The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

Format

In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams played off for the cup using the Page-McIntyre system.

Teams

Defunct teams

* Counties Manukau Cometz (1998–2003) * Waikato Wildcats (1998) * Bay of Plenty Magic (1998)

Winners

† Waikato/BOP Magic was given the home final, but the game had to be played in Invercargill due to the Mystery Creek Events Centre being used for the

National Agricultural Fieldays The National Agricultural Fieldays is an annual national agricultural show and field day event held in mid-June at the Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton, New Zealand. It styles itself as "the biggest agricultural trade show in the south ...

Early years: Coca-Cola Cup

Franchise Setup Originally called the Coca-Cola Cup from 1998, the competition promised to enhance netball's profile in New Zealand. Nine franchises were announced by

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

in late 1997. The new teams included the

Southern Sting The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in the National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca-Cola Cup. The Southern Sting team won the National Bank Cup seven times and are the only tea ...

– a side based in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse ...

that included star Silver Ferns

Donna Loffhagen Donna Wilkins (née Loffhagen) (born 29 April 1978 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand representative in netball and basketball. She married Southland farmer Mike Wilkins on 17 March 2007. Wilkins returned to the Southern Steel for th ...

and

Bernice Mene Bernice Papasina Mene (born 18 January 1975) is a former New Zealand netball player. Mene represented New Zealand in netball for the Silver Ferns for 10 years, playing 78 tests. She captained the domestic team the Southern Sting from 1998 to ...

. Otago's

Rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

fielded an impressive line-up that included former, current and future Silver Ferns Jo Morrison,

Belinda Colling Belinda Louise Colling (born 12 September 1975)Zealand Olympic Comm ...

, Adine Harper, Anna Rowberry and Belinda Charteris. Further north in Auckland, their city was represented by three teams. The CMTV Cometz featured the best from South Auckland, the

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

represented Central Auckland and the highly fancied Northern Force were based from the North Shore. In

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, the city welcomed to the sporting scene the

Canterbury Flames Canterbury Flames were a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007 they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. In 2008, when the National Bank Cup was replaced by the ANZ Championship, Ca ...

. A province with proud netball links, the Flames were made up of the talented netballers in the Canterbury region. 1998-2001 The 1998 season started with the Otago Rebels named outright favourites to take the inaugural season. With six current, former or future Silver Ferns in their ranks, they came through season 1998 undefeated. The Invercargill-based

were the surprise package during 1998. With two Silver Ferns at each end of the court, the Sting surprised all making their way to the grand final in Dunedin, going down to the Rebels 57-50. The

Auckland Diamonds The Auckland Diamonds were a regional netball team which represented Auckland- Waitakere and Counties Manukau Netball in New Zealand's National Bank Cup. For the 2008 ANZ Championship the Diamonds merged with the Northern Force to create the Nort ...

, along with the

reached the top four. Flames were eliminated from the semi's in a game from Invercargill where they went down by a single goal. The Waikato Wildcats and Bay of Plenty Magic suffered large losses throughout the season and joined forces in 1999 to create the Waikato/BOP Magic. The 1999 season promised to be just as exciting as the Coca-Cola Cup's inaugural season. Like in 1998, the two southern sides

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

and

came into the competition as the strongest. The Rebels retained their talented line-up of Silver Ferns, while Sting added to their roster, picking up English international Naomi Siddall as the teams import. The

also came into the season as a threat, along with their northern rivals the

Force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...

. After nine rounds of the competition, the semi-finals began. The Sting fought off the Northern Force in Invercargill 61-44, while the Rebels were also victorious. The Sting and Rebels met in the final for the second year in a row, but this time it was the Sting who celebrated by taking the title 63-54. After the Rebels taking the 1998 title, and the Sting 1999, the competitions North Island teams fought hard in season 2000. The

recruited smartly. Jamaican star Elaine Davis was picked up as their marquee signing. The Northern Force fielded as strong side also that included

Tania Dalton Tania Mary Dalton (née Nicholson; 26 November 1971 – 1 March 2017) was a New Zealand international netball player. After retiring from playing professionally, she worked as a netball commentator on SKY Sports for international tests, the ANZ ...

