IN a new series, Draft Central casts an eye over the top performer from the round taking into account not only their individual stats, but their overall impact on the game. Round 10 of the ANZ Premiership saw a number of key players, lead the way for their respective teams and put their best foot forward. This week it was Northern Mystics captain, Sulu Fitzpatrick that got the nod for her four quarter performance.

It was a captains performance from the goal keeper, who showcased her intent early on to attack not only the ball but so too the ball carrier. Her movement inside the circle allowed her to confuse the space and crowd the shooters together to make her life easier to get hands to ball. Fitzpatrick did not skip a beat throughout the contest with her vision and read of the play on full display. for an entire 60 minutes Fitzpatrick only conceded 31 goals credit to her defensive presence and smarts to work around the body of Aliyah Dunn. Fitzpatrick worked in overdrive especially off the ball to isolate Dunn under the post and allow her to contest the high ball time and time again which saw her win ball back for the Mystics. With the goal keeper in full flight it created a lot of doubt for the Pulse feeders with errant passes often landing in her lap or getting hands to ball first credit to her chase and tenacity.

Fitzpatrick used her closing speed to back herself when going out to hunt the cross court ball picking up a beautifully timed intercept credit to her ability to cut the angle of the ball and get clean hands to it. Her ability to mount pressure through her hands over pressure and voice out on court put the Pulse under all sorts of stress. Fitzpatrick is steadily building her connection with new member Kate Burley as the two combine well in the circle. Their ability to rotate off the body and then sense when to double back on their opponent was evident throughout the clash as the pair continuously disrupted play in the attacking third for the Mystics.

The goal keeper not only had an impact down in defence but so too bringing the ball through the court, holding up high on the transverse line to provide that outlet pass when the frontend was clogged. She used her drive and smarts to open up the defensive third and was cautious with ball in hand to weave her way through the hands over pressure stemming from the Pulse. She was quick off the mark and constantly looking for ways to propel the ball forward whether it be with a long bomb or a couple of short sharp passes.

It was a clear testament to her class and adaptability that Fitzpatrick was unfazed by the changes the Pulse made inside the circle with Te Amo Amaru-Tibble and Whitney Souness both spending time inside the circle. They both struggled to have a huge impact due to her physicality and awareness under the post to cut off any easy entrance into the circle.

She was in just about everything down back with her change of direction allowing her to rack up the tips and deflections with ease. To cap off an already stellar performance, Fitzpatrick moved into goal defence in the dying minutes of the game and showcased her pinpoint accuracy with a long bomb into the goal circle to rack up a goal assist. Fitzpatrick finished with five intercepts and one pickup while she was also relatively clean throughout the game given she only collected seven penalties.