Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

. Between

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, they played in 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 ...

. Since

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

they have represented Netball South in the

ANZ Premiership The ANZ Premiership is the top level netball league featuring teams from New Zealand. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from Australia, as the top level netball league in New Zealand. It is organised by Netbal ...

. Netball South is the governing body that represents Southland and

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

. In 2017 they won their first premiership when they were the inaugural ANZ Premiership winners. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

they won their second premiership when they retained the title. In

Steel were the inaugural winners of the

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 Singapor ...

tournament.

History

Formation

Southern Steel was formed in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. The new team was effectively a merger of the two former

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup, originally known as the Coca-Cola Cup, was the top level national Netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball league between 1998 in New Zealand, 1998 and 2007 in New Zealand, 2007. The league was organised by Netball Ne ...

teams,

Southern Sting Southern Sting are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Invercargill. Between 1998 and 2007, Sting played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. They were the league's most successful team. They played in all ten grand ...

and Otago Rebels. Steel subsequently became founder members of the

. Ahead of the

2008 ANZ Championship season The 2008 ANZ Championship season was the inaugural season of the ANZ Championship. The 2008 season began on 5 April and concluded on 28 July. Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic were minor premiers after finishing top of the table following the regula ...

Robyn Broughton Robyn Denise Broughton (née Quirke; 10 July 1943 – 6 September 2023) was a New Zealand netball coach. Broughton coached the Southern Sting from 1998 to 2007 during the National Bank Cup, winning seven titles in ten years. She was also an as ...

was appointed the team's first head coach and Jenny-May Coffin and

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 ...

were named as co-captains.

ANZ Championship

Between

and

, Southern Steel played in the

. In both

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Steel finished 4th during the regular season and qualified for the playoffs. However on both occasions they failed to progress beyond the semifinals. Steel's best performance during the ANZ Championship era came in

. With a team coached by

Noeline Taurua Dame Noeline Taurua (born 26 March 1968) is a New Zealand international netball coach and former representative player. She is currently head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Early life Taurua was born in Papa ...

, captained by

Wendy Frew Wendy Frew (born 15 October 1984), previously known as Wendy Telfer, is a former List of New Zealand international netball players, New Zealand netball international. During the National Bank Cup era, she played for Southern Sting. During the A ...

and featuring Gina Crampton,

Jhaniele Fowler-Reid Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard (formerly known as Jhaniele Fowler-Reid or Jhaniele Fowler; born 21 July 1989) is a professional Jamaican netball player who plays for the West Coast Fever in the Suncorp Super Netball League. Fowler-Nembhard is a 5-time ...

Shannon Francois Shannon Saunders (, born 12 October 1990) is a New Zealand netball player, who is currently contracted to the Southern Steel in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. Saunders, who is a predominantly a midcourter has played for Otago in the Nation ...

, and Jane Watson, Steel finished the season as minor premiers. However, they subsequently lost the New Zealand Conference Final to and were defeated in the semifinals by

Queensland Firebirds Queensland Firebirds are an Australian professional netball team based in Brisbane, Queensland. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they pl ...

. ;Regular season statistics

ANZ Premiership

Since

, Steel have played in the

. With a team coached by

Reinga Bloxham Reinga Bloxham, also known as Reinga Te Huia, is a former netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball player and current coach. During the National Bank Cup, Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup era, she played for Southern Sting. Since 2016, she ha ...

, captained by

and featuring Gina Crampton,

, and Jane Watson, Steel finished the 2017 season as inaugural ANZ Premiership winners. After finishing the regular season unbeaten and as minor premiers, Steel defeated

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 ...

69–53 in the grand final. This saw Steel complete a 16 match unbeaten season. However, Steel's perfect season was almost derailed on 12 June when a van with six of their players on board was involved in a road traffic accident in

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated fr ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Four of the players were injured. Wendy Frew received over seventy stitches and underwent surgery while

Te Paea Selby-Rickit Te Paea Selby-Rickit (born 14 January 1992) is a New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2019 Netball World Cup. She has also represented New Zealand at the 2018 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games ...

suffered a dual fractured rib. Shannon Francois and Jhaniele Fowler-Reid had minor injuries. Just two days later, on 14 June, with the four injured players replaced by four players recruited from their

Beko Netball League The National Netball League is a New Zealand netball league. Since 2016 it has served as a second-level league, initially below the ANZ Championship and later below the ANZ Premiership. It is organised by Netball New Zealand. Between 2016 and ...

team, Steel notched up win number 14 of the season against

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 Champions ...

