2020 ANZ Premiership season explained

League:	ANZ Premiership
Sport:	Netball
No Of Teams:	6
Duration:	15 March – 23 August
Tv:	Sky Sport (New Zealand)
Season Champs:	Central Pulse
Season Champ Name:	Minor Premiers
Mvp:	Jane Watson (Mainland Tactix)
Top Scorer:	Grace Nweke (Northern Mystics)
Finals Link:	Finals Series
Finals:	Finals
Finals Champ:	Central Pulse
Finals Runner-Up:	Mainland Tactix
Seasonslistnames:	ANZ Premiership
Prevseason Year:	2019
Prevseason Link:	2019 ANZ Premiership season
Nextseason Year:	2021
Nextseason Link:	2021 ANZ Premiership season

The 2020 ANZ Premiership season was the fourth season of Netball New Zealand's ANZ Premiership.^{[1] [2] [3]} With a team coached by Yvette McCausland-Durie, captained by Katrina Rore and featuring Karin Burger, Aliyah Dunn and Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Central Pulse finished the regular season as minor premiers.^{[4] [5]} In the grand final, Pulse defeated Mainland Tactix 43–31, winning their second consecutive premiership.^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} Throughout the season, Netball New Zealand had to deal with considerable disruption because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This initially saw the league suspended for April and May. On its return in June, Round 2 through to Round 7 matches were all played behind closed doors at a single venue. In August, all Round 10 and two Final Series matches were cancelled and the Grand final was played behind closed doors.^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

Transfers

Player	2019 team	2020 team
Kelly Jury^[14] ^[15]	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Central Pulse
Te Paea Selby-Rickit^[16]	Southern Steel	Mainland Tactix
Courtney Elliot	Southern Steel	Northern Mystics
Sulu Fitzpatrick^[17]	Central Pulse	Northern Mystics
Saviour Tui	Central Manawa	Northern Mystics
Jamie Hume	Northern Mystics	Northern Stars
Vika Koloto	Northern Comets	Northern Stars
Lisa Mather	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Northern Stars
Daystar Swift		Northern Stars
Ellen Halpenny^[18] ^[19]	Northern Stars	Southern Steel
Kalifa McCollin^[20]	Celtic Dragons	Southern Steel
Holly Fowler	Northern Stars	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
Georgia Marshall^[21] ^[22]	Canberra Giants	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
Erena Mikaere^[23]	Northern Mystics	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
Whitney Souness	Central Pulse	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
Kayla Cullen^[24] ^[25]	Northern Stars	New South Wales Swifts
Charlee Hodges^[26]	Northern Stars	Adelaide Thunderbirds
Lenize Potgieter^[27]	Southern Steel Queensland Firebirds	Adelaide Thunderbirds

Head coaches and captains

Team	Head coach	Captain
Central Pulse	Yvette McCausland-Durie	Katrina Grant
Mainland Tactix	Marianne Delaney-Hoshek	Jane Watson^[28]
Northern Mystics^[29]	Helene Wilson	Phoenix Karaka^[30]
Northern Stars	Kiri Wills	Grace Kara^[31] ^[32] ^[33]
Southern Steel	Reinga Bloxham^[34]	Gina Crampton Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit^[35]
Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Amigene Metcalfe	Samantha Winders^[36] ^[37] ^[38] ^[39]

Pre-season

2019 Super Club

In December 2019 all six ANZ Premiership teams plus Collingwood Magpies from Suncorp Super Netball and Wasps Netball from the Netball Superleague competed in the 2019 Netball New Zealand Super Club. The staging of the 2019 Super Club was delayed because of the 2019 Netball World Cup. This effectively made it a pre-2020 season tournament for the teams involved. Magpies won the 2019 tournament after defeating Northern Mystics 49–42 in the final.^{[40] [41] [42]}

Otaki tournament

The official pre-season tournament was held at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Otaki between 28 February and 1 March, with all six teams competing.^{[43] [44]}

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

Season suspended

On 16 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final match of Round 1, between Southern Steel and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, was played in an empty arena.^{[45] [46]} On 20 March it was announced that Rounds 2 and 3 had been suspended.^{[47] [48]} and on 26 March, Netball New Zealand announced that the whole season was suspended indefinitely.^{[10] [49]}

