A THIRD quarter blitz has seen Southern Steel topple Mainland Tactix on day one of the 2022 ANZ Premiership season. The Steel were able to pile on 23 goals to 11 in the third quarter to run away with the 71-54 victory, turning the tables on the side that knocked them out of finals in 2021. Though their first quarter was also impressive, the third term finished off the Steel’s opposition in a 17-goal fashion.

The Steel started of in great form at Christchurch Arena, racing out to a 7-2 lead with Saviour Tui on fire. Funnily enough, it would be her partner-in-crime George Fisher who would do the bulk of the damage throughout the game, as the Magic struggled to contain the pair. Fisher shot 11 from 11 in the opening term, the same amount as her counterpart shooter Ellie Bird, but Tui contributed strongly with eight of nine. Shannon Saunders was already looking dangerous for the leaders, recording seven goal assists from each of her feeds.

The second term saw the Tactix get back some of the momentum, but not before Fisher and the Steel broke open the game to a nine-goal lead seven minutes into the term (26-17). Scoring 10 of the next 14 goals, the Tactix cut the deficit to just three, before Fisher and Tui scored back-to-back goals in the final minute to make it a five-goal advantage at the main break. Hannah Glen had come on for the Tactix to mix it up and scored four goals from six attempts, whilst Fisher was firing off nine of 11. Kate Heffernan recorded eight goal assists from 10 feeds, whilst Kimiora Poi and recruit, defender Kelera Nawai were getting busy for the home side.

It was the third term where the Steel snuffed out any hope of a Tactix comeback. Lead by one of the most dominant shooting performances, the Steel piled on 23 goals to 11 – 20 from Fisher – to race out to a 17-goal lead at the final break. Saunders had eight goal assists with Tui (five), Kate Heffernan (four) and twin sister Georgia Heffernan (four) successfully making her return from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Bird tried hard with seven goals from eight attempts, but the Tactix could only manage 18 feeds to the Steel’s 27 in the term.

The Steel started incredibly strong in the final term, not taking the foot off and extending the lead out to 21 goals before Fisher earned a rest. Though the Tactix through Bird and Te Paea Selby-Rickit scored some consolation goals in the last half of the term, it would not be enough, with both sides scoring 16 goals and the margin remaining at 17 the difference by the final whistle.

It was a surprise to no one that Fisher earned Player of the Match honours, putting up a stunning 47 goals from 50 attempts, and even adding three goal assists in the win. Tui recorded 17 of 20 and 11 goal assists, whilst Saunders (18 goal assists from 25 feeds) and Kate Heffernan (19 from 33) both did well through the midcourt. For the Tactix, Bird put up 32 goals from 26 attempts, whilst Karin Burger (three intercepts, three rebounds) tried her best in defence, whilst Samon Nathan managed a team-high 19 goal assists from 36 feeds, as well as an intercept in the loss.