The 2017 Southern Steel season saw the

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 ANZ Premiership seas ...

netball team compete in the 2017 ANZ Premiership and the 2017 Netball New Zealand Super Club. With a team coached by

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

, captained by

Wendy Frew Wendy Frew (née Telfer; born 15 October 1984 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player. Frew was a previous member of the champion Southern Sting in the National Bank Cup from 2002 until 2007. With the start of the ANZ Cham ...

and featuring

Gina Crampton Gina Crampton (born 7 December 1991) is a New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2019 Netball World Cup and the 2021 Constellation Cup. Crampton was also a member of the Southern Steel teams th ...

Jhaniele Fowler-Reid Jhaniele Fowler (formerly known as Jhaniele Fowler-Reid; born 21 July 1989) is a professional Jamaican netball player and as of 2018 a member of the West Coast Fever in the Suncorp Super Netball League. Fowler also plays domestic netball in Jam ...

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 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 r ...

69–53 in the grand final. This saw Steel complete a 16 match unbeaten ANZ Premiership season. Steel remained unbeaten as they went onto win the inaugural

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 ...

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. This saw Steel finish the season with 21 wins and zero defeats.

Players

Player movements

2017 roster

Pre-season

Ahead of the 2017 season, Steel appointed

as their new head coach. During the pre-season, Steel played three series of two matches against

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 Pa ...

's Sunshine Coast Lightning,

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 ...

and their own National Netball League team, Netball South. They also played three matches at the official

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 Netball ...

pre-season tournament at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki.

ANZ Premiership regular season

Fixtures and results

;Round 1 ;Round 2 ;Round 3 ;Round 4 ;Round 5 ;Round 6 ;Round 7 ;Round 8 ;Round 9 ;Round 10 ;Round 11 ;Round 12 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 from Y ...

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 River / ...

. Four of the players were injured.

received over seventy stitches and under went 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.

and

had minor injuries. Just two days later, on 14 June, Steel notched up win number 14 of the season against

. Sophie Erwood, Olivia Bates, Dani Gray and

Aliyah Dunn Aliyah Dunn (born 19 October 1999) is a New Zealand netball international. Dunn was a prominent member of the Central Pulse teams that won the 2019, 2020 and 2022 ANZ Premiership titles. She was also a fringe member of the 2017 Southern Steel ...

were seconded from Steel's National Netball League team, Netball South. Despite been 41–38 down after three quarters, Steel launched a comeback in the fourth quarter to win 51–46. ;Round 13

Final standings

ANZ Premiership Finals Series

Grand final

Netball New Zealand Super Club

Group stage

;Final ladder

1st/4th Play offs

;Semi-finals ;Final

Award winners

New Zealand Netball Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Steel

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 ser ...

2017 ANZ Premiership season 2017 in New Zealand netball