Temepara George Temepara Anne Bailey (formerly Clark, née George; born 23 October 1975 in Auckland) is a New Zealand international netball player of Samoan and Māori descent. She was a member of the Silver Ferns national squad in 1996, and from 2000–2011 ...

and Linda Vangana. The two Auckland sides though, the Diamonds and Force failed to take the title, Diamonds finishing 6th and the Force reaching the semi-finals stage. In Wellington, the

Capital Shakers Capital Shakers are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Wellington. Between 1998 and 2007, Shakers played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2000 and 2002, Shakers were semi-finalists three years in success ...

landed South African

Irene van Dyk Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen; born 21 June 1972) is a South African-born New Zealand netball player. A goal-shooter, van Dyk is one of the world's best-known netballers and is the most capped international player of all time: in every game she ...

. The 1.90m shooter helped the franchise on attack, but was unable to steer the team to the title. In the end, after three months of competition, the Sting took the title once again. After signing Lesley Nicol from the Rebels and retaining Silver Ferns

and

, the Sting were unstoppable. Winning back to back in front of their home fans in

, they defeated the

43-40 in the final, in front of a capacity crowd of 4300. Season 2001 had the Sting aiming for three years in a row. The Invercargill-based franchise recruited well, retaining its stars and adding another to the roster, in Adine Harper. The

plotted a plan to take the cup as well. Finalists in 2000, the Flames welcomed Leigh Gibbs to the coaching bench and assembled a strong team that included Silver Ferns Angela Mitchell,

Belinda Colling Belinda Louise Colling (born 12 September 1975)Zealand Olympic Comm ...

Julie Seymour Julie Seymour (née Dawson; born 29 March 1971) is a New Zealand netball coach, former international netball player and former representative middle distance runner. Seymour played for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, in ...

, Belinda Charteris and Vili Davu. The Capital Shakers made their second semi-finals appearance, but again like in season 2000, were unable to progress, beaten by eventual champions the

. The Sting made it three from four seasons defeating the

Flames A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

again for the second consecutive year in the final from

Revamp: National Bank Cup

2002-2004

The

continued their dominance of the National Bank Cup, and would go on to win the competition again in 2002, 03 and 04. The Sting retained their core group of

, Lesley Rumball and Adine Harper, but lost the services of inspirational captain

– who retired after the 2002 season. The Invercargill-based franchise wasted no time to replace her, bringing in former Silver Fern and Canterbury Flames defender Anna Galvan. The Sting's defeat over the Flames in the 2004 final 63-55 would be their last title for some time. The

would again fail to take the title, making the finals again in both 2002 and 2004. The Christchurch team showed promise on attack with the Silver Fern shooting pair of

Jodi Te Huna Jodi Anne Brown (née Te Huna; born 6 May 1981 in Whanganui, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. Brown was a member of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns from 2002 to 2015, taking time off in between thos ...

and

Belinda Colling Belinda Louise Colling (born 12 September 1975)Zealand Olympic Comm ...

impressive throughout the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Vili Davu and captain

were the glue through the defence end and midcourt respectively. The Wellington Shakers made the finals in 2002, but struggled from 2003 – due to the departure of star Silver Fern

. van Dyk shocked officials in Wellington with the announcement that she would join the Waikato/BOP Magic. The Shakers never found their way back to the semi finals, struggling on attack and fielding a mostly inexperienced line-up. In Auckland, the Northern Force made their first National Bank Cup final in 2003. With

Daneka Wipiiti Daneka Wipiiti (born 8 December 1982 in Hamilton, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand international netball player who played for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and the Southern Steel in the ANZ Championship. Wipiiti ...

, Teresa Tairi,

Sheryl Scanlan Sheryl Scanlan (née Clarke; born 8 September 1977) is a New Zealand and Samoan international netball player. She played for the Northern Force in the National Bank Cup from 1998 until the conclusion in 2007, when the new ANZ Championship co ...

and Linda Vangana on board, the Force fielded the strongest line-up on paper. But they would fail to defeat the Sting at home in the 2003 final, going down by two goals, 51-49. The Force would make the semi final again in 2004, but were beaten by the Flames on the North Shore. The Force's rivals the

feared no better. 5th place getters in 2004, the Diamonds missed out on the chance to become the North Islands first winner. Anna Rowberry was impressive from the midcourt, but the team struggled to win when it counted – including a crucial loss to the Flames in regular play that confirmed their fate. The Waikato/BOP Magic were ecstatic with the off season signing of

for 2003, and the team's fortunes turned from there. Semi finalists in 2003 and 2004, although failing to go all the way, Magic showed promise for the future. Van Dyk worked well in combination with GA Anna Senio and midcourters

Laura Langman Laura Robyn Langman (born 16 April 1986) is a retired New Zealand international netball player, who last played domestic netball for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Australian Super Netball league. Primarily a midcourt player, Langman is ...

and

Amigene Metcalfe Amigene Metcalfe (born 18 January 1974 in Hamilton, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player. Metcalfe played international netball with the Silver Ferns in 2004, and later captained the New Zealand A team in 2005. She also played eight yea ...

