It was a double header weekend in the ANZ Premiership with four of the six teams taking to court twice within 48 hours.
The eventual winning teams in the clashes all seemed to struggle in the opening quarter, but by the final 15 minutes the international NetballPass viewers had some real exciting and close contests to enjoy.
Let’s take a look at how the teams got on…
Northern Mystics 70 – 51 Tactix
The first match of the weekend was a replay of last year’s ANZ grand final, as Northern Mystics and Mainland Tactix faced each other for the first time since and Mystics once again came out on top.
It took a while for both teams to get going, but when Mystics found their rhythm in the second quarter they went on to continue to extend their lead right up until the final whistle.
The standout international player in the match was New Zealand Silver Fern Under 21 and Northern Mystics centre, Tayla Earle, who on her 50th ANZ appearance controlled the game and made 18 feeds into the circle.
Stars 47 – 39 Magic
After a poor first quarter, Stars dominated the 2nd and 3rd quarters against Magic, making sure the visitors final quarter comeback wasn’t enough for them to take home the points.
In the all-important 3rd quarter Magic didn’t score for nine-minutes, with their shooters missing five goals between them.
On the other hand, Stars defence were on top form with goal defence Anna Harrison (Silver Fern) marking her 150th national league match with five interceptions, dominating the defensive circle with Elle Temu.
Magic 48 – 51 Tactix
Just 24-hours later both Magic and Tactix were back on court again, both hoping to bounce back from defeats.
The match could have gone either way with Magic winning the first two quarters by one, and Tactix then winning the third quarter by one.
It wasn’t until the final quarter that Tactix exerted their dominance, with Silver Fern Karin Burger leading in defence helping to ensure her team won the battle at the bottom of the premiership.
Another international player that stood out was Bailey Mes, who despite being on the eventual losing team still scored 26 of her 31 shots (83%).
Magic now still remain at the bottom of the table, having not won since Round 1 of the competition.
Stars 51 – 54 Mystics
Next up, it was Stars and Mystics turn to take to court again, this time both of the back of victories, and it was Mystics that came out on top to finish the weekend unbeaten.
The victory takes them even closer to securing a home grand final, as they currently sit in the top spot with 26 points, having only lost twice all season.
It wasn’t an easy victory against the now third place Stars though, as the home team made a final quarter comeback and were only two goals behind Mystics with two minutes to go.
However, just when it looked like Stars could be about to steal the points, Jamie Hume (Stars goal attack) failed to keep the ball in court, handing the possession back to Mystics who went on to score.
At the other end, it was Mystics and Silver Fern’s shooter Grace Nweke that impressed in her team’s victory as she scored 49 of her 55 chance (89%) keeping her top of the leagues goal scoring charts, with 448 goals to her name this season.
Steel 44 – 50 Pulse
In the final match of the weekend, the international viewers on NetballPass were able to watch two fresh teams who hadn’t yet been in action in Round 9, Steel and Pulse.
Mirroring the events in the previous matches of the round, the first quarter was poor for the eventual winners with Steel taking a 18-13 lead into the second 15-minute period.
By half-time Pulse had managed to reduce Steels lead, but the score line was still four goals to the home sides favour.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Pulse managed to take the lead, for the first time since the opening two minutes of the game, winning the final quarter 15-5 and the match 44-50.
New Zealand Silver Fern and Pulse’s Aliyah Dunn shone in the shooting circle scoring 36 of her 37 chance (97%), whilst Maddy Gordon (Silver Fern) stepped up in her role of wing defence in the final quarter helping her team make their comeback.
Coming up…
Round 10 of the ANZ Premiership will start on 14th May.
To view the full fixture list and recent results, click 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.
