'No one' was playing men's netball when Kruze Tangira started playing, but now, 40 years later, the sport is firmly established and growing all the time.
Tangira (Te Atiawa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Tūwharetoa) started out jamming in his sister's primary school team which was also coached by his mum.
"I just got hooked from there," he said.
But as he got older, the opportunities slimmed.
Like other tāne, he was not allowed to play in a high school netball team. Luckily, when he was 16 years old, his cousin shoulder-tapped him to play in a Māori tournament in Rotorua where he was then picked up to play for Auckland at a national event.
And in 2009, he proudly wore the fern for the first time.
"I have been playing for most of my life, there's probably only six years that I haven't played, but for 26 years I've been playing men's netball."
The 32-year-old utility player has spent time at both ends of the court but spends most of the 40-minute game wearing a centre bib.
No easy road to the 40-year mark
In 1984, the first New Zealand men's and mixed national event occurred.
"It took a lot of support and encouragement to set up a national tournament back in those days, because no one in the '80s was playing [men's] netball.
"When I found out about it six years ago that 1984 [was] when it started, it's incredible, obviously because there was a community that came before me and laid the foundations for me to play."
Photo: File
Tangira, a long-time captain of the national side, said the lack of exposure in the past was an issue, but never a brick wall.
"I didn't know of any males playing and up until the age of 10, I thought it was only a game for girls, but that didn't stop me.
"I'm going to play because I'm keen, I love the sport, and I'm pretty good at it."
But he said there was a lot of stigma to brush away, normalising male players in a predominantly female-dominated sport.
"To see these men overcome the struggles and follow what they really wanted to do is inspiring. And that inspiration definitely drives us today."
Making it to an equal playing field
For decades, the New Zealand men's and mixed teams have been quietly achieving, domestically and internationally, but it was not widely advertised.
While you can watch men play on TV now - either the trans-Tasman clash against the Australian Kelpies, against the Silver Ferns, or the adaptive Fast-5 version of the game - they were only televised for the first time in 2019.
Silver Fern Shannon Saunders against Aotearoa Men Photo: Photosport
"The door was opened ever so slightly for us, and we've sort of just pushed that door a little bit wider so more people can have that opportunity. It's a goal that has been realised," Tangira said.
He admits that playing women rather than men is "a bit more tactical".
"They're really smart and concise on how they play the game, how they view the game, and with the strategies they use out on court."
"But when it comes to playing men there's a lot more freedom. We just play what's in front of us and make the best of what situation's in front of us."
A new era
It is not only the national men's and women's teams on SkySport, but the two elite men's teams play in a televised competition coinciding with the ANZ championships.
Te Taonga Manu Taki three-match series is between the Auckland Stars and the Mystic Men, players vying for the Kruze Tangira MVP award presented at the end of the final match.
The series has just concluded its third year and some of those players have been snapped to represent the country in 7-a-side and in the FAST5 Netball World Series.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Last October, the NZ Mens Netball team found their name, the 'Net Blacks.'
Tangira said this year's team is special, and brings new energy, lightness and a different focus.
"Culturally, we bring a lot of tikanga Māori, te ao Māori into our team, and it's something we try practice everyday we're at training."
He said at least half of the team can kōrero Māori which is their used to their advantage.
"Having that superpower of being Māori, understanding the language and using it out on court is something we don't take for granted and it's something that definitely separates us from the rest."
Within the last five years, Tangira has noticed a steep rise in youngsters playing, some fortunate enough to play in the New Zealand under-23 team in the upcoming Trans-Tasman series in October.
"For me to see these young boys play is a good sign that the heartache and struggles that I went through were worth it, because these boys get to have an opportunity right throughout their schooling years and do something they love."
Trans-Tasman Series (Free to view on Sky Open, live on Sky Sport)
- 20 October, 5.30pm NZT, TSB Bank Arena, Wellington
- 23 October, 5.30pm NZT, Spark Arena, Auckland
- 26 October, 9.30pm NZT, AIS Netball Centre, Canberra, Australia
- 30 October, 6.30pm NZT, John Cain Arena, Melbourne, Australia
- FAST5 Netball World Series 9 - 10 November, Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch
