Mainland

New Elite Domestic Awards Honour two Stalwarts

Household names Casey Kopua (right) and Robyn Broughton (above, bottom left) remain at the forefront of NNZ’s elite domestic competition with trophies named in their honour to acknowledge the game’s best.

Celebrating five years in 2021, the ANZ Premiership Player of the Year became the Casey Kopua Trophy and the ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year, the Robyn Broughton Cup.

The Kopua and Broughton pedigrees are linked with excellence and epitomise the special characteristics required to reach the pinnacle in their chosen fields of topline Netball through determination, grit, humility, respect and outstanding natural fortitude.

Both have left unparalleled records over the course of New Zealand’s elite domestic competitions and set a shining example for those who follow.

Kopua’s name is indelibly linked with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. In a sporting rarity, it was the one and only team the defensive diva played for during her illustrious 17-year career which spanned from 2003 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019, the only interruptions being for injury and pregnancy.

Her career was kick-started in 2005 when she won the World Youth Cup with the NZ U21 team, going on to collect the winner’s medal in all of Netball’s international events.

In the former trans-Tasman competition, Kopua was the 2008 ANZ Championship Player of the Year in its first edition and in 2012 was part of the ANZ Championshipwinning Magic team, the only New Zealand team to win the trophy.

Coming out of retirement, Kopua finally became a world champion in 2019 to plug the only gap in her glittering resume after winning back-to-back Commonwealth Games gold medals in 2006 and 2010.

In the abbreviated form of the game, Kopua was a FastNet gold medallist in 2009 and Fast5 gold medallist in 2013.

Kopua brought a strong work ethic to the Netball court while being fiercely proud and loyal to the core. Setting the on-court standards with her quality all-round defensive play and singlemindedness, her sheer determination was what inspired so many others. A once-in-a-generation player, Kopua garnered the respect of all through her presence as a player and leader, going on to captain the Silver Ferns for a record 77 times.

Broughton left a similar impression from the sidelines, revered as a coach and had the ability to get the best out of her teams.

The wily operator became an iconic figure in the deep south and put Invercargill on the map during her long tenure with the Southern Sting where Netball became everyone’s favourite sport. The team gained a wide-spread and almost cult-like following while dominating the local media.

In a remarkable stint, Broughton was head coach of the Sting from 1998 to 2007, winning a record seven Coca Cola/National Bank Cup titles during that time while being the only coach to lead a team for all 10 seasons of both those competitions.

In a dominant era, Broughton led the Sting for 100 matches, returning an impressive 82 percent win record. This was 14 percent better than any other coach while achieving 47 more wins.

With the introduction of the transTasman league in 2008, Broughton took over as coach of the Southern Steel, remaining at the helm until 2011. She then moved north to coach the Central Pulse from 2012 to 2015.

On the international front, Broughton was the Silver Ferns assistant coach in 2000 and 2001. When the shorter form of the game was introduced Broughton led the FastNet Ferns to the World Series title in 2010.

Late in her career, Broughton plied her skill set in the Netball UK SuperLeague where her success and experience was a much sought-after commodity.

Widely admired and respected by all her players over many years, Broughton fashioned a remarkable coaching legacy in New Zealand which is unlikely to be surpassed.

Heritage Round – The Evolution of the ANZ Premiership

The evolution of NNZ’s flagship domestic competition has crossed many frontiers.

Each era has produced key outcomes in pushing Netball to new horizons, what has gone before setting the platform for the finely-tuned, professional, high-octane sporting spectacle that has become elite-level Netball and which was celebrated in 2021 with the Heritage Round.

The Round 5 matches in 2021 celebrated the history of the six ANZ Premiership teams, where they’ve come from and where they are today. Each team continues to grow and build their product while developing their own unique culture.