July 23, 2026 • 11 mins
Things are not looking good for the ANZ Premiership.
There's no news about next year's competition, contracts aren't being renewed, and players are questioning what's going on.
Justin Nelson was able to turn the fortunes of New Zealand's domestic basketball competition around, so D'Arcy Waldegrave invited him onto Sportstalk to see if he has any ideas for what NZ Netball could do.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncy Wildergrave
from News Talk ZEDB ned on.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
New Zealand are still trying to make silk purses, but
the odds are stacked against them. As the AZ Premiership.
It's teasing, isn't it on the edge. It's staring into
the abyss of twenty twenty seven and now all that
offers is a yawning emptiness. So it sounds like anyway
the future? Yeah nah? So what has happened now to
(00:33):
arrest the slide for this loved sport? Because it is
love from the grassroots level right up to the very
top that holds a special place in the hearts of
New Zealand sports people, especially the Wahini. So how do
we turn this around? A man who rolled over the
ditch from the West Side at a few years back, now,
and what about rebuilding sales? Nbl our National Basketball comed
(00:57):
He joins us now to look at what actually needs
to be done. His name is Justin Nelson, the former
GM of the New Zealand NBL and now this Women's
National Basketball Leagues with us now, Good a fella, Great
to hear from your Darcy. It's been a while hadn't
it Our's life over in Australia.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Pretty cold at the moment, to be honest, in Melbourne
it's not the best place in winter. But hopefully we're
not too far away from some sunny days.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Crazy times here in New Zealand. You'll be well across
this happening with NNZ. With Netball New Zealand, it seems
they're really quite good at taking aim at their own
foot and blowing it clean off at every possible opportunity.
The reason I've got you on are justins is because
you came over from the West Island and you looked
at the sales NBL and you basically obvious say, burnt
(01:45):
it down and rebuilt it, but you reshaped that competition
with great success. You're looking now from across the ditch
at Netball New Zealand. What do you see? How do
they rebuild? Because I think it may be not even
a competition next year. They might have to take a
gap here, if you will. What issues do they face
and what do you know about that from your time
(02:06):
as an Australian in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, it's a really good question. Darcian. Am aware of
what's happening over there. The news does find its way
over here in Australia, especially around a sportlight netball, Australia
also being a real leading country in that space, so
there's been a little bit of talk and look, I
can only lean back to the experience of what I
had with the Seals NBL, and I think there's three stages.
(02:31):
The first one is you have to set the vision
and build the model and the product, and if it
needs to change, don't be afraid to change it. And
then the second part is you've got to get everyone
on the journey. You have to take everybody on that
same bus with you, seeing the vision, buying into the model,
accepting the new product, and really picking it up and
running with it. And then the third thing is once
(02:53):
you've got the first two done, you need to capitalize
on it. So that's when you've got your sponsors, that's
when you've got broadcast opportunities. All of a sudden, everybody
can see a swell of growth and everyone pulling in
the same direction. At this stage, from what I'm seeing
and hearing, I think they're probably back at stage one
and that's the first place they need to get stuck.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Into now there'll be an ideal position to a degree,
because there has been a clean out amongst the board.
There's a new CEO coming on board, Jenna Wooden. A
lot of time for Jenna Wooden to what he's achieved.
So the opportunity is there to reset this vision. Is
it almost like raising the whole thing to the ground
and then just rebuilding it from the bottom up. Is
that what they have to do.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
It's a little bit of that. I think you've got
to find the right person. That's the most important thing,
and that's not necessarily the CEO of the national body.
It needs to be somebody with a real flare for entertainment.
We're in the entertainment business, a real flair for fans
and a real flare for product and thinking outside the square.
The fact is today's fan wants change in innovation. They
(03:54):
consume sport differently, shorter bursts, colorful, exciting, connected to culture,
connected to diversity. A lot of things happening in the
community now play through the culture of sport. So it's
really important that they find the right person to pick
this thing up or at least give this thing an
opportunity to breathe by setting a good vision, taking people
(04:18):
on that journey and being bold and courageous. I mean,
that would be the big thing for me through my experiences.
