IT was a masterclass both in attack and defence from reigning premiers, Central Pulse leading from start to finish and romping home a 23-goal win against the Magic (52-29). Pulse burst out of the blocks with their dynamic movement and impressive ball speed causing all sorts of headaches for the Magic. Their full court pressure proved difficult for Waikato Bay of Plenty with the fifth placed side unable to combat the Pulse’s relentless forays in attack and wall in defence.

Scoring three goals in 90 seconds, it was clear the Pulse were on from the get-go, with Aliyah Dunn landing the first blow of the evening and making the most of her opportunities under the post. However it was a different tale up the other end of the court, as Magic goal attack Abigail Latu-Meafou missed the first and provided the Pulse with a chance to inflict early scoreboard pain. With the game being played at a frantic pace the ball darted up and down the court but it was the connections of the Pulse that stood strong and steadied the ship.

The physical pressure from Erena Mikaere and Georgia Tong was undeniable, as the Magic defenders contested every ball refusing to give an inch under the post. With Mikaere and Tong mounting pressure, Pulse goal keeper Kelly Jury proved her worth up against her old side collecting an intercept credit to her clever footwork and body positioning. But Tong proved anything her opposition counterpart can do she can do better, answering the call with an intercept of her own. Seeming to have the upper hand the Magic were determined to fight applying a wealth of pressure at the centre pass and clogging up the transverse line to make life difficult for the Pulse through attack. A Pulse turnover allowed the Magic to capitalise and draw back within a goal, but an unlikely intercept from Dunn gave the Pulse the spark they needed. With less than two minutes left in the term, the Magic rallied once more going on a mini scoring spree thanks to Kelsey McPhee, stringing three goals together and slicing the margin to three at the first break.

The second term was a carbon copy of the first quarter, as Claire Kertsen started with ball in hand while Dunn delivered her sixth goal of the game to steadily extend the margin. The connection between Tong and Mikaere generated plenty of excitement with the two getting hands to a wealth of ball but it was simply not enough to upset the Pulse. Jury picked up where she left off wreaking havoc down back with her long arms with teammate and wing defence Karin Burger joining in on the action with an intercept of her own. Captain Katrina Rore also had a field down back with the goal defence nullifying Latu-Meafou while her presence inside the circle was extreme working in tandem with Jury to apply a wealth of pressure on the shot to make McPhee shoot from distance. With the defence humming and opening up a 10-goal lead Rore moved to the bench allowing Elle Temu to come on and ply her trade.

In attack Maddy Gordon was tearing up the court burning Holly Fowler on the drive to the top of the circle and dishing off bullet like passes into Dunn and Ameliranne Ekenasio. The Pulse goal attack upped the intensity in the second term, gliding into the circle with ease and showcasing her ability to change direction in a heartbeat to keep Tong and Mikaere guessing. The overall ball speed from the Pulse was exceptional, keeping the Magic players head on a swivel but the real damage lay with their accuracy sitting at 89 per cent accuracy compared to the Magics lowly 65 per cent. The 14 goals to six quarter gifted the Pulse an 11-goal lead heading into the main break.

Struggling to generate any scoreboard influence, the injection of Khiarna Williams paid dividends for the Magic, forcing Jury to approach the matchup differently. After missing her first shot of the evening the young goal shooter settled into the line-up well, finding her rhythm and connecting with Whitney Souness out in wing attack. But the Pulse continued their merry way showcasing good patience to work the ball down the court and not force anything, instead relying on their sound structures to deliver.

Gordon wowed with her speed off the mark and skill to chase down every loose ball while the move of Ekenasio into goal shooter and Tiana Metuarau into goal attack worked wonders with the Pulse sitting at 100 per cent from the term. Unfortunately the wheels started to fall off for the Magic with Tong and Mikaere not getting rewarded for their efforts down back as Ekenasio dominated under the post with her timing, accuracy, footwork and spatial awareness. The Pulse surpassed last week’s total of 33 goals by three quarter time with a 41-22 lead.

With victory out of their reach the Magic shuffled the defence around with Mikaere slotting back into the goal keeper position while Tong pushed out to goal defence in hope to quell the Pulse attack. The changes did not seem to trouble the Pulse however with Temu taking a strong rebound to push out to the biggest margin of the game 20 goals. Renee Savai’inaea entered the game at centre while moments later Grace McLean replaced Ekenasio at the post. The Pulse seemed to have a ball on a string in the final term, putting on a show in each third while the Magic looked to Harley Smith to come on in the final minutes but it was little too late.

The Pulse were faultless throughout the four quarter with each other their players coming on and starring. The influence and accuracy of Dunn with 19 goals from 20 attempts (95 per cent), Ekenasio with 28 goals from 29 (97 per cent) was key while Jury dominated defensively with a whopping eight gains, four intercepts, two deflections and four rebounds. For the Magic Williams was the leading goalscorer with 12 goals from 17 attempts while McPhee managed nine and Latu-Meafou slotted six at 60 per cent. Tong proved to be the real playmaker for the Magic amassing four gains, two intercepts and five deflections.

>>> PULSE TEAM PAGE

>>> MAGIC TEAM PAGE

>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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CENTRAL PULSE 10 | 14 | 17 | 11 (52)
WBOP MAGIC 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 (29)

STARTING SEVEN:

Central Pulse:

GS: Aliyah Dunn
GA: Ameliaranne Ekenasio
WA: Maddy Gordon
C: Claire Kersten
WD: Karin Burger
GD: Katrina Rore
GK: Kelly Jury

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic:

GS: Kelsey McPhee
GA: Abigail Latu-Meafou
WA: Whitney Souness
C: Sam Winders
WD: Holly Fowler
GD: Erena Mikaere
GK: Georgia Tong