Round 9 of the 2026 ANZ Premiership marks the beginning of the race for Grand Final hosting rights, with the GoSweetSpot Mystics, VIP Frames & Trusses Tactix and Ascot Park Hotel Steel all having secured their places in the 2026 Finals Series.
With their season’s fate already determined, Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse have played the spoilers role to perfection with an upset win over the VIP Frames & Trusses Tactix.
Round 8 of the 2026 ANZ Premiership sees the race for finals positions intensify, with just three rounds remaining in the regular season.
In an ever-willing contest, VIP Frames & Trusses Tactix continued their strong momentum while also putting a dent in the Stars Netball Finals Series prospects after posting a well-earned 52-47 win in Auckland on Saturday.
Based in Christchurch and representing the Canterbury region, the Tactix were formed in 2008 after playing in the Coca-Cola/National Bank Cup national leagues as the Canterbury Flames.
The Tactix were one of the founding teams at the start of the semi-professional era for netball which heralded the introduction of the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship in 2008. When that competition ended in 2016, they became one of the six teams to form the standalone elite New Zealand domestic league, the ANZ Premiership.
The Tactix struggled throughout the ANZ Championship but during the ANZ Premiership era have emerged as real challengers, going on to finish runners-up in the 2020 and 2021 Grand Finals.
Helen Mahon-Stroud was appointed the Tactix first head coach in 2008 while Julie Seymour was the team’s first captain.
The Tactix playing strip is in the traditional Canterbury colours of red and black. The team’s main home venues are Christchurch Arena, MainPower Stadium Rangiora and Cowles Stadium, Christchurch.