You have to be bold and courageous and prepared to
make a mistake.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Quite difficult for a very old organization saying that the
members are role but an old school organization to maybe
look after the top level, maybe look after the grassroots,
but to actually let that middle level go and let
somebody else run with it. I wonder. I think we've
had the same issue with and He's all in rugby
for a while as well, not willing to release the
(04:51):
game into someone else's hands. They haven't got the trust,
they don't want to lose the control. Is it a
key part of this justin Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
I mean USA Basketball doesn't run the NBA. English Football
doesn't run the Premier League. The people that I work
for here, NBL and WNBO fully privatized. The teams here
are fully privatized. It's just so much privatization happening in sport.
And that's because privatization brings in entertainment experts, and that
(05:22):
would be the key thing that I think probably needs
to be looked at. You're right, national bodies. They're there
to look after the top end, the elite in terms
of international product, and the grassroots, that middle area, which
is quite often the most important window to the sport.
Let's not forget that. Quite often the entertainment product is
(05:43):
what drags people into the sport to watch it, consume
it and be a part of it. And if you
don't get that right, if you haven't got the skill
sets to look after that, well obviously you've got you've
got an issue.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
You're spoken of setting the vision and I'm building a
mold for it. The engagement that the planning has got
to be neckball yell in the CEO. But at that
stage start bringing in this level of people who are
going to be able to promote this and change the
essence of it. They have to start from square one,
or maybe does the board have to accept the fact
(06:16):
that they've got to do it themselves. And then Guy
and the order of this fascinates.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Me justin I think it starts with a board or
any board any sport wanting the best possible product. So
everyone needs to agree that this thing needs to be
better than what it is or what it was. We
need to take it in a new directions. Everyone's got
to be on the same page to start with, and
then you just got to go out and get the
best person, no matter where they are and no matter
(06:41):
who they work for, go and tap them on the shoulder,
go and talk to them and try and get them
on that journey with you and give them the tools
to be able to do it. I was really fortunate,
it must be said. I was really fortunate in basketball
and New Zealand in Potter, who was the CEO of
basketball in New Zealand at the time, great operator. You know.
The day that I arrived, he gave me the keys
(07:02):
and said this is yours. Go out there and do
what you do. And that's the sort of addage you
have to have as a sport to turn an entertainment
product into something that people love and importantly that people
will attend and investors and commercial partners and broadcasters will
put money into.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
We've got a solid sport. I look back, maybe a
decade ago and look at the silver Ferns have got
a high profile. They've been world champions, gold medalists and
the like, so they can play. Everybody recognizes the women
out there playing. We understand the depth of the grassroots.
It's huge. People love this game, hugely passionate, and I'm
(07:40):
trying to work out how on earth they let that
slip through their fingers. It's a very strange situation to
find yourselves in a state where a lot of sports
would love to be but it hasn't quite worked. Can
you put your finger on maybe why that didn't operate
like that? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Look, I just jumped straight away to fear of change.
You know, innovation asks us to believe in something we
can't see, and you either have fear or you have faith.
I think the best, most progressive, modern, engaging and connected
sports in this world have people at the top who
buy into fear, sorry, who buy into faith of fear
(08:18):
buy into faith. Unfortunately, those that are fearful of change
and fearful of innovation are well and truly behind the
pack now and it's really hard to catch that up.
So right at the top, you've got to buy into
faith in innovation and change. And if you can do that,
I think you start to set yourself up for a
bit of a clearer vision but at the same time
(08:40):
an exciting one, and people buy into that.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Well, you've worked there in your zone for a long time,
dealing with sponsorships, dealing with the major sporting organizations. There
is hope for netball New Zealand. There are people out
there to support this, maybe even a privatization level. It's
not all lost. It's not like they're dealing with nothing
and they've got to build from the bottom up. It's possible.
