ROUND 6 of the ANZ Premiership ultimately saw the beginning of the end for a couple of teams this season, with just four rounds left leaving two teams with little to no chance of playing finals unless something drastic happens in the next few weeks. A couple of bigger margins and back-to-back one-goal victories told the tale of the round, with some regular performers continuing to dominate once more and earning a Round 6 Team of the Week nomination.

Starting down in defence, there were a couple of defensive masterclasses across the round with Temalisi Fakahokotau and Jane Watson doing what they do best in a close loss against the Pulse while their follow-up match against the Southern Steel was just as impressive. Racking up three gains apiece in the first – all three made up of intercepts to Fakahokotau – and then three and six in the second, the duo were the most dominant defensive duo of the round. Joining the Tactix duo on the stats sheet were single-gamers Erena Mikaere who finished with seven gains against the Steel and Stars’ Kate Burley with five gains, while Katrina Rore was dominant as ever playing a shut-down role across her two appearances for the Pulse and Sulu Fitzpatrick was the silent assassin with nine gains for the weekend. Midcourters impressed defensively this round with a couple players racking up the gains, with Karin Burger (combined seven gains from two matches) Tayla Earle (combined five gains) and Shannon Saunders (combined four gains) all impressive turning over ball.

Continuing through the midcourt, it was a relatively even round on the assist to goalers with no real standouts bar a couple of energiser bunny performances which saw players dominate off the stats sheet. Maddy Gordon got the nod in wing attack for this week’s Team of the Week thanks to her 43 assists across two games, while Kimiora Poi had another solid week out of the blocks doing a wealth of work through the centre to win ball back. Peta Toeava (22 assists) and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan (21 assists) topped the stats sheet for feeds this round, though Toeava only racked up an additional five feeds in her second match, well and truly outgunned by Burger. Gina Crampton and Whitney Souness were both reliable as ever for their respective sides, collecting 16 and 17 assists apiece in their matchup, while Saunders racked up a combined 40 assists to go with her gains for an all-round dominant round from the centre. Goal attack Te Paea Selby-Rickit was versatile as ever, racking up a combined 30 assists to go with her 18 goals from 23 attempts on back-to-back days. 

While Selby-Rickit was a solid feeding option, far and away the most impressive goal attack of the round was Kalifa McCollin, with the Trinidad and Tobago goaler racking up a combined 42 goals at 82 per cent. Also up there for output was Abigail Latu-Meafou who held up well for the Magic in their single outing, while Ameliaranne Ekenasio was down on her usual output and accuracy but still provided a tough prospect at the post, racking up 27 goals from 35 attempts at 77 per cent. Standing tall at the goal post, regular performer Maia Wilson continued her merry way with a bag of 36 goals for her single match this round, while Grace Nweke was down on accuracy in her first performance with 36 goals from 45 but came out strong in the second for 37 from 39, though the lack of scoreboard assistance from her goal attacks saw the side lose the second match. Like her partner in crime Ekenasio, Aliyah Dunn did not have as an impeccable performance as usual, shooting 24 goals in the first and 13 in the second, plying her trade well but also held by strong defensive units. Ellie Bird had a solid week on the court, shooting accurately 56 goals from 62 attempts in her two outings for a 90 per cent accuracy.

MORE MATCH STATS:

Northern Mystics (51) defeated Northern Stars (47)

Central Pulse (44) defeated Northern Mystics (38)

Central Pulse (33) defeated Mainland Tactix (32)

Southern Steel (41) defeated WBOP Magic (40)

Southern Steel (35) defeated by Mainland Tactix (48)

Picture credit: Michael Bradley