Former NZ netballer says UK talent 'scary' as sport takes professionalism leap

The UK domestic netball league is now stronger than the ANZ Premiership, a former New Zealand netballer believes.

Jo Trip started her elite netball journey when she joined the Tactix in 2011. She later had two seasons at the Magic where she learnt her trade from Silver Ferns defenders Casey Kopua and Leana de Bruin.

Trip never planned on getting into coaching but was last year named Coach of the Season in her debut as head coach in the Netball Super League (NSL), the UK's elite level domestic competition.

Her side, the Severn Stars, went from wooden spooners to equalling their best ever finish. In a couple of weeks they will play in the semi-finals for the first time.

Trip said she only ever intended to go on an OE, but met her now-partner and decided to stay.

"I was in the NZA team at the time and I was playing some pretty good netball. But I knew one thing I wanted to tick off was to travel so I came over and I thought I'd play netball here for a different experience," Trip said.

"I was only planning on one year but I really enjoyed it so I decided to stay a second year and that's when I met my partner and I've stayed ever since."

Trip joined the Loughborough Lightning in 2016, then two seasons later moved to Surrey Storm. She then had three years at the Saracens Mavericks, before announcing her retirement at the end of the 2021 season.

She joined the University of Worcester's School of Sport and Exercise Science in 2022 and came out of retirement in 2023 as player-coach for the Severn Stars.

When Trip first started playing in the UK league she found it "astronomically different" to the ANZ Championship - the former trans-Tasman competition.

"I remember just being kind of gobsmacked, not so much at the level of netball because it's a different style over here. But it was more 'Oh, you're not flying anywhere, you're not staying over for three nights, you don't have the pool' and the kind of five-star treatment that we used to get. So that was kind of the biggest shock I think.

"I remember at the end of my first season saying to the coach 'these are the three positives and these are 19 things that need to change to bring it up'. And the next year we were making finals because it had been brought up hugely to another level. For me it was a good change and it introduced me to a whole different style of play and it's become a very exciting league."

Trip has a degree in finance and marketing and never intended to coach but said visa restrictions pushed her into that area.

"My experience in coaching just organically grew across my time here. I think the resilience and mental tenacity of training elite athletes has been within me from a young age from being exposed to that environment.

"Being able to bring that into a team and implement that and see the success of that quite quickly, it leaves you wanting more."

The 33-year-old said the league had improved 10-fold in the eight years she had been in the UK.

"It's a whole different product now. The Kiwis won't like me saying this but I think the league is the second best in the world. I've said that for a couple of years now, the calibre of players is a lot higher than what it was.

"What England Netball have been doing within their pathways and exposing a lot of players to international netball at quite a young age has kind of upped their want and drive to become full-time international players, which has again brought an intensity within the league.

"The quality coming out of here is quite scary."

Trip said the style of play was similar to Australia in that it was very physical.

"We've had three players come over from Australia, from playing for Collingwood. I think they've kind of been shocked as to [the high quality]. One of the girls was like 'it's not much different to the SSN except you guys are working full-time'."

Trip said the success of the England Roses, who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and made the World Cup final in 2023, had filtered down to grassroots level.

"And it's a lot bigger country obviously, has a lot more people. The systems and pathways still need to be improved but they have changed significantly."

New Zealand's ANZ Premiership has a one import player limit compared to the NSL, which allows up to two import players per team.

Trip thought it was good for the league, which has been seen as a stepping stone for some to get into Australia's Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) competition, the strongest league in the world.

"Players like Jodi-Ann Ward, Shamera Sterling came through here ... their intention was to play one year and push on into SSN. The aim now is that it becomes a league over time that people want to gravitate to and be in because of the quality."

When Trip played in the ANZ Championship, which included five teams each from New Zealand and Australia, it was the best league in the world by a long way.

She believed since the two countries set up their own separate leagues in 2017, it had massively benefited Australia.

