Round Four of the ANZ Premiership in New Zealand too place this weekend, but only two league games went ahead due to the COVID-19 Match Policy meaning many games were postponed.
The postponement meant that the invitational match between Northern Mystics Men and Northern Stars Men was played live on Sky Sports New Zealand and on NetballPass for international fans to watch.
The men’s match was a fantastic showcase for the sport with the Mystic’s Men winning 54-45, and a standout international player in this match was Kruze Tangira, captain of both Mystics Men and the New Zealand Men, who dominated in defence.
Now let’s look at the two domestic league matches that did take place…
Mystics 67 – 59 Steel
It was Mystics that came out on top not only in this fixture, but also in the league with the 67-59 win keeping them in the top spot. It was a decisive second quarter that helped secure the win for Mystics, as they extended their lead from 16-15 at the first break to 35-27 by half-time. Once again, all eyes were on New Zealand Silver Fern and Mystics shooter Grace Nweke who scored 30 from 30 in the opening 30 minutes. At the other end of the court, England Rose and Steel shooter, George Fisher, was just as accurate shooting at 94% and missing only 3 shots in the entire game, but her opportunities to shoot were few and far between as Mystics dominated. It is no wonder Nweke, and Fisher are the top two in the goals scored chart this season!
Magic 50 – 51 Pulse
It was a nail biter of a match between Magic and Pulse this weekend, and by the end of the final 15 minutes it was only one goal that could separate the two sides. In the final seconds it was Pulse’s Aliyah Dunn who stood up to the test calmly scoring the winner for her side. It was the third quarter that helped edge the win for pulse, with top performances at both ends of the court as they scored five in a row and in the defensive end Kelly Jury (Silver Fern), was once again very influential. Jury made four intercepts in the match, which all proved to be very important in such a close clash, and she now sits top of the leagues intercept chart as Pulse carry on their strong start to the season.
Round Five of the ANZ Premiership begins on the 9th April with all teams set to take to court subject to covid-19 procedure.
You can view the schedule and recent results here.
International fans can watch all the matches live on NetballPass, 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.
