Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in

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 ...

. Between

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body that represents the

and

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

s. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, Mystics won their first premiership.

History

Formation

Northern Mystics were formed in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

. The new team was effectively a merger of the two former National Bank Cup teams, Northern Force and

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 ...

. Mystics subsequently became founder members of the ANZ Championship.

Yvonne Willering Yvonne Mignon Willering (born 15 January 1950) is a Dutch-born New Zealand netball coach and former representative netball player. Willering played for the New Zealand national netball team – the Silver Ferns – from 1974 to 1983. She was c ...

became Mystics first head coach and

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 ...

became Mystics first player.

ANZ Championship

Between

and

, Mystics played in the ANZ Championship. On 6 April 2008, Mystics made their ANZ Championship debut in a match against

Canterbury Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championsh ...

The Trusts Arena The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark on 11 ...

, losing 44–48. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, with a team coached by Debbie Fuller and captained by

, Mystics reached their first grand final. They finished the regular season fourth behind Queensland Firebirds, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and

New South Wales Swifts New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have represented Netball New South Wales in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was ...

. During the regular season, Mystics claimed their first win in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, with a 56–54 win over

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, th ...

in Round 9. Mystics defeated Swifts in the minor semi-final and Magic in the preliminary final before losing to Firebirds in the grand final. Mystics finished the season second overall. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, Mystics finished second on the table after the regular season. However, they subsequently lost the major semi-final to Melbourne Vixens and the preliminary final to Magic and finished in third overall. On 20 May 2012, during a

Round 8 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the num ...

match against Vixens, Mystics introduced the ''

Harrison Hoist The Harrison Hoist, also known as the Chairlift, is a form of goaltending in netball where one defender lifts another defender, rugby union lineout-style, in order to catch the ball and prevent a goal scoring opportunity. It was named after Anna H ...

''. Anna Harrison made several vital blocks while being hoisted rugby union lineout-style by her defensive partners. Harrison was lifted first by

Kayla Cullen Kayla Malvina Johnson (née Cullen, born 13 February 1992) is a New Zealand netball player. As a high school student, Cullen played representative netball and basketball, and competed at a national level in athletics. In 2008, she was selected i ...

and then twice in the final quarter by Jessica Moulds. Mystics won the match 49–45. Cullen and Moulds adopted the role of a lineout lifter to hoist Harrison and the move had the desired result in the final quarter when Vixens goal shooter

Karyn Howarth Karyn Bailey (born 28 July 1986) is a former Australian netball player who played for the Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds. and played for the Surrey Storm ( UK) from 2018 - 2021. After Storm's final game on Monday 21st June 2021, she re ...

's goal-bound shots were twice batted away. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, Mystics went through the regular season unbeaten against their fellow

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

teams and topped the New Zealand Conference. However they subsequently lost the Conference final to Magic and a semi-final to Firebirds. ;Regular season statistics

ANZ Premiership

Since

, Mystics have played in the ANZ Premiership. In

, with a team coached by Helene Wilson and captained by Sulu Fitzpatrick and featuring

Ama Agbeze Ama Agbeze (born 12 November 1982) is an England netball international. She was captain when England won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2019 she received an for her services to netball. She was also a member of the England ...

Bailey Mes Bailey Mes (born 27 May 1989) is an Auckland born New Zealand netball player. She can play at goal shoot, goal attack, and wing attack. She has played for the Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Championships since 2015. In 2012, she was selected int ...

and

Grace Nweke Grace Nweke is a New Zealand netball international. She first competed for New Zealand in September 2021, becoming the fourth person of African descent to play for the team, following in the footsteps of Irene Van Dyk, Leana de Bruin and Kar ...

, Mystics won their first ever premiership. After finishing the regular season as minor premiers, they defeated

Mainland Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championsh ...

61–59 in the grand final. ;Regular season statistics

Grand finals

; ANZ Championship ;

Netball New Zealand Super Club The Netball New Zealand Super Club was a netball tournament organised by Netball New Zealand. It featured teams from the ANZ Premiership as well as invited overseas teams, including teams from Australia, Great Britain, South Africa and Singapo ...