It's possible, right.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah, one hundred percent. Look, I think anything attached to
the business of sport is possible. But it starts, you know,
with that mindset of faith and change and having a
vision and then really driving it. So whether that is
being driven by the board or whether that's being driven
by a private operator, at the end of the day,
(09:22):
you have to have the drive and the passion to
be all in two feet on the bus and make
sure that you are taking people on that journey. So
it's never lost, it's never too late. But from what
I'm hearing, you know there's some work to do and
if that work hasn't already started now, it's going to
take a bit of time to get things back on track.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
And before we let you go, justin Nelson, now it's
a pleasure. Thanks for joining us. See that New Zellan
and sorry, Australian Naple have now gone are free to hear.
So this broadcasting rights has been an issue for Nipple
in news Land. They haven't got any money, no one's
paying for it's gone free to wear. This has to
be moved or is free to air like the Australian Nipples.
Is that actually really valiable and an important arrow in
(10:05):
your quiver?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Well, broadcast money isn't free money. I mean that's the
first thing nobody should ever put themselves in a position
running any sport where there's a reliance on broadcast money.
You have to work for it. You have to go
out there and build a great product. You've got to
be prepared to move. You've got to be prepared to change.
You've got to be prepared to buy into what the
broadcast is looking for to run their own product and
(10:26):
make sure it's a profitable product. You have to be
adaptable so you never have the view that money is
owed to you. You need to go out and you
need to work damn hard for it and put on
a great product so people are tuning in and watching,
because if we don't have fans, we don't have sport.
If we don't have viewers, we don't have broadcast properties,
we don't have that content going out on television. So
(10:48):
get the product right, build it the right way, have
a vision, get the right people running it, get everybody
on the bus together and on the same journey. Go
out there and capitalize on it. And if you do that,
that money will come in.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
And we're looking forward to that turn around occurring. Justin Nelson,
always a pleasure. Thanks very much for joining us here
on news Talk ZBU look after yourself, go well, go
hard and here's to WMBL are goings from strength to strength.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Always a spare room in Melbourne for you, mate, nice
to chat.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Come on Ason Spendy next, come out of Melbourne. I
know I'm going. Justin Nelson there, he's the executive of
the Women's NBL in Australia.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncy Wildergrave
from News Talk ZEDB ned on.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
New Zealand are still trying to make silk purses, but
the odds are stacked against them. As the AZ Premiership.
It's teasing, isn't it on the edge. It's staring into
the abyss of twenty twenty seven and now all that
offers is a yawning emptiness. So it sounds like anyway
the future? Yeah nah? So what has happened now to
(00:33):
arrest the slide for this loved sport? Because it is
love from the grassroots level right up to the very
top that holds a special place in the hearts of
New Zealand sports people, especially the Wahini. So how do
we turn this around? A man who rolled over the
ditch from the West Side at a few years back, now,
and what about rebuilding sales? Nbl our National Basketball comed
(00:57):
He joins us now to look at what actually needs
to be done. His name is Justin Nelson, the former
GM of the New Zealand NBL and now this Women's
National Basketball Leagues with us now, Good a fella, Great
to hear from your Darcy. It's been a while hadn't
it Our's life over in Australia.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Pretty cold at the moment, to be honest, in Melbourne
it's not the best place in winter. But hopefully we're
not too far away from some sunny days.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Crazy times here in New Zealand. You'll be well across
this happening with NNZ. With Netball New Zealand, it seems
they're really quite good at taking aim at their own
foot and blowing it clean off at every possible opportunity.
The reason I've got you on are justins is because
you came over from the West Island and you looked
at the sales NBL and you basically obvious say, burnt
(01:45):
it down and rebuilt it, but you reshaped that competition
with great success. You're looking now from across the ditch
at Netball New Zealand. What do you see? How do
they rebuild? Because I think it may be not even
a competition next year. They might have to take a
gap here, if you will. What issues do they face
and what do you know about that from your time
(02:06):
as an Australian in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, it's a really good question. Darcian. Am aware of
what's happening over there. The news does find its way
over here in Australia, especially around a sportlight netball, Australia
also being a real leading country in that space, so
there's been a little bit of talk and look, I
can only lean back to the experience of what I
had with the Seals NBL, and I think there's three stages.