. Despite been 41–38 down after three quarters, Steel launched a comeback in the fourth quarter to win 51–46. Steel remained unbeaten as they went onto win the

2017 Netball New Zealand Super Club The 2017 Netball New Zealand Super Club was the inaugural Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament. With a team coached by Reinga Bloxham, captained by Wendy Frew and featuring Gina Crampton, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, Shannon Francois, and Jane W ...

tournament, defeating

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

79–58 in the final. The run continued into the

season. However after defeating Mystics in their opening match, they were beaten 62–51 by Pulse, ending a 22–match win streak. The streak included 17 ANZ Premiership matches and five Super Club matches. Despite this and despite losing two key players, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid and Jane Watson, Steel went onto to retain their title. In the 2018 grand final they again defeated Pulse. ;Regular season statistics

Grand finals

;

Home venues

Steel's main home venue is

Stadium Southland ILT Stadium Southland, also called Southland Arena, is an indoor arena and multi-purpose venue located in Surrey Park, Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. It was originally the home venue of the Southern Sting netball team. It currently se ...

. They also play some home games at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

Edgar Centre The Edgar Centre is a large multi-purpose indoor sports venue in South Dunedin, New Zealand, on the shore of Otago Harbour close to Andersons Bay Inlet. It is the home venue of the Otago Nuggets basketball team, and an alternate venue for the ...

. During the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

seasons, while Stadium Southland was unavailable following a roof collapse in September 2010, Steel played their

home games at the ILT Velodrome.

Notable players

2024 squad

Internationals

; ; * Rachel Rasmussen * Hayley Saunders ; *

Natasha Chokljat Natasha Chokljat (born 27 April 1979 in Tasmania) is a former Australian netball player. She has played international netball as a member of the Australian national team, and has played in the ANZ Championship for the Melbourne Vixens and the ...

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 ...

* Demelza McCloud ; * George Fisher ; *

Jhaniele Fowler Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard (formerly known as Jhaniele Fowler-Reid or Jhaniele Fowler; born 21 July 1989) is a professional Jamaican netball player who plays for the West Coast Fever in the Suncorp Super Netball League. Fowler-Nembhard is a 5-time ...

Malysha Kelly Malysha Kelly (born 14 January 1990) is a Jamaican netball player, who has made over 50 appearances for the national side, and is a former captain. At club level, she most recently played for Severn Stars in the Netball Superleague. Club care ...

; *

Julianna Naoupu Julianna Naoupu (born 1 March 1990) is a Samoan New Zealander who played for the Samoa national netball team and who plays in the ANZ Championship for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Career She was a member of the Silver Ferns wider traini ...

* Rachel Rasmussen *

Sheryl Scanlan Sheryl Scanlan (born 8 September 1977), originally known as Sheryl Clarke, is a former netball international who has played for Samoa and New Zealand. She captained Samoa at the 1999 World Netball Championships. She was subsequently a member of ...

Saviour Tui Saviour Tui (born 17 October 2001) is a netball player who has represented both Samoa and New Zealand at international level. Tui was a member of three title winning teams in New Zealand's National Netball League. In 2018 and 2019, Tui won ti ...

; *

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 ...

Lenize Potgieter Lenize Potgieter (born 2 May 1994) is a South African professional netball player who currently plays for Manchester Thunder and the South African national team. Early life Potgieter was born in Polokwane, Limpopo before moving to Pretori ...

Jeanté Strydom Jeanté Strydom (born 30 September 1996) is a South Africa netball international. She represented South Africa at the 2023 Netball World Cup. In South Africa, she played for NWU-Pukke and UP Tuks in Varsity Netball and for several teams, mos ...

; * Kalifa McCollin

Captains

Award winners

ANZ Championship awards

; ANZ Championship MVP ;Notes *

shared the 2011 award with

Natalie Medhurst Natalie Butler (born 20 January 1984) is an Australian international netball player. As well as playing for several clubs in Australia's domestic competitions, she also made multiple appearances for the Australian Diamonds in various internati ...

(

). * In 2015 and 2016

was the MVP player in the New Zealand Conference. ; ANZ Championship Best New Talent

New Zealand Netball Awards

;New Zealand ANZ Championship Player of the Year ;ANZ Premiership Player of the Year

Coaches

Head coaches

;Notes *

Janine Southby Janine Southby Brown is a retired New Zealand netball player who then coached the national Silver Ferns netball team. She was also the coach of the Southern Steel in the ANZ Championship. Southby played for the Western Flyers in the National B ...

and

Natalie Avellino Natalie Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a former Australian netball international and current netball coach. Between 1994 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. Avellino was a member of the Australia teams that won the gol ...

were co-head coaches for the 2012 season

Assistant coaches

Reserve team

Since 2016, Netball South have entered a team in the National Netball League. They are effectively the reserve team of Southern Steel. They originally played simply as Netball South before becoming known as Southern Blast. In 2016, Netball South won the inaugural NNL title after defeating Central Zone 51–46 in the grand final. At the 2016 New Zealand Netball Awards, Netball South winning the inaugural title was named Moment of the Year.

Honours

**''Winners'':

**''Minor premiers'':

**''Winners'':

References

External links

Official website

Southern Steel on Facebook

Southern Steel on Twitter
{{Netball in New Zealand ANZ Premiership teams ANZ Championship teams Netball teams in New Zealand Sport in Dunedin Sports clubs and teams in Invercargill Sports clubs and teams established in 2007 2007 establishments in New Zealand