Jenny Woods reviews Covid-hit ANZ Premiership season

The ANZ Premiership grand final will go ahead next Sunday – but without fans in attendance.Netball New Zealand has confirmed the Central Pulse and Mainland Tactix will meet in the final in Invercargill, but the consolation matches will not be held, with the third-place playoff between the Northern Mystics and Northern Stars, and the fifth-place playoff between the Southern Steel and Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic both cancelled.Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie said the decision to continue with the grand final was determined by the Government's announcement on Friday with the country's alert levels remaining the same, with Auckland currently at Level 3 and the rest of the country at Level 2."Our team has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to give us the opportunity to play the grand final in an environment that safely meets the guidelines from the Ministry," she said."We're pleased that we are still able to showcase the pinnacle match of the ANZ Premiership during a season that has tossed up so many challenges for players, management, fans and officials."Netball NZ are hopeful that the Steel can play a curtain-raiser ahead of the grand final, but with no local fans allowed to attend, the planned bumper finals series may instead be set for an eerie conclusion.Wyllie says they will continue to monitor the guidance from the Ministry of Health and Government to ensure the match remains safe to go ahead."We feel confident in moving forward with the grand final but will be closely following the advice from officials," she said.The grand final is set to begin at 6.45pm next Sunday.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.