Men’s netball is a sport on the rise in New Zealand and there’s no shortage of talented players who are now getting more opportunities to display their skills.
Netball Waitākere is showing its commitment to the men’s game by starting the first male-only competition in Auckland, running alongside its female league.
Ten teams will feature in the competition, with players travelling from as far as Whangārei to take the court.
Netball Waitākere general manager Murray Gardiner says it will provide a space for male players to participate and improve.
“I think it’s time now that the community netball centres open their doors and welcome tāne into the sport, especially for the young tāne that want to get into the sport who feel like they don’t belong in other sports.”
Eriata Vercoe, a New Zealand men’s midcourter, is suiting up for the Tarere side, juggling his commitment between the club competition and the Northern Mystics men’s team.
Vercoe said he didn’t expect to see more than 100 players signing up.
"I guess there are a lot of older heads before me who wish they had something like this sooner. Any exposure for men’s netball is a huge plus," Vercoe said.
"This is something we get to have regularly so that it can get younger boys in primary and intermediate schools to have something to look forward to, and hopefully this gets elevated into something more permanent like an ANZ fixture like in women’s netball.”
There is also now a pathway for male netballers in New Zealand.
Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie says 2023 will see an inaugural under-17 men’s competition running alongside the under-18 women’s nationals.
"Joining that with the Cadbury Series and the men getting a profile at the elite level has been an ongoing piece of work, but just fantastic," she said.
Netball Waitākere is also hoping to boost development at the secondary school level by starting a college competition, which gets underway in three weeks.
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