ROUND 6 of the ANZ Premiership brought plenty of excitement and close calls with the Pulse maintaining their winning record and Steel stunning the Magic in a hard fought battle to secure their second win of the season. The Tactix managed to leapfrog into third while the Stars slipped to fourth after a disappointing loss to the Mystics.

Ellen Halpenny returns
Two shooters down with Jennifer O’Connell and Georgia Heffernan ruled out for the season for the Southern Steel, the acquisition of former Silver Ferns goaler Ellen Halpenny could not get any bigger. The star goal shooter oozed nothing but class, accuracy and netball smarts from the moment she stepped onto court slotting nine goals at 100 per cent in her first outing. Her connection with Gina Crampton and Shannon Saunders was instantly on song with the shooter holding strong and clearly identifying the space for the midcourters to feed into. Halpenny provided a calming presence in the goal circle with her clever footwork and ability to absorb the physicality and pressure applied. Although down on her accuracy in her second game 17 goals from 23 attempts, Halpenny was an integral inclusion in the side allowing Trinidad and Tobago product Kalifa McCollin to roam freely out in goal attack and ply her trade through the midcourt.

Pulse survive thriller to remain undefeated
Coming off a stunning performance against the Mystics, the Pulse had their backs up against the wall in their second clash of the round with the Tactix matching them in every facet of the game and pushing them to their limits. The Pulse seemed to lack their normal intensity and precision with ball in hand against the Tactix but proved to have the class and composure to think their way through the pressure and ultimately prevail to retain their unblemished record. The efforts of Katrina Rore and Kelly Jury were second to none with the two collecting four gains, four deflections and four pick-ups against the Tactix while up the other end Aliyah Dunn oozed accuracy with 13 goals straight but was down on her volume testament to the Tactix defence. The injection of Tiana Metuarau is a real trump card for the Pulse with the goal attack able to light up the court with her clever drives and speedy ball movement as well as her willingness to go to post with seven goals from 11 attempts.

Steel clinch second win of the season
With the odds stacked against them the Steel dug deep to muster up their second win of the season albeit by one goal. It was tight from the opening minute with the Magic pressing hard and contesting every pass as captain Sam Winders led the way through the middle. Both sides were searching for their second victory but it was the tenacity and desperation in the second and third quarter that gifted the Steel the upper hand with Te Huinga Selby-Rickit and Taneisha Fifita putting in the hard yards to nullify Abigail Latu-Meafou and Kelsey McPhee. Their pressure and fight forced the Magic’s hand at the post to bring on youngster Khiarna Williams and while she was accurate they struggled to generate enough opportunities. Holding the lead at three quarter time the Steel held their nerve despite the Magic mounting a comeback to treasure possession and take out the win.

Mainland Tactix have the best defence in the competition
Although they fell agonisingly short of victory against the top of the table Pulse there is no denying that the Pulse have one of if not the best defensive unit in the competition. The combination between Jane Watson and Temalisi Fakahokotau is electric. The two are able to make something out of nothing while their ability to read each other’s play and positioning is second to none. With Fakahokotau renowned for her physicality and impressive aerial presence to read the play in the air and swat balls away, Watson evens her out able to stay in play but still create chaos with her lean over the shot and ability to pounce on intercepts. They collected six gains, four intercepts, seven deflections and three pick-ups against the Pulse while they further impressed against the Steel despite Fakahokotau only playing a half with a combined nine gains, two intercepts, 11 deflections and seven pick-ups in a stats stuffing performance.

Toeava is key for the Mystics
With plenty of star power in the goal circle in the form of Grace Nweke it is up to the Mystics to deliver the ball into the towering goal shooter. This responsibility normally falls to dynamic wing attack Peta Toeava with the speedy midcourter able to dart around the attacking third and feed the ball into Nweke with ease. Her ability to release the ball within an instant allows Nweke to gain the upper hand in the goal circle as shown in their first clash against the Stars with Toeava racking up 22 goal assists and Nweke knocking back 36 goals. However when Toeava is well covered and unable to generate her normal attacking momentum to slice through the opposition defence with her quick footwork and impressive vision, the Mystics fall apart. Toeava does a mountain load of work in attack and while Tayla Earle and Emma Iversen worked tirelessly they lacked that innate connection with Nweke with the two only managing a combined 20 goal assists, meaning Saviour Tui had to up the ante and focus more on feeding than hitting the scoreboard.

Picture credit: Michael Bradley