ROUND 13 of the ANZ Premiership saw a number of upsets with the Mainland Tactix and Southern Steel securing wins over their higher ranked opponents. This resulted in a number of players from both the Steel and Tactix staring in Draft Central’s Team of the Week.

GS: Ellie Bird (Mainland Tactix)
GA: Khiarna Williams (Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic)
WA: Whitney Souness (Central Pulse)
C: Kate Heffernan (Southern Steel)
WD: Renee Savai’inaea (Southern Steel)
GD: Karin Burger (Mainland Tactix)
GK: Jane Watson (Mainland Tactix)

BENCH: Aliyah Dunn (Central Pulse), Shannon Saunders (Southern Steel), Anna Harrison (Northern Stars)

The goal circle consists of a couple of sharp shooters with Ellie Bird getting the nod in at goal shooter for her efforts. There was no stopping her with her only miss coming midway through the first quarter as Bird strung together 44 goals from 45 attempts. Her strong holds, aerial smarts and footwork enabled her to dictate the space well. Joining her in the circle is youngster Khiarna Williams who impressed despite playing in a losing side. Williams showcased her versatility to play both a shooting and feeding role as she nailed 20 from 23 while also dishing off 12 goal assists. Her ability to play a moving and holding shooter also came to the fore throughout her Round 13 outing as she used her timing and speed to dart into the circle.

Speedster Whitney Souness was in fine form for the Central Pulse on the weekend with the wing attack carving up the court with her dynamic movement and quick hands. She has proven to be deadly when her eye is in and this performance was a testament to that as she racked up 23 goal assists and set the court alight with her crafty movement and silky drives. Steel centre Kate Heffernan was in fine form through the middle with her composure and smarts enabling her to weave the ball down court and into attack. She utilised her quick hands and overall netball smarts to hit circle edge while also impressed with her defensive capabilities to get hands to ball and cause turnovers. It was arguably one of the best games to-date for Renee Savai’inaea with the wing defence putting in the hard yards and using her netball nous to constantly get in clever positions around circle edge. She played a very crucial role in the Steel’s win, with her hands over pressure and read of the play allowing her to rack up the intercepts and deflections. Savai’inaea finished with three gains to her name and was also influential through attack with her 11 centre pass receives.

Defensively there is no way to ignore the star duo of Karin Burger and Jane Watson with the pair combining for a staggering 22 gains in Round 13, therefore it is no surprise they take out the goal defence and goal keeper bibs respectively. Burger put on an absolute clinic down back with her fancy footwork, timing and elevation to consistently get hands to ball and be a real nuisance for the opposition. She alone finished with 12 gains including five intercepts, five rebounds and four deflections. Watson was also in scintillating form with the goal keeper picking up 10 gains, two of which were intercepts, plus three rebounds and three deflections in an all-round dominant performance.

Aliyah Dunn returned to her best but just fell short of a starting spot despite her 41 goals from 44 attempts. Joining her on the bench is Shannon Saunders with the Steel wing attack finding a wealth of space around circle edge and using her precision passing to keep heads turning while the final spot fell to Anna Harrison who racked up four intercepts, three pickups and six deflections.