WITH the ANZ Premiership season done and dusted we take a look back at each club and analyse their season. In this edition we look at Southern Steel, who impressed throughout the season but fell short when it all counted.

Ladder: 2nd
Win-loss: 12-3
Percentage: 116.9%

After claiming the premiership in 2018 the Southern Steel were hoping to go back to back and with a relatively unchanged line-up they looked likely to do so. Though they suffered a shock Round 1 loss to kickstart their campaign they built into the season taking some big scalps, namely ending the Central Pulse’s winning streak. But they will be disappointed they were not able to capitalise in the finals, falling out after losing to the Northern Stars in a close encounter.

The Southern Steel recruited a big-name player over the off-season, signing South African shooter Lenize Potgieter who proved she had what it takes to take ownership of the goal circle and post hefty totals. Potgieter had the ability to turn it on when she needed with her unconventional but accurate shooting style. Her clever body positioning enabled her to hold good space, making her a constant option for the Steel. The SPAR Protea finished second on the overall leaderboard for both goals and attempts, with 596 from 662 at 90 per cent showcasing her sheer dominance under the post. As the season continued her connection with Te Paea Selby-Rickit strengthened with the two rotating through the circle well and setting up plays for one another. Selby-Rickit was influential in the attacking third using the ball well, feeding into Potgieter and getting into the circle herself and scoring, registering 290 goals from 381 attempts at 76 per cent. Her work out the front was also impressive, sharing the load with Crampton at the centre pass and racking up 362 receives throughout the season. Jennifer O’Connell also provided a great option in the goal circle, making her presence felt with her accuracy and ability to turn and shoot.

The Southern Steel are littered with Silver Ferns representatives through the midcourt with Gina Crampton and Shannon Saunders posing a daunting prospect for many sides, credit to their ability to dice up their opponents. They are both strong around the top of the goal circle and work tirelessly to secure position there and deliver the ball inside the circle. Their ability to open up space and form solid connections across the court enables them to thread passes into the shooters and work the ball around until an opening appears. Crampton’s work at the transverse line was second to none with the wing attack consistently coming out hard to grab the ball and propel it forward, amassing 364 centre pass receives – the second most of any player in the league. She also claimed the highest number of feeds with 686, 93 more than the next person, while Saunders came in third with 525 feeds. Kendall McMinn and Kate Heffernan were both imperative through the midcourt, applying good strong defensive pressure to nullify the influence of their direct opponent. They also showed their versatility, both rotating through the centre position and dropping back into wing defence.

Defensively the Steel had multiple options with Te Huinga Selby-Rickit leading the way with her defensive pressure, three foot marking and clever body positioning to block out her opponent, recording the most amount of rebounds with 37. Her impeccable read of the play was also a driving force for the Steel, providing her side with plenty of turnover ball and amassing 32 intercepts for the season. Abby Erwood was also a key player in the backend for the Steel credit to her ability to hunt the ball and drop back at crucial stages during the match. Though she was costly at times throughout the season, drawing the attention of the umpire with 146 penalties to her name, she made up for it with the number of deflections and rebounds she got with 52 and 20 respectively. Courtney Elliott was also a valuable asset for the Steel when she came onto the court, winning the ball back for her side and using her read of the play to impact the contest.