Return

In May, Netball New Zealand announced that the season would resume in June. Rounds 2 to 7 would all subsequently be played behind closed doors at a single venue, Auckland Netball Centre.^{[11] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54]} On the leagues return, some changes to the format were introduced, partly because of the pandemic. Matches would now feature 12 minute quarters with 10 minute half-time breaks. There was also a change to the points system. A win was now worth 4 points, a draw would equal 2 points and there was a bonus point for teams that only lost matches by 5 or less goals. The Finals Series was also due to feature 5th/6th and 3rd/4th place playoff matches as well as a Grand final.^[1] The season restarted on 19 June with a match between Northern Mystics and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.^[55]

Regular season

Round 10

On 12 August, after a change in the COVID-19 alert levels in New Zealand, Netball New Zealand announced that all five Round 10 matches would be cancelled. The five matches, which had no bearing on the final placings for the Finals Series, where all declared draws and each team was awarded two points.^{[12] [56] [57]}

Finals Series

The Finals Series was due to feature 5th/6th and 3rd/4th place playoff matches as well as a Grand final. However, the two Auckland Region-based teams, Northern Mystics and Northern Stars, were unable to travel because the region was in lockdown. Both playoff matches were subsequently cancelled and the Grand final was played behind closed doors.^{[13] [58]}

Grand final

Award winners

New Zealand Netball Awards

Award	Winner	Team
ANZ Premiership Player of the Year	Jane Watson	Mainland Tactix
ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year	Yvette McCausland-Durie	Central Pulse

ANZ Premiership Awards

Award	Winner	Team
Grand Final MVP^[59]	Maddy Gordon	Central Pulse
ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year	Yvette McCausland-Durie	Central Pulse

Team of the season

Brendon Egan selected Stuffs team of the season.

Position	Player	Team
GS	Maia Wilson	Northern Stars
GA	Ameliaranne Ekenasio	Central Pulse
WA	Gina Crampton	Southern Steel
C	Claire Kersten	Central Pulse
WD	Karin Burger	Central Pulse
GD	Jane Watson	Mainland Tactix
GK	Temalisi Fakahokotau	Mainland Tactix
Coach	Marianne Delaney-Hoshek	Mainland Tactix

Season statistics

Goal Shooters (by Goals Scored)
Pos.	Player	Team	Goals (%)
align=center	1	Grace Nweke	Northern Mystics	align=center
align=center	2	Maia Wilson	Northern Stars	align=center
align=center	3	Ellie Bird	Mainland Tactix	align=center
align=center	4	Aliyah Dunn	Central Pulse	align=center
align=center	5	Kelsey McPhee	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center
align=center	6	Kalifa McCollin	Southern Steel	align=center

Circle Feeds
Pos.	Player	Team	CF
align=center	1	Gina Crampton	Southern Steel	align=center	434
align=center	2		Northern Stars	align=center	394
align=center	3	Whitney Souness	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	393
align=center	4		Mainland Tactix	align=center	384
align=center	5	Peta Toeava	Northern Mystics	align=center	368
align=center	6		Central Pulse	align=center	293

Deflections
Pos.	Player	Team	Def
align=center	1	Jane Watson	Mainland Tactix	align=center	72
align=center	2	Sulu Fitzpatrick	Northern Mystics	align=center	58
align=center	3	Erena Mikaere	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	53
align=center	4	Kate Burley	Northern Stars	align=center	49
align=center	5		Central Pulse	align=center	47
align=center	6	Taneisha Fifita	Southern Steel	align=center	37

Intercepts
Pos.	Player	Team	Inter.
align=center	1	Kelly Jury	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	26
align=center	2	Temalisi Fakahokotau	Mainland Tactix	align=center	22
align=center	2		Northern Mystics	align=center	22
align=center	2	Kate Burley	Northern Stars	align=center	22
align=center	5	Kate Heffernan	Southern Steel	align=center	18
align=center	6	Erena Mikaere	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	12
align=center	6	Sam Winders	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	12

Rebounds
Pos.	Player	Team	Reb.
align=center	1	Sulu Fitzpatrick	Northern Mystics	align=center	23
align=center	2	Erena Mikaere	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	21
align=center	3	Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit	Southern Steel	align=center	18
align=center	4	Temalisi Fakahokotau	Mainland Tactix	align=center	16
align=center	5	Katrina Rore	Central Pulse	align=center	16
align=center	6	Holly Fowler	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	align=center	10

