Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team 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 of t ...

. 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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, 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 ser ...

they have represented Netball South in the ANZ Premiership. Netball South is the governing body that represents Southland and

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

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

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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 Singapo ...

tournament.

History

Formation

Southern Steel was formed in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

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

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship. Format In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams ...

teams,

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 ...

and

Otago Rebels The Otago Rebels was a New Zealand netball team which represented Otago in the National Bank Cup. Otago Rebels were the first team to win the inaugural (what was then known as) Coca-Cola Cup. In 2008, the Rebels were merged with Southern Sting to ...

. Steel subsequently became founder members of the ANZ Championship. 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 regular ...

Robyn Broughton Robyn Denise Broughton (née Quirk) is 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 assistant coach for the New Zealand nati ...

was appointed the team's first head coach and

Jenny-May Coffin Jenny-May Clarkson (born Jenny-May Coffin; 9 April 1974) is a New Zealand netball player, sports commentator and television presenter. Clarkson previously played for the Silver Ferns, New Zealand's national netball team, for which she was the ...

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 ANZ Championship. In both

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 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, captained by Wendy Frew and featuring Gina Crampton, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, Shannon Francois, 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. ;Regular season statistics

ANZ Premiership

Since

, Steel have played in the ANZ Premiership. With a team coached by Reinga Bloxham, captained by Wendy Frew and featuring Gina Crampton, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, Shannon Francois, 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 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,

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. Wendy Frew 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. 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 an ...

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

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

. 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 Wa ...

tournament, defeating Northern Mystics 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

; ANZ Premiership ;

Home venues

Steel's main home venue is

Stadium Southland ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill, New Zealand is a multi-purpose venue, capable of conducting a wide range of events from large scale concerts to sporting events and exhibitions. Incorporating the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome, the stadium com ...

. They also play some home games at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

's Edgar Centre. During the

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 celebrate ...

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 gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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

home games at the

ILT Velodrome The SIT Zero Fees Velodrome, previously known as the ILT Velodrome and also known as the Invercargill Velodrome, is an indoor velodrome located in Surrey Park, Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. It is next door to the ILT Stadium Southland ...

Notable players

2024 squad

Internationals

; ; * Rachel Rasmussen *

Hayley Saunders Hayley Saunders (born 2 July 1989 in Gore, New Zealand, 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 200 ...

; *

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 (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 ...

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. She was a member of the Silver Ferns wider training squad s ...

* Rachel Rasmussen *

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 compe ...

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 ...

; *

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 Africa national netball team, South African national team. Early life Potgieter was born in Polokwane, L ...

; *

Kalifa McCollin Kalifa McCollin (born 18 July 1995) is a netball player from Trinidad and Tobago, who plays for the Collingwood Magpies in the Suncorp Super Netball league. Career McCollin's netball career commenced from a young age. Born in Trinidad and Tob ...

Captains

Award winners

ANZ Championship awards

; ANZ Championship MVP ;Notes *

shared the 2011 award with

Natalie Medhurst Natalie Medhurst (born 20 January 1984) is a retired 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 in ...

( Queensland Firebirds). * In 2015 and 2016

was the MVP player in the New Zealand Conference. ;

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 ;ANZ Premiership Player of the Year

Coaches

Head coaches

;Notes * Janine Southby and

Natalie Avellino Natalie Ann Allison Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a retired Australian netballer, and former assistant coach of the Southern Steel netball team in the ANZ Championship. She made the Australia national netball team from 1994–1995 and again f ...

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

* ANZ Premiership **''Winners'':

**''Minor premiers'':

* ANZ Championship **''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