self.

Read her story 👇

17/09/2026

“Never stop learning and seeking help.” 💙

Rob has a parting message for our Northern netball whānau, and a little more knowledge to share before he heads across the Tasman.

He’ll be at tonight’s CCA workshop at North Harbour and Saturday’s coach observation at Carmel College for his final local coaching sessions.

Before taking up his Assistant Coach role with the Queensland Firebirds, Rob reflects on his time with the Mystics, the community coaches who’ve inspired him, and why the small wins matter.

What’s a lesson from Rob that’s stayed with you? Let us know below.

08/09/2026

🏐 Last chance to see Rob Wright in action!

Before Rob heads across the ditch, we're putting on a special morning at Carmel College – and you're invited courtside.

Watch Rob coach student players live, covering attack, defense and tactical play. Pick up new ideas, see how he structures a session, and get an insight into his approach to the game.

Plus – Ask Rob! Bring your questions and make the most of hearing from him before he goes.

📍 Carmel College Gym, 108 Shakespeare Road, Milford
🗓️ Saturday 19 September, 10am–12pm
💲 $15

Spots are limited – registration link in the comments 👇

04/09/2026

🏐 What a week at UNISS 2026!

Northern Zone schools turned up and showed out across every grade – huge congratulations to all the teams, coaches, managers, umpires and whānau who made it happen.

Special mention to our Zone umpires who were selected to officiate the following finals today:

⭐A Grade – Natasha Mouat & Olivia Wilson-Sharp
⭐B Grade – Ngaire Angus, Bronzson Nikora & Emma Mackrell
⭐C Grade – Amiel Dehar-Webster
⭐D Grade – Benaiah Schuster & Karizma Green

𝗔 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Congratulations to 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 on taking out the A Grade title! 👏

A massive shoutout to our Northern Zone schools finishing in the top 6, earning their spot at the NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs in October:

🔹𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
🔹𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
🔹 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗻
🔹 𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆'𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲, 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

𝗕 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Hobsonville Point Secondary School finished as runners up, with Whangārei Girls' High School and King's School also finishing in the top 5 and earning promotion to A Grade for 2027. Well deserved! 💪

𝗖 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Congratulations to Bay of Islands College on the win – and to Tamaki College, Papakura High School on promotion to B Grade.

𝗗 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae were crowned champions, and St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College finished as runners up. Both schools will move up to C grade next year.

To every school that competed – the standard across the tournament was outstanding, and the future of netball in our zone is in good hands 💙

See overall final placings in the comments below 👇🏽