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ANZ Premiership: Central Pulse too good to pull off the way with a 27-goal win (38-65) after a close first 15 mins v Southern Steel

by Sports Benches

As we all know, the Southern Steel had a great start with by going through the basics – which reflected the team’s great start. However, it was the same old, same old unfortunately if you look at the state of this side where the Steel were way off the pace for the majority including against the ladder leaders (once again) in the Central Pulse tonight. Pulse were leading big time going into the half-time break by eight goals 17-25 before they doubled then tripled their lead throughout the 2nd half unchallenged with the win by an easy 27 goal contest v Steel at ITL Stadium in Southland, Invercargill 38-65. Three regular rounds to go before Finals time with Steel v Mystics in Auckland this Sunday & Pulse back next Monday v Magic (away again).

The spotlight player of the night starts with none of than Aussie raised but Kiwi-born Martina Salmon at the front of the Pulse attack as goal shooter. She’s blessed with the Southern Steel’s toothless attack & her side’s solid defensive efforts at the other end, having successfully shot 85% of the goals right in front of the net. As said, sure she’s well travelled along with a towering build who spent some time training at other teams in the past such as Sunshine Coast Lightning & the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. But again, she’s got unfinished business when she was thrown into the deep end at ANZ Premiership back in Round 6 for the Pulse rather than having to play in NZ’s second-tier netball comp. But she made such an instant impact as sure she’ll keep on learning on before she can fulfil her full potential someday what has been a great few games so far at this top level.

Then you got another Pulse towering player this time at the back and she too is experienced at both Domestic & International in her prime is Kelly Jackson (nee Jury) as the main goalkeeper. Every time you struggle to put the pieces together, Kelly steps in to steal the ball away from anyone’s opposition fingertips with her long arms that gave plenty of time for her team to get the job done – which was mission accomplished under her watch very easily v the vulnerable Steel. Not only that she’s provided excellent leadership and communication in the Pulse back three on what has been another great season for her off the back of a busy 2023 including the World Cup on-court as well as her marriage to husband Cameron Jackson off-court.

And Kate Heffernan was one of the Steel’s beneficiaries on what has been yet another underwhelming match as a whole team in the middle. She’s got excellent all-round mobility likewise with her twin sister Georgia in the same team at Goal Assist as being tested both defensively to protect her back three and also in attack where she can get away quick smart to try and get things done at the other end. Kate ended up with 19 goal assists along with 36 feeds and a few general play turnovers that reflected the Steel’s good first 15 minutes of the night with credit to their great defensive basics. Yes, things could’ve been a lot better if the Steel managed to build on their good start by cutting these handling errors with her being the team’s main goal supplier towards the circle so they would be neck in neck v Steel instead of being so far behind from here. All she wants to do is end this season on a high since Top 3 isn’t possible that would hopefully benefit her personally for the Silver Ferns.

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ANZ Premiership: Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic sensational to put themselves inside the Top 3 bubble after their 42-54 win over the Northern Mystics with four rounds to go

by Sports Benches

Another great game of Monday Night Netball to finish off Round 11 of the 2024 ANZ Premiership at The Trusts Arena in Auckland with another Northern Mystics-Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic contest. The first quarter was close enough by the two sides but it was the Magic who has been in cruise control for the majority before they got themselves out of here with a big win as well as the move to 3rd now on the ladder with four rounds to go. Magic led the Mystics by 12 points (18-30) going into half-time and nothing much has happened where Magic kept on scoring before they won also by 12 points (42-54).

Hard to see Mystics fall way out of reach despite a good start including winning the 4th quarter alone when Magic needed to slow things down but their poor passage of play, ill-discipline and using players in and out of the bench ultimately cost them the game as they now sit just outside the Top 3 in 4th. Magic will be up next against another Auckland side in the Northern Stars this Saturday afternoon at home while Mystics will travel to Christchurch on Sunday v the No.1 Mainland Tactix team.

Georgia Takarangi is the Magic defensive engine who can turn things around in an instant at goal defense every time the Mystics struggled to find some ground through to their own shooters. She never stopped grasping this time & time again so Georgia give her mid-courters the chance to get things done at the other end & voila! her side has been exceptional from start to finish including a comfortable lead and win up front. Credit to her natural physical game where she was able to slide her way from out of nowhere & also up high through the poor Mystics passage of play on what has been a magical win tonight that moves them up to 3rd now on the ladder & hopefully play Finals this year with four regular weeks to go.

