‘Home is where the heart is’ for Kiwi superstar as big Super Netball call looms

NSW Swifts assistant coach Dylan Nexhip has opened up superstar recruit Grace Nweke’s impressive form while admitting the club still don’t know how long the Kiwi superstar will stay down under.

Nweke was the big-name recruit signed to the Swifts for 2025 on a one-year deal – but the star shooter has already indicated she’d love to stay longer if permitted.

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Under current rules, Nweke is ineligible to represent the Silver Ferns while playing outside of New Zealand’s domestic competition because she doesn’t meet the 100-Test cap threshold.

And with a Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup looming in the next two years, Nweke is going to have to make a call on her Swifts future unless Netball New Zealand’s rules are amended.

“For Grace, she comes from a big family that’s five siblings,” Nexhip said on Fox Sports.

“For her to move from Auckland to Sydney … Lots of the challenges have been about what’s off the court in terms of moving and going somewhere new, leaving family and friends and what she’s comfortable with – but that’s part of why she wanted to come.

“She wanted to grow as a person, not just a netballer.

“You can see how her netball is going – she’s absolutely thriving on court. She loves the challenge of different opponents week in, week out.

“(But) home is where the heart is – she’s really keen to get back on the court for the Silver Ferns at some stage – when that happens, we don’t know.

“The 2027 World Cup is something she’s talked about – it’s an event for her she really wants to be focused on.

“We’ll see her back in a Silver Ferns dress at some stage.”

Nweke has taken Super Netball by storm, sitting as the competition’s leading goal scorer at the halfway point with 363 goals – at 93% accuracy.

Speaking on Fox Netball earlier this year, Nweke said she wanted to play multiple years at the Swifts if it was something Netball New Zealand could agree to.

“I have no idea what anything from August onwards looks like for me – whether I move back to Auckland, whether I go back to uni and finish my degree, whether I travel. Whether I’m back in New Zealand with the Ferns and at that point I don’t know who I would have signed with for the following season,” she revealed in April.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty. You want to give it a really good shot (at the Swifts) and be here for two seasons, maybe three and who knows.

“I don’t just want to just be here for one year, do an in-and-out kind of thing. (But) it’s really out of my control.

“I’d love to be able to play in the Super Netball league and be able to play for New Zealand.

“Any situation that allows me to do both, I’d be stoked with.”

Nexhip, who like Nweke is in his first season at the Swifts, has been a key contributor to their unbeaten start to 2025 as the NSW outfit sit premiership favourites at the halfway mark of the season.

His role as assistant has been so impressive, the Kelpies captain’s name has already been thrown into the mix for the soon-to-be vacant Melbourne Vixens head coaching role.

But that was something Nexhip was quick to shut down.

“Yeah I thought ‘How the hell is my name being added in the mix?’,” he laughed when asked about his interest in the role.

“It’s very flattering to be thrown into the mix, but right now my priority is with the Swifts.

“That’s where my focus is and that’s where it will be staying.”
But Nexhip said a head coaching role remained a goal “one day”.

“Now that I’ve stepped into this environment and gotten a taste of it, I absolutely want to be a head coach one day,” he said.

“It’s about learning my craft and developing over time. Every week I’m learning new things and developing as a coach and as a person.

“I’ve only been in SSN for seven games – I’ve got a lot time to go. I’m still quite young in terms of my coaching career at an elite level.

“When the right opportunity comes at the right time, I’m sure I’ll open those conversations when it happens.”