Despite this being the penultimate round of the regular ANZ Premiership season, many teams still have more than two matches left to play due to COVID protocols postponing many previous round matches.
This means things are very much all still to play for before the finals weekend in June.
Let’s see how this weekend’s results have impacted that finals chase…
Mystics 49 – 54 Tactix
The weekend started with a match that was postponed from Round 4 due to COVID protocols, and things didn’t go to plan for the league’s first place team Mystics.
The two teams had already met each other twice this season, with Mystics coming out on top in both encounters but this time was very different for the home team.
After the first quarter the score line was tied, and the fans waited to see which team was going to pull away in the second half.
One Tactix player that stood up to the challenge was Silver Fern Kimoira Poi, who was an essential playmaker at centre making 35 feeds into the circle to her side’s shooters Ellie Bird and Te Paea Selby-Rickit, who both shot at above 90% in the match to help Tactix secure the win.
Steel 49 – 59 Pulse
An energetic start from Pulse, along with some sensational shooting saw them beat Steel in the opening game of Round 11.
Right from the off Pulse put on the defensive pressure and made sure they capitalised of every turnover they made taking the ball down the court to their ever accurate Silver Ferns shooting duo: Aliyah Dunn and Tiana Metuarau.
Dunn only missed one shot all game, adding 44 goals to her season tally and taking her to the top of the goals scored charts with 508 goals this season.
Whilst Metuarau sits 8th in the leagues shooting charts, having missed just two goals in this fixture.
Stars 59 – 38 Mystics
Stars made a statement in the penultimate regular round of the season as the beat table-toppers Mystics convincingly 59-38.
It was a great day for Stars captain and Silver Fern shooter, Maia Wilson, as she made her 100th national league appearance, controlled the space in the circle and scored 37 goals for her side.
Mystics on the other hand, were still struggling without their own Silver Fern shooter Grace Nweke who is still recovering from an ankle injury picked up two weeks ago.
Steel 68 – 57 Magic
It was all about England Rose, George Fisher, in this match-up as the Steel shooter put on a masterclass scoring 50 goals to keep her sides finals hopes alive, as they remain 4th in the league.
Fisher missed just one shot all game, in the final quarter, and worked seamlessly with her shooting partner Georgia Heffernan who also had her eye in this game scoring 18 of her 20 shots.
Steel will be hoping for more of the same from their shooting duo in their remaining games this season, as they still need to beat Stars twice to keep the finals in touching distance.
Pulse 62 – 49 Tactix
In the final game of the weekend Pulse continued their charge towards the finals, with a strong 62-49 win against Tactix leaving the home side second in the league.
In the first quarter it didn’t look as convincing that Pulse were going to take such a big win, with the score only two goals to their favour at the end of the opening period.
However, Pulse soon found their rhythm in the second quarter scoring 18 goals to Tactix 10, and from then they continued to step further out of reach for struggling Tactix.
One battle that international fans would’ve enjoyed was that of Pulse goal attack Tiana Metuarau and Tactix goal defence Karin Burger.
The two Silver Fern international teammates battled it out in the circle, and this time it was Metuarau that came out on the winning side thanks to her fantastic shooting (85%) and her big contribution in the second phase to bring the ball down the court.
Coming up…
The final full round of the ANZ Premiership will take place between the 28th – 30th May, with a few re-arranged fixtures from previous rounds also needing to take place before the Finals Series between the 8th – 12th June.
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.