Then the well-traveled Claire O’Brien also had a terrific performance on her 50th national game at wing attack for the Magic. She is someone who benefited from her side’s brilliant back three defense and Ariana Cable-Dixon in the mid-court, having been an excellent feeder with the ball on hand to her front two shooters where goals were made there towards the inside circle. She’s happy to be here in Waikato after playing for so many clubs over the years but sure she will use the experience and setbacks to push her side towards a brilliant end to the 2024 season with a possible Finals run now possible.

And Filda Vui did the best she can to keep the Mystics ticking at goal assist. She has a brilliant eye both from a shooting and natural game standpoint even though she might not be the tallest up front, but is always an excellent team player where she knows what’s best to get the Mystics over the shooting net. But it’s unfortunate that the Mystics poor passage of play, plenty of ill-discipline and endless chopping and changing from the bench wasn’t her team’s night – not even the injury cloud hasn’t helped them that much despite seeing Grace Nweke back on-court as they now sit just outside the Top 3 Finals bubble in 4th.

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Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic def. Southern Steel to set up next Monday’s fight for 3rd in the ANZ Premiership v Northern Mystics

by Sports Benches

It was a fairly quiet game but close though tonight to finish off Week 10 of 15 between the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic v Southern Steel in the 2024 ANZ Premiership Netball season after two close games over the weekend. We saw the Mystics over the Stars in an all-Northern Auckland derby two days ago 51-49 and then the best of the best clash ended right through the wire yesterday with Mainland Tactix (1st) showing the Central Pulse (2nd) whose boss in the end at extra time 58-53.

Steel actually got away with a great start where they won first two quarters. Gotta say it was a big team effort to get things going rather than the attackers converting them into goals though despite staying ahead of the Magic a bit every time the Steel were able to add goals inside the net. Meanwhile, the Magic might have fired off poorly that gave the Steel the benefit of the doubt. Despite this, the Magic were never too far back to see them add up while they added goal after goal of their own top going into the break, 20-22. The nature pacing of this game might not have changed that much where there lots of scrambling defenses from both teams but at least there was a new leader with the Magic while the Steel couldn’t continue to capitalise and own up to their poor shooting conversions up front. The Magic got away by three points head of Steel after the 3rd quarter off the back of some subs and tactical tweaks before they were able to hang into top spot by seven points as the Steel’s poor front two display including its poor tactical decisions has 100% gifted the Magic another win, 48-41.

Ameliaranne Ekenasio is so crucial to the glue of this Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic side as goal attack. Yes, their first half might have been slow and steady but she was always the team’s go-to attack in the front two, who rubs around opposition defenders off the back of the Steel’s poor executions at the other end, particularly when the Magic managed to turn this around from a two-goal trail after half-time. That way, she knows where to find the net either for herself or her goal attacking team-mate when she’s in & around the circle. She will look to keep that recent winning form by closing into the Mystics for that Top 3 Finals circle next Monday & the Magic needs her so badly in order to make that perfect storm up front. Meanwhile, Erena Mikaere also kept a great eye on a struggling Steel front two as the team’s main goal keeper for the Magic. She’s got a physically robust Georgia Takarangi by her side while she’s got the experience and tall reach – such as the impressive read and direction to knock down a hesitant Steel shooting front two herself that led to a lot of ball going her team’s way with a decent comeback to hang in there for the win in the end. Gotta say she’s still got a lot to offer with a great sense of humour having tasted plenty of success in the past as unfinished business goes on by looking to upsurge the Mystics for 3rd next Monday.

And now the Steel attackers includign their starting front two won’t definitely get a shout after a poor attacking conversion display tonight but gotta say Renee Savai’linaea did the best she can possible to keep the Steel in check including her backline at wing defense. The way she communicated with her defenders and Kate Heffernan in the middle was so crucial to get the ball rolling right from the opening centre pass such along with excellent energy to disrupt the Magic as being tested defensively at times to feed these attacking chances at the other end. But as said, it’s just the shooters who let herself & the whole Steel team down where lots of hits and misses eventually forced the Magic’s hand unfortunately with yet another loss.

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Netball: Mainland Tactix relieved to see off the Northern Stars in the end with the one-point win as they now topped the Central Pulse on the 2024 ANZ Premiership Ladder

by Sports Benches

Gotta say that Round 7 of 15 in the 2024 ANZ Premiership Netball competition in New Zealand was full of surprises and unpredictability. We first saw the undefeated Central Pulse run being finally written off by the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic two days ago while the 6th and last place Southern Steel got their first win of 2024 yesterday afternoon v the Northern Mystics.