"They don't have an import limit, you've got teams of three Jamaicans playing in it ... they are like international squads coming up against the other international squads.

"It has probably halted maybe the growth, when I see the product in New Zealand ... I think there is a bigger difference between what the league was when it was combined and what the league is now."

Despite how far netball had come in England, the lack of media coverage was still frustratingly poor, Trip said.

"That's one of the bits that has been most disappointing. I remember coming over here and calling my mum and just being like 'there's no women's sport on TV'.

"New Zealand and Australia have massive sporting cultures. Here in the UK they've got a football culture, and a lot of other sports fall short, especially women's sport. It's like they're stuck 20 years in the past.

"That's been I think the toughest part to come to terms with and obviously it has drastically affected that professionalisation piece of the league."

A limited number of NSL games are broadcast on Sky Sports and BBC Sport's online platforms. Only the finals will be shown on linear TV this year.

"Even streaming every game on Netball Pass (World Netball's live streaming platform) like Australia and New Zealand do would be the first big step, to making sure that we get that international reach.

"Sky New Zealand has been a massive inputter of funds into the ANZ in the past but we just don't have that kind of connection here. I feel we're quietly working in the background here [but] no one can see how good the league is."

Ripping the band-aid off

Last week, England Netball announced the eight teams that had been successful in a tender process to be part of the relaunched Netball Super League (NSL) from 2025, marking a significant step towards professionalisation.

Two new teams were added: Nottingham Forest Netball, which will be owned and managed by the Premier League football team, and the Birmingham Panthers.

Next season, half the games will be played at major arenas across the country, and England Netball said all games would be available to watch from home.

Severn Stars was one of four existing franchises that did not make the cut, which came as no surprise to Trip.

Birmingham has much bigger arenas than the 2,000-capacity University of Worcester Arena, where the Severn Stars are based.

"As disappointing as it is, on one side you kind of grieve for the years that you've inputted, but on the other side it needs to shift dramatically. We've been behind the times from Australia and New Zealand for a long time, and that band- aid needed to be ripped off, so that we can forge ahead.

"It very much mimics the success in Australia - eight teams of 10 players to get those tighter contested games that is obviously going to attract more audiences. And then hopefully the broadcasting rights and sponsorship comes alongside that.

"The players deserve to earn a lot more. And I really want to see pathway programmes widened because there's so much talent coming through, so many raw players that need coaching, we need to bring them in."

The announcement also said the average salary would increase by at least 60 percent, with the minimum salary payment more than doubling.

Most players work full-time or are studying as salaries do not cover much more than expenses.

"When you're speaking of professionalisation, you're saying your product needs to get better, well you have to pay your players better, so that they can invest more time into their sport.

"I think the minimum next year will now be £10,000, which is $20,000 NZ. It's nowhere near where it needs to be but it's coming up and I know there's plans to keep pushing that up over the next few years."

The minimum retainer in the ANZ Premiership is $26,000, which the New Zealand Netball Players' Association will be keen to see increased as part of its current collective agreement negotiations.

But if Netball NZ had to settle for a reduced broadcast deal with Sky as reported by RNZ, then that might be unlikely.

Liana Leota is another New Zealander who has made a mark on the UK league. The former Silver Fern coaches the Leeds Rhinos, which secured a place in the relaunched Super League for 2025.

The Severn Stars base in Worcester is less than an hour from the centre of Birmingham.

"We're working hard with them to see if there can be a merger of types. The Severn Stars are on an upwards trajectory, and we've got our pathways and hubs and academies spread throughout the region."

Trip said she wanted to continue her coaching career into the new version of NSL.

"That's a dream of mine at the moment. I've only had two years coaching while I'm on court, which is really difficult. I'm really ready to see the damage I can do and what I can actually do as a coach while being off the court fully.

"So for me, it's really important to make sure that I secure one of the couple of coaching spots that are up for grabs and hopefully push to new levels and new heights."