(02:31):
The first one is you have to set the vision
and build the model and the product, and if it
needs to change, don't be afraid to change it. And
then the second part is you've got to get everyone
on the journey. You have to take everybody on that
same bus with you, seeing the vision, buying into the model,
accepting the new product, and really picking it up and
running with it. And then the third thing is once
(02:53):
you've got the first two done, you need to capitalize
on it. So that's when you've got your sponsors, that's
when you've got broadcast opportunities. All of a sudden, everybody
can see a swell of growth and everyone pulling in
the same direction. At this stage, from what I'm seeing
and hearing, I think they're probably back at stage one
and that's the first place they need to get stuck.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Into now there'll be an ideal position to a degree,
because there has been a clean out amongst the board.
There's a new CEO coming on board, Jenna Wooden. A
lot of time for Jenna Wooden to what he's achieved.
So the opportunity is there to reset this vision. Is
it almost like raising the whole thing to the ground
and then just rebuilding it from the bottom up. Is
that what they have to do.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
It's a little bit of that. I think you've got
to find the right person. That's the most important thing,
and that's not necessarily the CEO of the national body.
It needs to be somebody with a real flare for entertainment.
We're in the entertainment business, a real flair for fans
and a real flare for product and thinking outside the square.
The fact is today's fan wants change in innovation. They
(03:54):
consume sport differently, shorter bursts, colorful, exciting, connected to culture,
connected to diversity. A lot of things happening in the
community now play through the culture of sport. So it's
really important that they find the right person to pick
this thing up or at least give this thing an
opportunity to breathe by setting a good vision, taking people
(04:18):
on that journey and being bold and courageous. I mean,
that would be the big thing for me through my experiences.
You have to be bold and courageous and prepared to
make a mistake.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Quite difficult for a very old organization saying that the
members are role but an old school organization to maybe
look after the top level, maybe look after the grassroots,
but to actually let that middle level go and let
somebody else run with it. I wonder. I think we've
had the same issue with and He's all in rugby
for a while as well, not willing to release the
(04:51):
game into someone else's hands. They haven't got the trust,
they don't want to lose the control. Is it a
key part of this justin Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
I mean USA Basketball doesn't run the NBA. English Football
doesn't run the Premier League. The people that I work
for here, NBL and WNBO fully privatized. The teams here
are fully privatized. It's just so much privatization happening in sport.
And that's because privatization brings in entertainment experts, and that
(05:22):
would be the key thing that I think probably needs
to be looked at. You're right, national bodies. They're there
to look after the top end, the elite in terms
of international product, and the grassroots, that middle area, which
is quite often the most important window to the sport.
Let's not forget that. Quite often the entertainment product is
(05:43):
what drags people into the sport to watch it, consume
it and be a part of it. And if you
don't get that right, if you haven't got the skill
sets to look after that, well obviously you've got you've
got an issue.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
You're spoken of setting the vision and I'm building a
mold for it. The engagement that the planning has got
to be neckball yell in the CEO. But at that
stage start bringing in this level of people who are
going to be able to promote this and change the
essence of it. They have to start from square one,
or maybe does the board have to accept the fact
(06:16):
that they've got to do it themselves. And then Guy
and the order of this fascinates.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Me justin I think it starts with a board or
any board any sport wanting the best possible product. So
everyone needs to agree that this thing needs to be
better than what it is or what it was. We
need to take it in a new directions. Everyone's got
to be on the same page to start with, and
then you just got to go out and get the
best person, no matter where they are and no matter
(06:41):
who they work for, go and tap them on the shoulder,
go and talk to them and try and get them
on that journey with you and give them the tools
to be able to do it. I was really fortunate,
it must be said. I was really fortunate in basketball
and New Zealand in Potter, who was the CEO of
basketball in New Zealand at the time, great operator. You know.
