There’s something about the organised chaos around club netball courts that reminds Dame Noeline Taurua why she fell in love with the game.
The world’s biggest netball arenas may be where she forged her reputation as a New Zealand netball great, but Noeline is finding joy and fulfilment back at home.
After the most tumultuous year in her career, she has returned to grassroots coaching in the Bay of Plenty, where her dream to become the Silver Ferns coach began.
“It’s so rewarding being back in clubland, back in our netball community. It’s so uplifting,” says Noeline, who will guide the Tauranga side at the national championships later this year.
Sharing her passion with he daughter
A mum of five, she has also been assisting her youngest child Amiria’s netball team. For years, Amiria didn’t ask her mum for help, but in her final year at school, that has changed.
“We’ve come a long way,” laughs Noeline, 58.
“We can talk about netball now and I can show her things.”
Noeline’s also thrilled two of her mokopuna are playing netball in Taupō, the town where she first pulled on a pleated netball skirt five decades ago. Her mum Polly was a netballer too.
“The kids love it,” says Noeline.
“I get sent videos of them playing on Saturday mornings with the little goalposts. It’s really neat.”
But she still has a job to do in Glasgow.
Back like she never left
A tumultuous period has now settled following Noeline’s high-profile stand-down as coach in September 2025, before her reinstatement towards the end of the year.
Now she’s back at the helm for this month’s Commonwealth Games.
“I’ve got to keep calming myself down – I can’t wait to work with this team again,” she admits.
Under Noeline’s leadership, the Silver Ferns won bronze at the 2022 Games in Birmingham. And who can forget how she rallied the “fossils” to win the Netball World Cup in 2019?
“Our goal is to be on the podium in Glasgow, but gold is something we shouldn’t shy away from as Silver Ferns because we know we’re capable of winning,” she says.
“We’ve only won the Commonwealth Games gold medal twice – it’s been a really hard task. But we shouldn’t lower our goals.”
A coach to all
As much as she relishes standing on netball’s biggest stages, Noeline – of Ngāti Whātua and Ngāpuhi descent – is equally at home coaching local netball.
“The way I work doesn’t change, whether it’s with secondary school kids or the Silver Ferns,” she says.
“I like a bit of humour, having fun out there and looking after each other. But I also love a good, hard training.”
On the sidelines at the Tauranga Netball Centre, Noeline has come full circle. It’s here she first guided a Te Puke club side at the end of her playing career as a Silver Fern, then coached the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic for 11 seasons.
“It’s so rewarding to see the next generation of netballers coming through – there’s so much potential here,” she enthuses.
The heart of the game
On Thursdays, premier teams across the Bay of Plenty gather in Tauranga to play. Among them are Silver Ferns defender Erena Mikaere, playing alongside her teenage daughter Bileigh. Erena first played under Noeline in the Magic side that won the 2012 ANZ Championship and has made herself available for the Tauranga team.
“It’s great to see Erena sharing her experience and giving back to her community,” Noeline says.
Helping with daughter Amiria’s team for the past two seasons has been a special moment.
“I’m not an intrusive parent,” Noeline says.
“I’ll wait until I’m asked for advice. I’m very mindful of the extra pressure that’s somehow put on her when I’m around. I’m not there as the coach of the Silver Ferns – I’m there for her as Mum.”
The support of her whanau
Noeline is grateful for the support of her tight-knit whānau: her husband and “rock” Ed Goldsmith, and their children Aania, Pai, Matauri, Niwa and Amiria. Especially during the dark days of her two-month stand-down, when she walked along Pukehina Beach daily, uncertain of her future.
What lies ahead for Noeline hasn’t been mapped out beyond the next few months – her contract as Silver Ferns coach ends after Glasgow.
“Right now, my sights are set on the Commonwealth Games,” she says.
“I’m the type of person who’ll achieve a goal, then know where I need to be for the next chapter.”
For now, her focus is on the job in front of her.
“There’s a level of professionalism I expect from myself in that job, which means bringing good energy for the team,” she explains.
“Because it’s not about me – it’s about the legacy, the team and representing our country. And if I can’t deliver that, then I shouldn’t be there.”