Now the Mainland Tactix is your new leader ahead of the Pulse after they overcame a serious and attack-minded Northern Stars side by just one point as the final score was 58-57. The first half was shared by the two teams with the Stars off to an excellent start while the Tactix didn’t stop working to keep them in check ahead of half-time 29-29 apiece. Yes, Stars won the third quarter where they had a small few points advantage in the hope of finally securing their first win of 2024. However, they just couldn’t get it over the finish line unfortunately which was a shame as the Stars were right in it for the whole time. Instead, the Tactix managed to turn things around with a little tweaks where a resilient defense, cutting down the ill-discipline and giving Ellie Bird the keys to shoot over the net more often there was the key to their winning path tonight in Christchurch.

Gotta say Ellie Bird was so happy & relived to get her Tactix team over the line v the Northern Stars by just one point after her outstanding performance tonight on 47 of 49 goal attempts at 96% just close within the net (goal shooter). Yes, her numbers around her had a really hard time getting past the Stars on occasions when the opposition also had high standards. But she’s thankful that staying ahead including the last 15 minutes saw her working a little more harder in order to get to stop the Stars from slipping past them while being able to process her finishing more often that fits the way the Tactix wanted to finish it off under her watch. The next Tactix star who did well to stop the Stars in its tracks at the back is Karin Burger on Goal Defense where she can cover everything at the back. She never backs down having read the difficult opposition attack well on her own danger zone in order can take the risk & win the ball back, which paid off in to order bring the ball over through the other end of the court. It goes to show that she’s still got plenty to offer at 31 including the leadership to help stay ahead despite some flaws with the ill-discipline here & there, particularly during the 3rd quarter before she got them home by one point.

And Mila Reuelu-Buchanan really made the Tactix confuse themselves with her all-action energy in the mid court that includes her defensive skills to turn things around & protect her back three. That way, she can give her Northern Stars Shooters the best link-up supply they can get thanks to their good start of the night off the back of her work including an amazing 3rd quarter. They were oh so close to derailing the Tactix’s winning celebration plans in the hope of finishing off another upset like the other two weekend matches but just couldn’t do so unluckily towards the end there with yet another loss after Round 7.

May is about done now as we enter the new month of June for Round 8 this weekend with the Southern Steel v Central Pulse on Saturday, then Mystics v Tactix on Sunday and the Stars will be back next Monday night where they welcome the Magic.

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2024 ANZ Premiership Netball News, Mystics too good tonight with Magic’s 2nd half turnaround not enough after their poor start

by Sports Benches

There was twists and turns to finish off Week 6 of 15 of the 2024 ANZ Premiership Netball season on a Monday night in Auckland where the Northern Mystics well clear past Bay of Plenty Magic with the win 54-44.

First two quarters saw the Mystics score as many as 16-18 while the Magic struggled to stop their opponents or the formidable attacking three in its tracks going into the break 34-16 – that’s a huge difference of 18 points between the two teams. Yes, the Magic began to rebound with back-to-back 2nd quarter leads alone thanks to a series of changes off the bench even but still fell short where their key player Ameliaranne Ekanasio unexpectedly had to sit out due to illness forced the Mystics hand who didn’t waste any time closing the game down towards the final whistle.

Hats off to Peta Toeava with her outstanding performance tonight at wing attack of 23 goal assists & 50 feeds for the Mystics who provides a great supply for her two attackers to get the job inside the circle. She might not be tall but has a an excellent read that benefited her front three alongside an exceptional level of fitness and physicality after causing the Magic so much trouble on the court. Next up is another Mystics player Tayla Earle where she too worked well together with Toeava in the middle that ensured the Mystics destructive shooting structure at the end of the day with a big win. She not only kept a great eye on the Magic defensively but also showed her versatility further up the court in attack thanks to her wonderful skillsets & communication. Gotta say that the Northern Mystics was too good with a top quality first half start even though they were aware that the Magic can crawl back later on but that didn’t bother them a lot thanks to a 10-point win. They will now be heading off to Dunedin this Sunday v Southern Steel who is sitting last right now which shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

And Saviour Tui has done so much to put the Magic on the map as the leading goal shooter after she scored the most goals tonight at 31 out of 36 attempts with a highest overall percentage of 86%. She’s so tall with a brilliant attitude who will always get the job done from close range & also as with lots more to come after she swapped for the South to Waikato in 2024. But then as said, she had to take up the heavy lifting when the Magic’s poor first half defense & a lack of link-up play including no Ameliaranne Ekenasio due to illness saw them collapse left, right and centre. Magic may be staying 4th for now on the ladder but still have a long way to go & get Top 3 that would guarantee them Finals with the Central Pulse next up on Saturday.

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