AN energetic and highly contested match opened Round 9 of ANZ Premiership action, with the penultimate round seeing Southern Steel host the Northern Mystics. The Steel may not be in with a chance at a grand final berth, but they played like it against the Mystics and burst out of the blocks for a huge four-goal win (51-47).

A nice start from both sides saw predictable end to end play early, with clean hands and patience around the court not seeing a heap of turnover ball. That being said, Taneisha Fifita’s early physicality earned a turnover and early 4-1 lead, using her body-on-body and movement to pressure a feed into Grace Nweke and creating a turnover from the off-balance goaler.

The quick release feed into Nweke proved crucial early, with both Peta Toeava and Tayla Earle not hesitating in the slightest and paying off. While the Steel had the early lead, the Mystics held up well defensively, blocking easy avenues into the goal circle. Kalifa McCollin’s early form impressed, and a couple of uncharacteristic errors from the Mystics allowed the Steel to extend an early lead, knocking away crucial ball. Where each team’s start was clean, they both seemed to lose confidence in the feed, with defence from both sides finding a wealth of loose ball.

An early change towards the end of the quarter saw Filda Vui take the court, and Te Huinga Selby-Rickit immediately stepped up a gear to negate any easy ball in attack. At the other end, McCollin continued to star, putting up 11 goals at 100 per cent accuracy and really putting that offensive pressure on the Mystics who seemed out of sorts. The Steel’s impressive start saw them run away with a 17 goals to eight first quarter lead, with McCollin and Ellen Halpenny keeping the Mystics’ heads on a swivel.

An even start to the second quarter saw the Mystics’ impressive feeds continue, though Kate Heffernan’s ability to limit Toeava’s influence paid dividends with the Steel able to stay ahead of the pack. Shannon Saunders and Gina Crampton were dominant with ball in hand, with their constant movement and drives around the circle seeing the duo rocket ball into the circle. While the Mystics were getting plenty of hands to ball, they were unable to collect the loose pickup and win the possession back to drive down court. 

The Steel could not compete with the transition down court off the Mystics centre pass but made up for it in droves with their constant midcourt defence, forcing the Mystics into the corners of the centre third and blocking vision with their zone defence. With both teams adopting a patient approach to the circle feed, the continuous passing caused plenty of opportunity for turnovers in a much more even quarter. The combination of Halpenny and McCollin continues to grow with every match and it shone in this encounter, with the duo rotating better than ever and sharing the load well, forcing a one-on-one defensive approach from the Mystics. But despite that, finicky errors from the Steel say the Mystics claw back the margin, trailing by seven goals at the main break.

The second half saw another change to the Mystics, with Saviour Tui taking the court and using her smooth moving to form a better connection into the circle, able to assist both in and around circle edge. That being said, the side lost the vision and speed of Vui, which stagnated the attack and allowed the Steel to work the lead out once more. Crampton was unstoppable on both the first and second phase, constantly freeing herself from her opposition in Courtney Elliott and able to spot Halpenny’s clever use of space to speed ball into the circle. 

Vision into the circle was spot on by the Steel, with Crampton and Saunders connecting with ease while the patience getting ball inside the circle allowed the Steel attack to continue moving and rotating accordingly. With so much riding on the lob into Nweke, the height difference between Toeava and Heffernan became very apparent as the Mystics wing attack became hesitant on the feed, with Tui’s injection into the game not quite as impactful as expected. Another stellar quarter from the Steel saw the home side extend their lead once more, always a few steps ahead of the entire Mystics unit.

With 58 circle edge feeds to 14 with just a minute left on the clock before three quarter time, it was clear that the defensive pressure from the Steel – and particularly Heffernan and Saunders out the front – was negating any easy feeds into the circle, consistently blocking drives and taking pressure off Fifita and Selby-Rickit inside the circle. With a nine-goal lead heading into the final quarter, the Steel had all the momentum and looked the goods on their way to a fourth win.

The final quarter saw a huge change with Elliott transitioning from wing into goal defence and captain Phoenix Karaka to the bench, and while Elliott added another element to the defensive circle the Mystics lost some of that great run and carry from Karaka driving through the midcourt. Before long the Mystics had drawn back the margin though, shooting the first four of the quarter and Elliott having an instant impact with her energy and hunt for the ball. The battle between Elliott and McCollin was immense, with the duo well matched in the contest and ultimately balancing each other out through the centre. 

While the Mystics were hungry for the ball, the Steel managed to remain ahead with the workrate of Crampton and Saunders continuing to pay dividends. A huge turnover from Dani Gray with under five on the clock saw the Mystics get back a few in a row but patience out the front from the Steel denied a late comeback despite a three-goal margin seeing Mystics well within their chances in the last few minutes. The eventual four goal win (51-47) saw the Steel potentially taking away a huge chance at finals for the Mystics who did not look like a winning team from the get-go.

While McCollin looked ginger in the final few minutes after a couple heavy landings, she continued to star at the post and finished well with a whopping 32 goals from 36 attempts, while Halpenny aided well with 19 goals of her own. Saunders (17 assists) and Crampton (26 assists, one intercept) impressed with their constant pressure paying dividends, while Heffernan was huge with four intercepts. For the Mystics, Nweke racked up 41 goals at 93 per cent, while Toeava racked up 26 assists but five turnovers in the process. Defensively, Karaka, Sulu Fitzpatrick and Elliott combined for seven gains between them, but it was not enough after an excellent start from the Steel set everything in motion.

>>> STEEL TEAM PAGE

>>> MYSTICS TEAM PAGE

>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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SOUTHERN STEEL 17 | 12 | 14 | 8 (51)
NORTHERN MYSTICS 8 | 14 | 12 | 18 (47)

Steel

GS: Ellen Halpenny
GA: Kalifa McCollin
WA: Gina Crampton
C: Shannon Saunders
WD: Kate Heffernan
GD: Te Huinga Selby-Rickit
GK: Taneisha Fifita

Mystics

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