Holly Mather figures if she wants to see her dad sporting the supporters’ colours of the team she’s playing for, she’s going to have to fulfil her dream of becoming a Silver Fern.
And there are plenty who feel that’s well within reach of the Mainland Tactix midcourter.
Hailing from the coastal town of Opua in the Bay of Islands, Mather has made her mark at centre since heading south to join the Tactix in 2025.
It was a massive move for the 25-year-old who was given her shot in netball’s ANZ Premiership under the watchful eye of new coach Donna Wilkins last year.
She has backed up her rookie Premiership season with another stand-out year for the Tactix and now her team – who few picked to feature in this year’s playoffs – are on the cusp of another Finals Series appearance.
Win in Invercargill this weekend against the Southern Steel and the defending champions will at least host the ANZ Premiership’s Elimination Final. If other results go their way, victory in the Deep South could be enough to secure hosting rights for a Grand Final.
It’s also another opportunity for Mather to showcase her wares with Silver Ferns selection still on the radar for many of the country’s elite – next month’s Commonwealth Games’ team to be announced on 17 June.
There has been some chat about Mather’s performances this season and whether it has been enough to catch the eye of Ferns’ coach Dame Noeline Taurua.
“Obviously I would love to be in the mix,” she says. “But for me, I just want to grow whenever I get out there and put my hand up for it. I don’t like to overthink it too much because it takes my focus away from what I’m trying to do on court.
“Hopefully the selectors have been watching, and I’ve done enough to make them have another look. I’d love to represent New Zealand and that’s my goal – whether that’s now or in the future.”
Silver Ferns’ selection could also be enough to see Mather’s dad, Brian, don the supporters’ colours – something he’s been hesitant to do since his daughter’s shift south.
“He’s my biggest supporter but he’s not really a Canterbury guy, so when I signed for the Tactix he was quick to say, ‘you won’t see me in red-and-black’,” she says with a laugh.
The proud Waikato man and Northlander was however the person who got the netball ball rolling for both Mather and her older sister, Lisa.
Brian Mather was the parent who put up his hand to coach the girls’ primary school team, and it was the Mather car which was loaded up with players to get to their weekend games.
“Where we lived, some people couldn’t get their kids to games, so we’d pick up who knows how many – our car was always full and we’d always stop for food on the way home,” Holly Mather says.
“I loved netball back then and without our parents, me and my sister wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Sister, Lisa, 26, is now living north of Brisbane and still playing netball across the ditch, but in 2024 the duo – who had last played alongside each other at Kerikeri High School – got the chance to play together again, this time for the Stars when Holly Mather was called in as injury cover in the ANZ Premiership.
It was this moment that gave the younger Mather sister the opening she needed to pursue the game at a higher level. It was an opportunity she wondered would ever come her way.
Earlier, as a 17-year-old fresh out of school, Mather had moved to Auckland where she juggled the demands of fulltime work in early childhood education alongside her netball aspirations.
Throw in the unprecedented Covid years and even the hardy Northlander was left questioning whether the hard yards were worth it.
“It was a tough time,” she admits.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t enjoying my netball, it was more in that NNL (National Netball League) space you were picked one week and not the next. It was just that mental game of wondering if I’m going to crack it.”
She didn’t put the ball down but rather switched allegiances, moving across town from the Northern Marvels to the Stars and Comets.
Well versed in making big decisions, her move made sense in so many ways with her older sister already at the Stars, a new job out south coinciding with her shift and the chance to play alongside some good mates.
When injury impacted the Stars’ midcourt during the 2024 season, the younger Mather sister was given the nod and for the first time since high school she got to play alongside her sibling.
“That was a very cool moment for our family, for sure. We’d always been very competitive growing up but getting that opportunity to play at this level with Lisa was something special.”
It was also something of a relief for Mather who had lifted her game off court in terms of training and fitness with the reward being her first minutes in the ANZ Premiership.
With that taste she wanted more, and the next opportunity came out of the blue.
Mather received a call from the Mainland Tactix and, after talking to her parents, knew this was the chance she’d been craving, and she prepared for her biggest move yet.
“I’m such a home girl so when I moved to Auckland, I thought that was really far away,” she says with a laugh. “I never thought I’d live in the South Island in my life, but here I am and I’m loving every moment in Christchurch.”
Heading south there were some rather large shoes waiting for her to fill with the departure of Silver Fern Kimiora Poi who had moved on to the Southern Steel.
But for Mather it wasn’t about finding the right fit for her feet – all she wanted to do was show what she could bring to the position.
“Obviously they’re pretty big shoes to fill because Kimi is an amazing player but we’re also very different and I wanted to play like me, play my own game.”
Learning from coaches Donna Wilkins and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit was also a major drawcard alongside the wealth of experienced players surrounding her including captain Erikana Pedersen.
At that time, head coach Wilkins knew little about their latest signing except for an endorsement from her captain with Pedersen and Mather having played some club netball together.
“With Kimi (Poi) going we didn’t want to have to start the combinations from scratch and Erikana was like ‘Donna, I think she’d be good’ and that’s how it took off,” Wilkins says.
Mather was just ready to get on with the job, surrounded by plenty of netball nous, and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
“I knew the amount of knowledge was going to be huge with the players that were already at the Tactix and that was really exciting for me – a little nerve-wracking but it’s not a call that you turn down.”
Not only did Mather slot seamlessly into the Tactix midcourt but she did enough to warrant a starting spot throughout the league and recorded the ninth highest minutes in the ANZ Premiership in 2025 – her first season on a full contract.
“I loved every minute of it,” she says of her first campaign in the red-and-black. “I’m such a sore loser but to get to the Grand Final and win it was amazing. It was just cool to see those players who had been waiting for that first title. I may have been new to the side, but I could see how much it meant to the team and to the region.”
Returning for another season under Wilkins was an easy decision to make and the challenges were always going to be different with a vastly changed line-up for 2026.
The goals for the midcourter are the same, however, as she aims to showcase her skills and do what she can for her team.
“Last year I was surrounded by a lot of experienced players which was amazing, and we’ve got some experienced heads there this year but together we are very new. But I feel like my confidence in how I’m playing is more me – letting the ball go a bit more, getting touches and stuff on defence. I’ve definitely wanted this year to focus on how I know I can play when I’m in the right head space.”
Mather admits there’s still plenty to learn and she’s grateful to still have Pedersen at the helm as well as new Tactix recruit Fa’amu Muliaga who plays wing defence.
“They’re both big talkers and I just love people who talk to me when we’re on court – it’s how I can learn from the best.”
Mather has consistently gone about her job this year and in the absence of the team’s most experienced midcourter – Pedersen has been sidelined through injury for six weeks – she has stepped up again.
“It’s been huge for Holly to have to step up in that role without Erikana. On the whole she’s been really good and she plays her best netball when she picks up ball defensively and she’s been doing that for us of late which is fantastic,” Wilkins says.
“I think the way that she’s been delivering when she has her top performances – getting ball, letting ball go on attack, using her fake and just whipping it straight through. Collectively as a group, we’ve all performed at different moments and deserve to be in some discussions for Silver Ferns.
“Holly’s still so young and if she wants to be there (Silver Ferns), I think she could, I absolutely think she could.”
