First ANZ Premiership Title

In 2025, the Tactix made history.

For the first time, the team was crowned ANZ Premiership champion – a landmark moment for the players, coaches, wider organisation and the generations of people who had helped build the Tactix and Flames legacy. Papiermache was proud to be part of the team supporting the Tactix through that historic campaign, working across strategy, creative, social media, content, digital advertising, game-day delivery and commercial partner support. It was a title won on court, but built over many seasons – through hard work, belief, loyal supporters and a growing brand that people wanted to get behind.

A season built on belief

Heading into the final stages of the season, the ambition was clear. We wanted to see the Tactix play the way we knew they could, fight hard and ensure that whoever won had truly earned it. More than anything, we wanted to see a compelling showcase of New Zealand netball. That is exactly what the season delivered.

The Tactix produced enthralling contests, and the thousands of supporters in the stands responded. Fans rode every wave of emotion alongside the players, creating an atmosphere that lifted the team and made each home game feel significant. The red and black supporter base had become fiercely loyal. Over the course of the season, the home venue of Wolfbrook Arena developed into a true house of pain – a place where the Tactix were almost impossible to beat. Those crowds did not simply watch the journey. They helped push the team along it.

Taking the momentum to the big dance

After a season of hard-fought performances, attention turned to the big dance: the ANZ Premiership Grand Final at Trusts Arena in Auckland. It was the culmination of years of work and a season shaped by resilience, commitment and the backing of an entire community. When the final whistle sounded, the Tactix had achieved what the organisation, players and supporters had dreamed of for so long. In the team’s own words:

We’ve dreamed of this moment, worked for it, fought for it – and tonight, we made history.

The win was a fitting conclusion to an epic contest and reflected the respect between two leading teams pushed to perform at their very best. But it was also about far more than the players on court. The championship belonged to the current team, but it also honoured the people who had laid the foundations and helped establish elite netball in Canterbury.

Building the team beyond the court

Papiermache’s journey with the Tactix followed a similar path. Across six seasons, our role was to help professionalise and strengthen the brand, build the team’s visibility and give more people a reason to follow, attend and support it. That work reached far beyond promoting individual fixtures. It included developing campaign strategy, strengthening the creative direction, managing social media, capturing photography and videography, supporting commercial partners and bringing every home game to life.

Across each season, the aim was to build familiarity and connection around the team. Supporters did not only see scores and match announcements. They saw the personalities, preparation, emotion and work happening behind the scenes. Over time, that helped make the Tactix feel like more than a team people watched. It became a team people felt part of.

Creating a brand people wanted to back

Winning creates attention, but lasting support is built across the entire journey. Papiermache worked alongside the Tactix to create a more consistent, professional and recognisable brand across every supporter touchpoint. Campaign creative built anticipation. Social media brought fans closer. Photography and videography captured the intensity and emotion of elite netball. Game-day content ensured the story reached people both inside and outside the venue. Commercial partner activity was also woven into the wider season, helping sponsors become part of the team’s story rather than sitting outside it. All of these elements contributed to building an audience that was informed, emotionally invested and ready to show up.

A title shared with the supporters

The atmosphere around the 2025 team demonstrated the role supporters can play in elite sport. They turned up throughout the season, responded to the contests and backed the players through every shift in momentum. The team acknowledged that support after the final:

To our fans, our whānau, partners, and everyone who’s backed us through the highs and lows – this is your win too.

That sense of shared ownership is one of the most powerful things a sporting brand can create. A championship may be won by the players on court, but its significance extends through the whole community surrounding them.

A proud moment for Canterbury netball

The title was a landmark achievement for Canterbury. The Tactix represent elite women’s sport in the region, giving young players visible role models and local supporters a team they can genuinely belong to. The championship placed the team, Canterbury netball and its passionate red and black fan base firmly in the spotlight. It also showed what can happen when performance, brand, audience and community build together over time.

For Papiermache, supporting a local team through such a significant achievement was an incredibly proud moment.

Building on the legacy

The 2025 title was historic, but it was never intended to be the end of the story. In 2026, our focus was on helping the Tactix build on the legacy created by that championship – continuing to strengthen the brand, engage its growing supporter base and create momentum around every home game.

That momentum was clearly reflected in the stands. Across five round-robin home games in 2026, the Tactix welcomed 13,604 supporters, recording the highest home attendance in the ANZ Premiership, including a season-high crowd of 4,917. Full stands create momentum well beyond game day. They strengthen the relationship between the team and its supporters, lift the experience for players, create greater value for commercial partners and help move women’s sport further into the spotlight.

More than a moment

The Tactix’s first ANZ Premiership championship will always be a defining moment in the team’s history. But its significance lies in everything that led to it – and everything it made possible afterwards. It was built by those who came before, by the players and people who drove the 2025 campaign, and by the thousands of supporters who backed the team along the way.

Papiermache was proud to be part of that team. Across six seasons, we had worked to strengthen the brand, grow the audience and help create a team and story people wanted to support. To see that journey culminate in the Tactix being crowned ANZ Premiership champions for the first time was incredibly special – and a legacy we were equally proud to help build on in the season that followed.