What can we expect?

Yeah, well, the Knights, they did qualify seventh, but they are a very good attacking team.

I think the Warriors' forward pack is better than the Knights' forward pack, but out in the back line, it's very even.

If not, the Knights might have a bit of an edge there.

Their counterattack is really good.

Once they get the ball in space, they can be pretty hard to stop, and we saw that a few weeks ago at Mount Smart, where they really pushed the Warriors, and they had 12 men on the field for 60-odd minutes, so...

I think that's a little bit of a concern.

They're going to play the full 80, right?

That sound about right to you?

Yeah, about right.

I know there's a handful of players, uh, that are being talked to by UK clubs, and, and, and not just Silver Ferns as well.

Um, you know, think about some of the top ANZ Premiership shooters.

Um, they're being targeted as well, uh, by these UK clubs.

But there are only so many contracts, right? So each UK club can only take on two imports, and those imports cannot play in the same area of the court.

So while we're hearing a lot about different players getting talked to, uh, it's, it's fair to say that not everyone is gonna be able to get a contract.

So is there any chance that this plan that's been talked about involving Ally Williams and Anna Mowbray to privatize the game is gonna be up and running by next year?

Right, Nathan, what do you think? Is this like a, um, a redemption story of sorts for Luke Metcalf?

Yeah, it could be.

It could be.

It depends [laughs] how tonight goes.

It won't be much of a redemption story i- if he doesn't play very well.

Um, but look, he's had to bide his time, and he had two very underwhelming performances at 5/8 earlier in the year.

The Warriors lost both of those games, and he was clearly low on confidence.

How many netballers do you think are emailing English clubs right now trying to land jobs?

Nathan, what do we know?

Yeah, so basically, Netball New Zealand's interim CEO, Jane Patterson, has emailed the staff of those three franchises and basically said, look, your contracts are going to end on July 31, and at this stage, we cannot guarantee that there is going to be a contract for you next year.

Now, the contract ending on July 31, that is very normal.

These are staff that are contracted part-time.

They go to and do other jobs that they fall back on when Netball is not in season, and and they come back to the sport in the following year when the competition's back underway.

So the fact that their contracts are ending, that's pretty normal.

It's the fact that we've got to this point of the year, and Netball New Zealand have still not confirmed a competition for next year.

Has Netball New Zealand said anything about that?

Yes?

Thank goodness.

Uh, Spain dominated Argentina.

Argentina finished the game with zero shots on target in a World Cup final.

They got pumped, and thank goodness that it didn't go to penalties and Spain were able to get it done because they dominated most of the game.

Uh, Argentina, uh, lost one of their players to a red card in the second half as well, so they were down a man, and it was clear they were just trying to get through to penalties and try and win it in that way.

Um, but, you know, the way Argentina's carried on throughout this World Cup, uh, I think they're a disgrace.

Yeah, so

What, what are like, do you think, the systemic reasons? Like, why have we ended up in this situation? Is it the case that no one's watching netball?

I ref- I, I don't have the television numbers.

I wish I did, because it'd be a great story.

Um, but I refuse to believe that no one's watching and no one cares, uh, because the, uh, netball community in New Zealand at a grassroots level is so strong, and we saw the strength of it last year when Dame Noeline Taurua, the Silver Ferns coach, got stood down, and it was, uh, like, it was genuinely the biggest story in New Zealand for weeks, um, this whole drama.

So if people didn't care, if people-- The opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy.

So if, if no one cared about netball, then that wouldn't have been a big story, but it was a massive deal and people got so passionate about it.

Um, netball hasn't found a way to be profitable as a professional code, and we're seeing the same thing in Australia is that, uh, most of the clubs are, are not profitable.

Can you talk us through when that news happened and maybe a bit behind the scenes there? Because it, Grace obviously went, and then it felt like she opened the door and then, you know, the stampede started a little bit.

They've had horrible defensive performances for months now, haven't they? [laughs]

Exactly.

And for a g- a team that bases their game plan aro- a- around set piece, their lineout doesn't work.

It does not function.

They cannot win this game unless they get that right and can play their style of rugby.

But it just feels like they've lost their way a bit, and their defensive performances has really shocked the confidence levels in the Blues fan base.

Uh, having said that, this Hurricanes team, uh, does leak points.

[laughs]

What are your thoughts on that whole saga looking back, and do you think it could really impact the Silver Ferns' chances at this upcoming Commonwealth Games?

Well, there's still a big question mark over the team because obviously this all started because there were players within the environment who had concerns about Soto's coaching style and felt the quote was unsafe in the Ferns environment.

Interpret that how you will, but those...

And my sort of read on it was that the complaints were made and Netball New Zealand sort of didn't do anything about it.

Didn't handle it.

It got to a week out from the Tiny Jamison series against South Africa and they went, oh crap, it's still not sorted.

We've got to stand the coach down.

Is there a lot of goodwill, I suppose, about their chances at the Commonwealth Games?

But isn't the fundamental point here, and that's fair enough, that seems like a problem, but actually, don't we have to set aside a cricket window for domestic competitions around the world so that they can actually play proper domestic cricket?

I think what is very clear is that New Zealand has fallen way behind the world stage in terms of our domestic product and an entertaining, financially viable domestic competition.

All over the world they have these competitions, and we've fallen behind.

The Black Caps succeed in T20s in spite of our domestic competition, not because of it.

So what is clear is that change is needed.

I think what's happened here is that we've got this new sort of notion, this new prospect.

We don't like new scary things.

Otherwise, what's the point? He's just going to have an extended break.