The first round of the ANZ Premiership took place this weekend in New Zealand and four out of the six teams took to court.
Many of the international stars weren’t in action this weekend due to COVID-19, which meant lots of young and promising talent took to court. Let’s have a look at how they impacted the matches…
Magic vs Mystics
It was Magic that had a winning start to the season on Sunday as they beat the defending champions Mystics 46-43. Both teams were missing many of their big-name players, due to the on-going additional pressures of COVID-19. However, Bailey Mes, at goal attack, and Claire Kersten, at centre, both stood up to the test as they made their first starts for Magic after transferring in the off-season and helped their side end their 14-match losing streak.
Steel vs Tactix
It was a strong start to the season for Steel, who beat Tactix 71-54 and managed to get all their players out on court during the clash. As expected, international stars Shannon Saunders (New Zealand) and George Fisher (England) made a great start to the campaign for Steel, with Fisher starting where she left off scoring 47 of her 50 shots before being subbed off to allow some less experienced players some time on court.
Well done to all involved in getting the season underway!
Round two will start on the 19th March, and you can view all the fixtures here.
International fans can watch all the matches live on Netball New Zealand’s website, here.
To remind yourselves of which international players to look out for, click here.
To find out more about the other elite domestic leagues going on around the world, visit our domestic leagues page here.
