Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich says the player pipeline to her world champion side is being held up by the influx of internationals playing Super Netball in Australia. Widely considered the world's best netball competition, the league has attracted many of the game's elite players with Silver Ferns shooting ace Grace Nweke the latest to sign, playing with the NSW Swifts in 2025. Nweke was key to New Zealand's Constellation Cup triumph, scoring 169 goals from four games with an average conversion rate of 94 per cent.
The Australians lost the first three matches in the series to hand over the trans-Tasman trophy for just the second time since 2013 but rallied to win the final match in Melbourne in commanding fashion 63-50. An upside for the Diamonds is that Nweke is unavailable for Silver Ferns selection by playing outside of New Zealand and Australian players will get the chance to play with and against her on a regular basis. However Marinkovich said there was a wider problem for the world No.
1 team with almost 20 per cent of Super Netball players now internationals, including one-third of the Jamaican national team who played at last year's World Cup. Marinkovich said some contenders to wear the Diamonds dress weren't getting enough experience. With 16 spots in the goal circle in the eight Super Netball teams, there are 10 international goalers signed for 2025 led by Jamaicans, five-time league MVP Jhaniele Fowler and Romelda Aiken-George, and England pair Helen Housby an.