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 Media Guide ANZ Premiership . anzpremiership.co.nz. https://web.archive.org/web/20220120013757/https://anzpremiership.co.nz/Images/Assets/138785/1/2020%20ANZP%20Media%20Guide_Digital_vLow%20Res.pdf. 20 January 2022. 14 August 2022.
2. Web site: Your guide to the 2020 ANZ Premiership netball season. stuff.co.nz. 13 March 2020. 21 October 2022.
3. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Franchise by franchise guide for 2020 season. www.skysports.com. 19 June 2020. 20 October 2022.
4. Web site: Netball Central – Annual Report 2020. www.netballcentral.co.nz. 1 May 2022.
5. Web site: (2020) Fixtures & results. www.anzpremiership.co.nz. https://web.archive.org/web/20201023092032/http://www.anzpremiership.co.nz/fixtures-and-results/ladder. 23 October 2020. 15 May 2022.
6. Web site: Netball: Central Pulse beat Mainland Tactix to claim ANZ Premiership title. www.nzherald.co.nz. 23 August 2020.
7. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Central Pulse retain title with Grand Final victory over Tactix. www.skysports.com. 23 August 2020. 5 May 2022.
8. Web site: Pulse send their coach off in style. www.pulse.org.nz. 23 August 2020. 5 May 2022.
9. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Central Pulse overpower Mainland Tactix to defend title . stuff.co.nz. 23 August 2020. 13 September 2020.
10. Web site: 2020 Netball season suspended for foreseeable future. anzpremiership.co.nz. 27 March 2020. 25 October 2022.
11. Web site: ANZ Premiership confirms plan to return to court. anzpremiership.co.nz. 11 May 2020. 25 October 2022.
12. Web site: All Upcoming ANZ Premiership Round 10 Matches Declared Drawn. anzpremiership.co.nz. 12 August 2020.
13. Web site: Green light given for 2020 ANZ Premiership Grand Final. anzpremiership.co.nz. 15 August 2020. 25 October 2022.
14. Web site: Silver Ferns goal keep Kelly Jury joins ANZ Premiership champions Central Pulse. stuff.co.nz. 20 June 2019. 20 October 2022.
15. Web site: Jury and Savai'inaea join Pulse for 2020. anzpremiership.co.nz. 20 June 2019. 20 October 2022.
16. Web site: Southern Steel lose Silver Ferns shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit to Tactix and sign overseas replacement. stuff.co.nz. 21 June 2019. 20 October 2022.
17. Web site: Northern Mystics confirm Sulu Fitzpatrick signing for 2020 ANZ Premiership. stuff.co.nz. 19 June 2019. 20 October 2022.
18. Web site: Netball: Ellen Halpenny back - but in blue. www.rnz.co.nz. 21 July 2020. 20 October 2022.
19. Web site: Halpenny adds ‘new dynamic’ to Steel. www.odt.co.nz. 25 July 2020. 20 October 2022.
20. Web site: McCollin confident in her ability. www.odt.co.nz. 14 March 2020. 20 October 2022.
21. Web site: Georgia Marshall's Magic Trick. giantsnetball.com.au. 10 September 2019. 20 October 2022.
22. Web site: Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic add Australian Georgia Marshall as injury replacement. stuff.co.nz. 10 September 2019. 20 October 2022.
23. Web site: Netball: Rotorua's Erena Mikaere coming home to play for Magic. www.nzherald.co.nz. 14 June 2019. 20 October 2022.
24. Web site: Silver Fern Kayla Cullen signs with NSW Swifts for 2020. stuff.co.nz. 14 October 2019. 20 October 2022.
25. Web site: Silver Fern Kayla Cullen Commits to Swifts for 2020 Season. supernetball.com.au. 14 October 2019. 20 October 2022.
26. Web site: Charlee Hodges Announced in Team Lineup for Round 8. adelaidethunderbirds.com.au. 14 June 2019. 20 October 2022.
27. Web site: Lenize Potgieter Signing Headlines Thunderbirds 2020 Team List. supernetball.com.au. 15 October 2019. 20 October 2022.
28. Web site: Watson to Resume Captaincy of The Good Oil Tactix. www.tactixnetball.co.nz. 28 April 2022.
29. Web site: Netball Northern – 2020 Annual Report. www.netballnorthern.co.nz. 24 February 2021. 29 July 2022.
30. Web site: Mystics captain Phoenix Karaka and All Blacks partner Patrick Tuipulotu expecting their first child. www.nzherald.co.nz. 18 August 2020 . 4 August 2022.