; ANZ Premiership

Home venues

Mystics main home venue is

Notable players

2023 squad

Internationals

; ; *

Charlotte Kight Charlotte Kight (born 8 June 1988 in Dannevirke, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player. Kight started in the National Bank Cup with the Western Flyers in 2005, under head coach Yvette McCausland-Durie. She played with the Flyers for two ...

* Jessica Moulds *

Rachel Rasmussen Rachel Rasmussen (born 5 June 1984 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player of Samoan descent who plays in the position of goal defense and goal keeper. She has represented both New Zealand and Samoa at the international level ...

Hayley Saunders Hayley Saunders (born 2 July 1989 in Gore, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player and member of the Southern Steel team in the ANZ Championship. Saunders first represented Southland in the National Championships from 2007–08, before movi ...

; * Julie Corletto *

Megan Dehn Megan Anderson, also known as Megan McWilliams and previously known as Megan Dehn, is a former Australia netball international and current netball coach. Between 2000 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of t ...

; *

* Jade Clarke *

Pamela Cookey Pamela Asibie Cookey (born 2 September 1984 in Birmingham, West Midlands) is a former English netball player, usually posted to goal attack (GA). Club career In domestic netball, Cookey has played with Team Bath in the Netball Superleague since ...

* Sasha Corbin *

Serena Guthrie Serena Monique Guthrie (born 5 January 1990) is a former netball player from Jersey who played internationally for England. She played in the Centre, Wing Attack and Wing Defence positions. She was a dynamic player, known for her speed and athl ...

; *

Vilimaina Davu Vilimaina Davu (born 15 January 1977 in Nadi, Fiji) is a Fijian and New Zealand netball player, who has represented both countries in international netball as a goal keeper. Netball career On the netball court she was a veteran of more than 100 ...

; *

Althea Byfield Althea Latoya Byfield (born 28 November 1982 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican international basketball and netball player. Byfield has represented Jamaica in both sports, and is a current member of the Jamaican netball team. ...

; *

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 ...

Saviour Tui Saviour Tui (born 17 October 2001) is a Samoa netball international. Tui was a member of three title winning teams in New Zealand's National Netball League. In 2018 and 2019, Tui won titles with Central Zone/Central Manawa. In 2021 she won a ...

Cathrine Tuivaiti Cathrine Tuivaiti (née Latu; born 25 October 1986 in West Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player of Tongan, Samoan, and Māori descent. Career Early career Cathrine Tuivaiti was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Schoo ...

; *

Leana de Bruin Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy) (born 9 July 1977) is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She made her on-court debut for the Silver Ferns i ...

Captains

Award winners

ANZ Championship awards

; ANZ Championship MVP ;Notes *

shared the award with

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 ...

( Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic). ;

ANZ Championship Best New Talent The following is a list of netball players who played in the ANZ Championship between 2008 and 2016. ANZ Championship award winners There were four official ANZ Championship Awards. ANZ Championship Most Valuable Player ;Notes * Romelda Aike ...

New Zealand Netball Awards

;New Zealand ANZ Championship Player of the Year ;Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award

Coaches

Head coaches

Assistant coaches

Specialist coaches

Main sponsors

Reserve team

Since 2016, Netball Northern have entered a team in the National Netball League. In 2017 they became known as Northern Marvels. They are effectively the reserve team of Northern Mystics. Helene Wilson was their inaugural head coach. Former Marvels players include Elisapeta Toeava and

. In 2021 Northern Marvels were NNL premiers after they defeated Northern Comets 64–56 in the grand final.

Honours

* ANZ Premiership **''Winners'':

**''Minor premiers'':

* ANZ Championship **''Runners Up'':

* ANZ Championship – New Zealand Conference **''Minor premiers'':

**''Runners Up'':

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

Official website

Northern Mystics on Facebook

Northern Mystics on Twitter
{{Sport in Auckland ANZ Premiership teams ANZ Championship teams Netball teams in New Zealand Sports clubs established in 2007 2007 establishments in New Zealand Netball teams in Auckland