THE Mainland Tactix have found their form in recent weeks, and this Round 6 matchup with Southern Steel was no different as the side flew out of the blocks and never looked like relinquishing their lead, running away with a 10-goal victory (60-50). Whilst the Steel battled hard, it was to no avail as the Tactix cleanly brought the ball down the court and proved much more accurate throughout the contest.

A tight first quarter saw neither team really give an inch, although a couple of early misses from the Steel proved that from the opening whistle the Tactix defence would be firing. While it took almost three minutes for the Steel to score their opener through George Fisher, the Tactix were unable to settle or take hold of the game as the ball bounced between the two goal thirds, as a 1-3 and 2-5 lead was slowly whittled back to one goal as the two sides settled into the contest. Uncharacteristic misses from both Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Fisher set the tone as Steel’s Taneisha Fifita and Te Huinga Selby-Rickit were quick to set the tone and rebounded well, while Karin Burger’s long arms proved crucial against the playmaking of Tiana Metuarau. The shared effort at the post between Selby-Rickit and Ellie Bird proved crucial as the Tactix led marginally by two goals at the first change.

The second quarter rolled around and so did the Tactix, as the quarter began evenly before Selby-Rickit and Bird’s connection really kicked into gear, stringing along three three-goal runs to stop the Steel in their tracks. The work rate of Samon Nathan and Kimiora Poi allowed Selby-Rickit to do her job propelling ball to Bird, and most importantly forcing sister Te Huinga to concentrate on her efforts rather than assisting Fifita down back. Despite that, the Steel continued to chug along as Fisher kept the scoreline going, settling much better against Jane Watson and finding cleaner avenues to the ball movement created by Metuarau and Shannon Saunders. Nevertheless, an 18-12 quarter saw the Tactix run away with a nine-goal half-time lead.

A huge third term from the Steel saw the side eat back into the margin, outscoring the Tactix by three as Metuarau worked her way into the game a bit better, opening up better space and more opportunities for Fisher to pile on the offensive pressure. Pressure over Te Paea Selby-Rickit’s shot proved crucial as the Tactix goal attack missed a couple of attempts which the Steel immediately took advantage of. While the Tactix were generating gains aplenty they were not converting which allowed the Steel to go into the final term with just a six-goal deficit and all the momentum in their favour, despite a Fisher miss on the three-quarter-time buzzer.

A blockbuster final term once more went the way of the Tactix, as they lifted in offensive intensity once more and Poi’s movement shifted up a gear. The livewire centre had already run down Kate Heffernan and forced her movement back to wing defence, and she did the same here with Renee Savai-inaea with her creative movement and ability to slip into position on circle edge with ease. The defensive effort from the Tactix was by no means their most influential, but it did the trick as Burger’s experience with Metuarau allowed her to phase the goaler out of the contest, while her seamless transition into the circle allowed Watson to focus her efforts on the ever-dangerous Fisher. Despite a couple of hard knocks, Bird continued to fire on all cylinders with her confidence showcased by her willingness to contest, as the wheels fell away for the Steel in the moments where they needed to step up and take the game on, eventually going down to a fired-up Tactix 60-50.

For the Tacitx, Bird’s 46 goals from 48 attempts told much of the story with little getting in her way at the post, including Fifita’s efforts. Selby-Rickit was strong with 14 goals from 19 attempts and 16 goal assists, while Poi (18 assists, two gains) and Nathan (19 assists) played their roles well. Burger finished with three intercepts and Watson with seven gains. For the Steel, Heffernan worked hard for her three intercepts, as did Saunders for her two, however it was the lack of defensive circle spark for the side that lost them the match with neither Fifita or Selby-Rickit picking up an intercept, although Sarahpheinna Woulf did manage two in her 20 minutes on court. Fisher was solid as ever but down a fraction on accuracy finishing with 42 goals from 49 attempts, while Metuarau was accurate with eight from 10 and 17 assists, but lacked the intensity to draw attention away from Fisher.