31. Web site: Kara resumes Stars captaincy role. www.starsnetball.co.nz. 14 August 2022.
32. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Northern Stars celebrate player milestones with key win. www.skysports.com. 22 June 2020. 14 August 2022.
33. Web site: Special time for Northern Stars veteran Grace Kara ahead of crunch Auckland derby. stuff.co.nz. 16 July 2020. 14 August 2022.
34. News: Southern Steel 2020 Netball Team. www.southernsteel.co.nz. 9 May 2022.
35. Web site: Southern Steel co-captains named for 2020 ANZ Championship. stuff.co.nz. 15 May 2022. 11 February 2020.
36. Web site: Pure As: Sam Winders. www.newsroom.co.nz. 4 June 2022. 20 July 2022.
37. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Sam Winders talks leadership, learning and writing books. www.skysports.com. 14 August 2020. 17 July 2022.
38. Web site: Sam Winders, Captain and Magic #63. www.netballmagic.co.nz. 2 July 2022.
39. Web site: Captain's word: Samantha Winders 2022. www.netballmagic.co.nz. 2 July 2022.
40. Web site: Pulse keen to stamp their mark at Super Club. www.pulse.org.nz. 5 December 2019. 18 September 2022.
41. Web site: (2019) Super Club. www.netballnz.co.nz. https://web.archive.org/web/20220210234333/https://www.netballnz.co.nz/competitions/competition-detail/super-club. 10 February 2022. 17 September 2022.
42. Web site: Netball: Collingwood Magpies edge Northern Mystics in Super Club final. www.nzherald.co.nz. 13 December 2019. 28 July 2022.
43. Web site: All roads lead to Ōtaki for pre-season tester. www.pulse.org.nz. 24 February 2020. 26 October 2022.
44. Web site: Coach satisfied with Steel's pre-season effort. www.odt.co.nz. 2 March 2020. 26 October 2022.
45. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Waikato-BOP Magic beat Southern Steel in empty arena. stuff.co.nz. 16 March 2020. 21 October 2022.
46. Web site: Coronavirus: ANZ Premiership netball future could be known in coming days. stuff.co.nz. 17 March 2020. 26 October 2022.
47. Web site: Netball's ANZ Premiership joins list of postponed competitions. www.rnz.co.nz. 20 March 2020. 20 March 2020.
48. Web site: Coronavirus: ANZ Premiership 2020 season hangs in the balance. stuff.co.nz. 20 March 2020. 26 October 2022.
49. Web site: Netball: Covid 19 Coronavirus - ANZ Premiership suspended, Beko Netball League cancelled. www.nzherald.co.nz. 26 March 2020. 2 May 2022.
50. Web site: Revised 2020 ANZ Premiership schedule announced. anzpremiership.co.nz. 22 May 2020. 25 October 2022.
51. Web site: ANZ Premiership – Revised 2020 Fixtures. anzpremiership.co.nz. https://web.archive.org/web/20200626105156/http://anzpremiership.co.nz/Images/Assets/140618/1/2020%20ANZP%20Revised%20Draw.pdf. 26 June 2020. 22 May 2020. 25 October 2022.
52. Web site: Leap into the unknown as Pulse prepare to re-launch their season. www.pulse.org.nz. 22 May 2020. 21 October 2022.
53. Web site: Central Pulse the side to beat as ANZ Premiership netball returns. stuff.co.nz. 14 June 2020. 21 October 2022.
54. Web site: ANZ Premiership Netball 2020: Fixtures and results. www.skysports.com. 5 August 2020. 20 October 2022.
55. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Mystics beat Magic in first game back after Covid-19 lockdown. stuff.co.nz. 19 June 2020. 21 October 2022.
56. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Round 10 cancelled, matches declared as draws. www.skysports.com. 12 August 2020. 25 October 2022.
57. Web site: Covid 19 coronavirus: Netball New Zealand announce cancellation of final regular season round of ANZ Premiership matches. www.nzherald.co.nz. 12 August 2020. 25 October 2022.
58. Web site: ANZ Premiership: Grand Final given green light to go ahead. www.skysports.com. 23 August 2020. 25 October 2022.
59. Web site: Brendon Egan. Central Pulse standout Maddy Gordon the lone new cap in Silver Ferns squad. www.stuff.co.nz. 25 August 2020. 24 August 2023.