Being a Central Pulse supporter has been a test of loyalty for Wellington netball fan Joanne Krieble.

The team failed to win any games during the inaugural ANZ Championship, coming in bottom of the ladder after 14 rounds in the trans-Tasman, semi-professional netball league.

But it hasn't dampened Mrs Krieble's enthusiasm for netball – or her enthusiasm for the ANZ Championship, which will finish its first season when the grand final is played on July 28. She was one of a regular crowd of more than 2000 who attended all four Central Pulse home games in Wellington, and despite her team's lack of success she thoroughly enjoyed them.

"You know your team isn't going to win, but it's a really friendly atmosphere, and you get to watch some really good netball," she says. "It's a very female-dominated crowd – there are mothers and daughters, and netball coaches and their teams."

Raising the profile of netball

More importantly, Mrs Krieble says the championship has helped raise the profile of netball on both sides of the Tasman. The competition is made up of five 12-member squads from New Zealand and five from Australia. It is seen as being a first step towards netball becoming fully professional. Each franchise has a $300,000 salary cap, with all players earning a minimum of $12,000 for the six-month season, and experienced players earning more.

The play has been tough and brutal, and largely dominated by Australia; of the five New Zealand teams only the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic has made it through to the semi finals. The Magic finished top of the ladder after 14 rounds, and will face the New South Wales Swifts in Hamilton in the first of two semi-final games on July 13.

But while it's been disappointing to see New Zealand being generally out-classed by Australia, Mrs Krieble says the ANZ Championship has created a lot of excitement among netball supporters of all ages.

"My 10-year-old daughter is really into it. She's been to three of the Pulse home games, and she's watched almost all the other games in the championship on television. She knows the names of all the coaches, and the names of the players in all the teams."

A marketing success

Dana Johannsen, a sports writer with the New Zealand Herald newspaper, agrees that from a marketing point of view the inaugural ANZ Championship has been very successful. All 69 games were broadcast live on pay television, and they have been popular with sports betters. She says many of the New Zealand games have attracted larger-than-expected crowds.

"The Canterbury Tactix hoped to get 3500 for its home games, but it averaged over 4000. The prices for the games are a bit more reasonable than for the rugby, and the atmosphere is really nice."

However, she says the championship has highlighted weaknesses among New Zealand netball players which need to be addressed if the championship is to be successful in the future.

"The semi-finals should have been a two-two split," she says. "I think that Australia has always had greater depth in its players, but it's not so noticeable in games between the Silver Ferns and the Australians, when they only need seven players to compete."

Ms Johannsen says umpiring differences between the two countries have caused problems during the first ANZ Championship season. The New Zealand teams were also disadvantaged by a Netball New Zealand ruling which allowed them to import only one, rather than two, overseas (mostly British) players for the season.

But she says the Australia teams have risen to the demands of the semi-professional era more successfully than New Zealand. The Australian sides were formed and started training much earlier than the New Zealand sides, and they also trained more during the season.

"Many of the teething problems were caused by the fact that the ANZ Championship was put together so fast – it was nine months in conception," she says. "A lot of them will be ironed out before next season, but in terms of being truly competitive, it could take a couple of seasons."

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Article by Ruth Nichol.