. 2005-2006 Champions changed for the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Waikato/BOP Magic shocking all by defeating the

, to take the title. The Magic, led by Silver Ferns

Joline Henry Joline Henry (born 29 September 1982 in Whanganui, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player. Henry is a current member of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and has played for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic (2008-20 ...

and

Casey Williams Casey May Kopua (née Williams; born 19 June 1985) is a retired New Zealand international netball player and former captain of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Kopua became a member ...

made history by becoming the first North Island team to win in 2005, with a 65-39 smashing over the former champions

. They backed things up in 2006 by re-gaining the title at home in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

with another large victory. The

drifted down the pecking order in the final three seasons, struggling to make the finals – the Flames finishing a poor 5th in 2005. The Christchurch-based side was over taken by the

– as one of the 'big four teams', after the signings of several top class players. The Diamonds signed Silver Ferns shooter

Jodi Brown Jodi Anne Brown (née Te Huna; born 6 May 1981 in Whanganui, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. Brown was a member of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns from 2002 to 2015, taking time off in between thos ...

in 2005, along with former English international Jo Morrison, to complement their four other international players. The Northern Force failed to perform with their talented roster, while the

and

Western Flyers The Western Flyers were a New Zealand netball team which represented most of the Central, Southern and Eastern North Island in the National Bank Cup. The team was formed in 1998 and played all ten seasons of the competition. At the end of the 2 ...

continued to struggle as the competitions cellar dwellers. 2007 Donna Wilkins

2007 was dubbed the final season of The National Bank Cup. The

were fitting winners of the competition for the final time, defeating the Northern Force in the grand final from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, 50-49. Sting coach Robyn Broughton featured in her 100th game, as the Sting ran winners. The franchise had secured the services of Silver Fern squad members

and Liana Barrett-Chase in the off season, after the loss of

to retirement. The duo join Southern Sting veterans Donna Wilkins,

Adine Wilson Adine Rachel Wilson (née Harper, born 8 June 1979) is a former New Zealand international netball representative. Personal background Born in Hāwera, New Zealand, Wilson attended Turuturu School, Hawera Intermediate School and Hawera High Sc ...

Megan Hutton Megan Hutton (born 26 March 1976 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand retired netball player. Hutton normally plays in the goal keeper position. She also played basketball for Southland. Hutton debuted in the Coca-Cola Cup (later the ...

and Jenny Ferguson. The Otago Rebels looked to make an improvement for 2007. They picked up the signature of Silver Fern

from the

, while added Australian

Demelza McCloud Demelza McCloud (née Fellowes; born 5 August 1980) is an Australian netball player. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. McCloud was selected in the Australian national team in 2004 and 2005. Domestically, she has play ...

to their backline. The Rebels though, finished a disappointing 6th. Their northern rivals

feared no better, finishing 5th. In the North Island, the defending champions Waikato/BOP Magic made the semi final stage, but were defeated by two goals by the Sting in Invercargill. While the Northern Force hosted the grand final for the first time. Boasting a line-up full of Silver Ferns, they could not make it a tenth time lucky – going down to the Sting, 50-49. The Sting celebrated a week later in

with a ticker tape parade, where mayor

Tim Shadbolt Sir Timothy Richard Shadbolt (born 19 February 1947) is a New Zealand politician. He was the Mayor of Invercargill and previously Mayor of Waitemata City. Early life Shadbolt was born in the Auckland suburb of Remuera in 1947. His father died ...

congratulated the team on their success throughout the ten-year competition. The eight franchises later amalgamated into five

teams for the 2008 trans-Tasman season. The

and Otago Rebels joined forces to create the

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball South in the ANZ Premiership. Netball South is the governing body that re ...

, while the

re-branded as the Tactix. In

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

, the

and the

Flyers Flyer or flier may refer to: *An aviator, a person who flies an aircraft *Flyer (pamphlet), a single-page leaflet Music * ''Flyer'' (album), by Nanci Griffith * Flyer (band), a Croatian pop band Sports *Flyer, a position in cheerleading stunt ...

formed the

Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Central in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Central is the governing body that r ...

, the Magic remained the status quo, while the

and

welcomed the Mystics.

References

External links

The National Bank netball website
{{Netball leagues Defunct netball leagues in New Zealand Sports leagues established in 1998 1998 establishments in New Zealand 1998 disestablishments in New Zealand