The day that I arrived, he gave me the keys
(07:02):
and said this is yours. Go out there and do
what you do. And that's the sort of addage you
have to have as a sport to turn an entertainment
product into something that people love and importantly that people
will attend and investors and commercial partners and broadcasters will
put money into.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
We've got a solid sport. I look back, maybe a
decade ago and look at the silver Ferns have got
a high profile. They've been world champions, gold medalists and
the like, so they can play. Everybody recognizes the women
out there playing. We understand the depth of the grassroots.
It's huge. People love this game, hugely passionate, and I'm
(07:40):
trying to work out how on earth they let that
slip through their fingers. It's a very strange situation to
find yourselves in a state where a lot of sports
would love to be but it hasn't quite worked. Can
you put your finger on maybe why that didn't operate
like that? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Look, I just jumped straight away to fear of change.
You know, innovation asks us to believe in something we
can't see, and you either have fear or you have faith.
I think the best, most progressive, modern, engaging and connected
sports in this world have people at the top who
buy into fear, sorry, who buy into faith of fear
(08:18):
buy into faith. Unfortunately, those that are fearful of change
and fearful of innovation are well and truly behind the
pack now and it's really hard to catch that up.
So right at the top, you've got to buy into
faith in innovation and change. And if you can do that,
I think you start to set yourself up for a
bit of a clearer vision but at the same time
(08:40):
an exciting one, and people buy into that.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Well, you've worked there in your zone for a long time,
dealing with sponsorships, dealing with the major sporting organizations. There
is hope for netball New Zealand. There are people out
there to support this, maybe even a privatization level. It's
not all lost. It's not like they're dealing with nothing
and they've got to build from the bottom up. It's possible.
It's possible, right.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah, one hundred percent. Look, I think anything attached to
the business of sport is possible. But it starts, you know,
with that mindset of faith and change and having a
vision and then really driving it. So whether that is
being driven by the board or whether that's being driven
by a private operator, at the end of the day,
(09:22):
you have to have the drive and the passion to
be all in two feet on the bus and make
sure that you are taking people on that journey. So
it's never lost, it's never too late. But from what
I'm hearing, you know there's some work to do and
if that work hasn't already started now, it's going to
take a bit of time to get things back on track.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
And before we let you go, justin Nelson, now it's
a pleasure. Thanks for joining us. See that New Zellan
and sorry, Australian Naple have now gone are free to hear.
So this broadcasting rights has been an issue for Nipple
in news Land. They haven't got any money, no one's
paying for it's gone free to wear. This has to
be moved or is free to air like the Australian Nipples.
Is that actually really valiable and an important arrow in
(10:05):
your quiver?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Well, broadcast money isn't free money. I mean that's the
first thing nobody should ever put themselves in a position
running any sport where there's a reliance on broadcast money.
You have to work for it. You have to go
out there and build a great product. You've got to
be prepared to move. You've got to be prepared to change.
You've got to be prepared to buy into what the
broadcast is looking for to run their own product and
(10:26):
make sure it's a profitable product. You have to be
adaptable so you never have the view that money is
owed to you. You need to go out and you
need to work damn hard for it and put on
a great product so people are tuning in and watching,
because if we don't have fans, we don't have sport.
If we don't have viewers, we don't have broadcast properties,
we don't have that content going out on television. So
(10:48):
get the product right, build it the right way, have
a vision, get the right people running it, get everybody
on the bus together and on the same journey. Go
out there and capitalize on it. And if you do that,
that money will come in.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
And we're looking forward to that turn around occurring. Justin Nelson,
always a pleasure. Thanks very much for joining us here
on news Talk ZBU look after yourself, go well, go
hard and here's to WMBL are goings from strength to strength.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Always a spare room in Melbourne for you, mate, nice
to chat.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Come on Ason Spendy next, come out of Melbourne. I
know I'm going. Justin Nelson there, he's the executive of
the Women's NBL in Australia.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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