Close to 2800 reasons why netball is still alive in Southland
A sell-out crowd of close to 2800 showed up for Sunday's Southern Steel-Central Pusle game. It was the biggest crowd at ILT Stadium Southland for a Steel game since 2021.
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Let’s park Sunday’s result for a bit.
Even a 70-45 hammering at the hands of the Pulse struggled to wipe the smile from Southern Steel CEO Sonya Fleming’s face.
While the Steel players didn’t make the statement they had hoped to at ILT Stadium Southland on Sunday, the Southland community did.
A sell-out crowd of close to 2800 showed up. It was the biggest crowd at ILT Stadium Southland for a Steel game since 2021.
“Opening up the [top tier] SBS Stand, I have to say, was a huge thing for us to do this week, and the excitement of putting the ‘sold out’ on Facebook, it was awesome,” Fleming said.
“It just shows the support we have and how grateful we are for our fans. We have the best fans.”
“It’s a great occasion. This is Southland at its best. It’s quite humbling, actually.”
It’s another timely statement as doubt surrounds the future of New Zealand’s domestic netball competition.
Netball New Zealand has confirmed a six-team competition will go ahead in 2026. When it will start and finish, and the competition format, are yet to be revealed.
Beyond 2026, there’s still doubt surrounding the future, with talk of New Zealand teams linking with Australia’s competition.
If that were to play out, it is not expected all six current New Zealand ANZ Premiership teams would be part of a trans-Tasman competition.
Fleming agreed that Sunday did provide a statement that the South is 100 percent behind the future of the Southern Steel.
“We have got such great funders. The ILT, Ascot Park Hotel, we couldn’t do it without them. The Community Trust, they are epic partners, and the fans make up the rest of it.”
The Steel organisation had listed selling out its first home game at ILT Stadium Southland as a KPI for 2025, and that has been ticked off.
Everything is now pointing to an even bigger crowd for the Steel’s second game in Invercargill on Saturday against the Tactix.
Fleming said, given that interest, they will increase the capacity for Saturday’s game.
Seating at the community courts end of the venue will be added, which will take the crowd number to just over 3200.
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The obvious fan interest attached to the Southern Steel has survived despite a challenging few seasons.
The Steel has won just two games from 33 outings over the past three years, but that hasn’t watered down that passion for the team and netball in the deep south.
Fleming felt there were a few reasons why the Steel remained the hottest ticket in town at the moment.
“The appointing of both Wendy [Frew] and Liana [Leota], and both of them being under Robyn Broughton, and what Robyn brought to the game and that heritage and that legacy, I really think they are continuing that so beautifully,” Fleming said.
“I also think the hype around the new players we’ve brought in to align with the players we’ve retained, it is just a great culture and a great vibe.
“They are working really hard, and they are really embracing being proud to represent that dress and represent us.”
“I think also having those two away games to start the season, the hype was created when we came home.
“And we’ve got less games this season, so [fans] have got less games to come and support, so they are embracing the games they can come to.
“The shorter competition, I think, has changed things for everyone… [fans] don’t want to miss out.”
With an expected 3200 crowd this Saturday, it is over to the players to deliver a performance that can bring that crowd into the game.
Fleming has confidence in the team that it can happen.
“How epic was the crowd [on Sunday]? It just showed in the third quarter when we had such a great quarter, you couldn’t hear yourself think in here.
“That is the kind of noise we need to bring us home in those games. We just need that for the whole game.
“But I’m very proud, we’ve had a good season so far.”