IN their sole game of the round, the Southern Steel stunned the Northern Mystics in a complete four quarter performance, downing them by six goals (47-41). The Steel came out with a real fire in the belly, connecting well across the court and applying a wealth of pressure both in attack and defence to force the Mystics into uncharacteristic errors. It was an unusual outing for the Mystics, unable to sync up in attack while defensively they struggled to generate their normal intensity and ball winning ways with the Steel capitalising on each opportunity that came their way.

The first quarter was played with great intensity as the Steel looked to punish early and repeatedly hit the scoreboard to worry the Mystics out of the contest. Although not the most accurate start to the game, Kalifa McCollin showcased her impressive goal nous and skill inside the goal circle to create a constant option under the post and use her speed to expose Sulu Fitzpatrick, despite the goal keeper getting her hands to a wealth of ball. Goal attack, Kiana Pelasio imposed herself on the contest for the Steel with the youngster using her agility and netball smarts to keep the circle moving. It was a different tale for the Mystics in the goal circle with both Grace Nweke and Saviour Tui going at 100 per cent accuracy but simply struggling from a lack of supply.

Holding a narrow lead, the Steel came out with a wealth of confidence with McCollin taking everything in her stride and owning the goal circle with her innate timing along the baseline. But the Mystics were not about to lie down with the defensive unit winning ball back but unable to capitalise with a held ball call going against them in the centre third gifting the Steel with another opportunity to push forward. Phoenix Karaka stood up to the challenge with an intercept of her own as the ball ping-ponged up and down the court with neither side able to maintain any form of momentum.

With the pressure mounting the Mystics kicked it up a gear working hard both in attack and defence to even the scores with Nweke doing the damage at the post with consecutive goals. However the Steel were desperate to make an impact and cause an upset pushing back midway through the term, going on a mini four-goal scoring spree to establish a solid lead. The influence of Gina Crampton through the attacking third was profound with the wing attack carving up the Mystics defence and using her quick hands to deliver bullet-like passes into McCollin. Struggling to find rhythm in attack, Peta Toeava made her way to the bench with the Mystics wing attack unable to link up with Nweke and inflict her normal amount of attacking pressure. The injection of Emma Iversen seemed to do the trick with the experienced midcourter able to spot the space and deliver, however that was short lived with the Steel making changes of their own in attack with Ellen Halpenny entering the game and providing a calming presence. The pressure from the Steel was next level with the Mystics notching up 14 turnovers for the half and forced to one side of the court with the Steel stifling their ball movement to create a five goal lead.

The half-time break seemed to pay dividends for the Mystics, scoring the first goal of the half and playing with more intensity as the connection between Iversen and Nweke blossomed. But the combination of McCollin and Halpenny was equally as impressive up the other end with the two having a field day, keeping Fitzpatrick and Karaka’s heads on a swivel. The Steel played with confidence and freedom in attack relishing the movement and experience of Halpenny in the goal circle while McCollin got busy out the front with her drive and flair to link up with Shannon Saunders time and time again.

Chugging along nicely in attack the defence took it up a notch with Te Huinga Selby-Rickit and Taneisha Fifita impressing with their aerial ability and skill to shut down Nweke at the post and clog up every inch of space to keep her off balance. The wheels slowly started to fall off for the Mystics with the Steel pushing out to a seven goal lead thanks to the party tricks of the Trinidad and Tobago product in the goal circle. As the Steel midcourt continued to cause havoc, Emily Burgess made her way to the bench with Courtney Elliott replacing the Aussie in hope to shut down their drive in attack and win ball back, something they had been struggling to do all game. Unable to generate any form of movement in the goal circle, the introduction of Filda Vui was key with the goal attack providing a spark with her speed and willingness to go to post. Pushing out to as much as six goals the Mystics managed to slice the margin back to four with a quarter to play.

Only minutes away from their third win of the season, the Steel did not leave anything to chance with Fifita and Selby-Rickit hunting every ball that came their way while in attack the goalers made the most of their chances at the post. Vui landed the first blow hitting the scoreboard early and injecting some excitement and speed in the goal circle. But the Steel stayed strong, not willing to give up their lead despite the Mystics making some wholesale changes in the dying minutes. Fans waited with bated breath as McCollin left the court with a suspected ankle injury but that did not stop the flow in attack for the Steel as Halpenny controlled the goal circle and showcased her experience to take the game by the scruff of the neck and romp home their third win to move off the bottom of the ladder.

Nweke was on fire throughout the game with her strong holds and accuracy to post on full display, sinking 32 goals from 33 attempts at 97 per cent. Tui struggled to trouble the scoreboard with five goals while Vui’s cameo appearance did not go unnoticed with four goals from six attempts. Once again McCollin was the star for the Steel with 23 goals while Halpenny showcased her class under the post with 15 goals from 20 attempts. Defensively Fitzpatrick impressed with eight gains (one intercept, six deflections and three rebounds) while Selby-Rickit led from the back with five gains, two intercepts and three deflections.

>>> STEEL PAGE

>>> MYSTICS PAGE

>>> FULL STATS

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SOUTHERN STEEL 13 | 10 | 13 | 11 (47)
NORTHERN MYSTICS 11 | 8 | 13 | 9 (41)

STARTING SEVEN

Southern Steel:

GS: Kalifa McCollin
GA: Kiana Pelasio
WA: Gina Crampton
C: Shannon Saunders
WD: Kate Heffernan
GD: Te Huinga Selby-Rickit
GK: Taniesha Fifita

Northern Mystics:

GS: Grace Nweke
GA: Saviour Tui
WA: Peta Toeava
C: Tayla Earle
WD: Emily Burgess
GD: Phoenix Karaka
GK: Sulu Fitzpatrick