Silver Fern switches Super Netball allegiance with two-year deal
Silver Fern Maddy Gordon has changed Super Netball allegiances, joining a former New Zealand captain at the West Coast Fever.
The 47-test midcourter has signed a two-year deal with the Fever, following her maiden year in Australia at the Queensland Firebirds.
Gordon will team up in Perth with former test skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio, who played for the Central Pulse in this year’s ANZ Premiership after making herself unavailable for the Silver Ferns in 2025.
Meanwhile, Silver Ferns 2025-26 wider squad member Saviour Tui signed with the Welsh Dragons in the UK Netball Super League, where she will play under former Southern Steel coach Reinga Bloxham.
Gordon is the second New Zealand player to ink a two-year deal, after Silver Ferns goal attack Georgia Heffernan signed with the Sunshine Coast Lightning until the end of 2028.
“I’m so excited to join the West Coast Fever and take this opportunity to challenge myself, improve my game, and grow both as a player and as a person,” Gordon said.
“I’m really looking forward to learning from the coaches, experiencing the Aussie style of coaching, and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.
“I think the roster we have is really exciting. Being able to feed someone like Jhaniele [Fowler-Nembhard] and play alongside diamonds like Alice [Teague-Neeld] and Sunday [Aryang] is something I’m really looking forward to.”
West Coast Fever general manager Sara Francis-Bayman said the club is delighted to secure Gordon.
“Maddy Gordon is a world-class player, and she brings experience, speed and drive to our midcourt, which is extremely exciting,” Francis-Bayman said.
Maddy Gordon has signed a two-year deal with the West Coast Fever in Super Netball. Photo / Photosport
“Her performances at the Commonwealth Games and last season with the Firebirds highlight exactly what she can deliver at the highest level, and we are looking forward to seeing her out in front of the Green Army at RAC Arena.”
Gordon’s news comes after she helped the Silver Ferns win gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
There is still no confirmed New Zealand domestic competition for next year and beyond.
Auckland FC investors Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray are in talks to privatise the league in 2028. They have also proposed a professional competition for next year to help bridge the gap to full privatisation.
Netball New Zealand (NNZ) maintains it has multiple options available for next year, but the New Zealand Netball Players’ Association says Williams and Mowbray’s proposal is the only professional option it is aware of.
NNZ has changed test eligibility rules to allow overseas-based players to be available for Silver Ferns selection.
Last month, NNZ board chairman Alastair Carruthers encouraged athletes to take opportunities to play netball abroad.
“Absolutely, we understand and respect why a number will be looking at opportunities abroad,” NNZ chief executive Jennah Wootten said.
“My focus is on making sure that what we do land on in terms of the form of our domestic competition in the future is attractive enough to compel many of those players to stay or indeed to return in the years to come.”
Last month, the Herald revealed the ANZ Premiership attracted more than 1.05 million unique television viewers and an average audience of 51,800, not including anyone who watched on TVNZ+, either live or on demand.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.
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