Round 1 of the ANZ Premiership took place this weekend, with international stars stepping up on the domestic stage throughout the court.
Mystics got off to a flying start thanks to clinical shooting from Silver Fern Grace Nweke, whilst Pulse took a marginal 1 goal lead against Magic, and in the final game of the weekend England Rose, Laura Malcolm, helped her Tactix side to victory on her debut.
International fans can catch up on all the action on NetballPass, but here is a quick round-up…
Northern Mystics 64 – 38 Southern Steel
The 2021 ANZ Premiership winners, Northern Mystics, started the season on a high this weekend as they beat Southern Steel 64-48 winning every quarter of the contest.
Mystics flew out of the blocks in the opening quarter scoring 22 goals compared to Steels 10, and from there they showed no sign of slowing down.
New Zealand Silver Fern shooter, Grace Nweke, started the season just how she finished the last: playing a key part in the victory as she scored 46 of Mystics 64 goals, only missing two shots all game.
After being awarded the awarded the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award in 2022 for her impressive season, Nweke will be hoping she continues to shine in 2023 so that she is selected for the Silver Ferns squad for the Vitality Netball World Cup 2023.
Pulse 53 – 52 Magic
This seasons’ defending champions, Pulse, left it right down to the final seconds of their match against Magic to secure their first victory of the 2023 season.
Pulse had set themselves up well in the third quarter, with a 9-goal lead, however Magic stepped it up in the penultimate quarter and brought it back to 42-38 with 15-minutes to go.
The shooting accuracy from both teams was what kept the score-line so close, with both sets of shooters clinical in the final quarter.
One international star that stood out in this contest was Silver Fern, Whitney Souness, who worked tirelessly at wing attack for Pulse, receiving 32 centre passes and putting 21 expertly placed feeds into the circle.
Robinhood Stars 49 – 55 Tactix
In the final match of Round 1 England Rose, Laura Malcolm got her debut season off to a flying start, helping her Tactix side take a 49-55 win.
Malcolm who joined Tactix this season from Manchester Thunder in the UK’s Netball Superleague showed no first game nervers as she played all four quarters at centre, making 28 feeds into the circle to two on form shooters, Aliyah Dunn and Te Paea Selby-Rickit.
At the other end of the court, Tactix welcomed back Karin Burger and Jane Watson who were both out of action in 2022, and the duo were back with vengeance stopping the Stars attack from shining on multiple occasions.
However, despite being on the losing team one Stars shooter that deserved recognition was Silver Fern Maia Wilson, who shot at 97% converting 34 of her 35 attempts on goal.
More information…
To view the full fixture list, click here.
To find out more about the ANZ Premiership, click here.
To find out more about the start date of the other domestic leagues around the world, visit our Domestic League page here.
