Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua is calling on netball officials to get tougher on dangerous play, believing the sport isn't doing enough to protect the players from potential brain injuries.
Her fears have support from a leading brain specialist.
For a so-called 'non-contact sport', netball is becoming more and more physical, and Dame Noeline wants officials to get tough on those who get it wrong.
"Anything head high should be an automatically penalised," she told Newshub,even suggesting the introduction of a sin bin.
Taurua says netball must take the threat of concussion more seriously.
"I feel we need to start working into that space, especially around other sports doing a lot of work around concussions," she said.
Mystics shooter Grace Nweke knows firsthand just how rough and tough it can be at the highest level.
"Yeah, I've definitely had a few scares," she said. "It's a really physical game, you know, competing for ball.
"Whether it's intentional or not, it can be quite dangerous, as people are taking peoples legs out and what not, so I think there should definitely be protocols put in place to protect players."
New Zealand's ANZ Premiership already has strict rules in place. Potential incidents in matches are carefully reviewed and players must undergo a return-to-play procedure, if concussed, but a leading Australian researcher says potential brain injuries can be hard to spot.
"It's that movement of the brain tissue, even just from a forearm, that can induce a concussion injury," Dr Allen Pearce told Newshub.
He warns contact with the head isn't the only cause of concussion, but the neck as well, so netball players may not realise they're actually concussed.
That's why Taurua is adamant about what needs to happen.
"I think those discussions need to be made and we need to be courageous in actioning them," she said, so netball can protect all its athletes - non-contact sport or not.
