This year's instalment of the Pacific Netball Series is just around the corner, and with an epic lineup of teams competing it's shaping up to be a thrilling tournament.
This year six teams will compete in the Pacific Netball Series, with five teams vying for world rankings at the international series, which is supported by the Australian Government's high performance PacificAus Sports program. As a domestic invitee, and non-World Netball sanctioned team, the First Nations Black Swans are not eligible to receive World Netball ranking points at the Pacific Netball Series.
The Tonga Tala, Fiji Pearls, Samoa Tifa Moana, and Singapore will make their return to Australian soil. They'll be joined by series debutants, the Namibia Desert Jewels, and for the first time ever, Australia's First Nations Invitational Team, the Black Swans, will compete.
So, can I attend? And where can you watch?
We've got all the answers you need.
WHEN AND WHERE
The six-day tournament kicks off with an opening ceremony on Sunday, June 9 and will run until Saturday June 15 when teams compete in the final placing matches.
For those local to Brisbane, the tournament will be taking place at the Nissan Arena and is a free event with preliminary rounds taking place from Monday 10 to Friday 14 June at 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm daily.
The final placings matches will run on Saturday June 15 at 11am and 1pm, followed by the grand final at 3pm.
HOW TO WATCH
All matches will be streamed live and on-demand to Australian and International audiences via NetballPass.
Those keen for more can attend the series in person at Brisbane's Nissan Arena where they can catch all the action at the free event.
The series will also be available on some local TV broadcasters in the Oceania region. Check your local guides for details.
THE TEAMS
The Tonga Tala will be looking to secure their fourth straight title at the Pacific Netball Series, but hot on their heels will be the Fiji Pearls and Samoa Tifa Moana.
Both Tala rivals only narrowly lost to the reigning champions at their most recent meetings in December 2023 during the XVII Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
Samoa had a heartbreaking 2 goal loss to Tonga in the Semi Final, while Fiji came away with the silver medal, going down to the Pacific Games champions the Tala by 4.
All three Pacific teams come into the Series with some fresh faces, but the head coaches of Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson (Tonga), Unaisi Rokoura (Fiji) and Frances Solia (Samoa), know their opponents well, and we can expect no holds barred. Look out for the likes of experienced athletes Uneeq Palavi (TON), Una Rauluni (FIJ) and Lenora Misa (SAM) to lead by example as their teams’ progress through the week.
For the Namibia Desert Jewels, this will be the first time they have competed in Australia since the 1991 Netball World Cup in Sydney. At the most recent Africa Netball Cup hosted by Botswana in December last year, Namibia challenged Zambia (16th world-ranking) all the way to the end, taking second place after losing 57-55 in the final.
A great result for the Desert Jewels given the strength of the African netball region, and a 7-rank difference between the two teams at the time.
Long-time rivals from the Asian netball region, Singapore are back for their third trip down under for the Pacific Netball Series, bringing their skilful, patient play as a point of difference.
After a number of post-World Cup retirements, Singapore head coach Annette Bishop had a timely opportunity to recalibrate her national squad, as they have recently come off their annual national league earlier this month.
The First Nations Black Swans are ready to create history when some of the most talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netballers take to the court as a team for the very first time.
The selected athletes are all talent-identified within State and National netball high-performance pathways. The Black Swans will be coached by proud Kamilaroi woman and former Australian Diamonds squad member Ali Tucker-Munro, and assisted by Vanessa Dempsey, a proud Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and Jingili woman who has a wealth of experience coaching in the Netball South Australia pathway.
The exciting melting pot of cultures at this year's series is next level, as friends become foes, and the teams’ battle it out for the champions title.
