Home semifinal up for grabs

In today’s New Zealand conference final in Invercargill, nothing is on the line and everything is on the line.

Both the Southern Steel and the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic will play in the trans-Tasman netball league semifinals the week after, with only home advantage to be decided this weekend.

It’s fair to say the Magic need it more, after losing both their games in Australia this season.

But to earn it, they have to beat a Steel outfit that has had the most impressive regular season by a New Zealand team in the league’s nine-year history, winning 11 times and drawing twice.

It’s hard to gauge exactly how these two teams match up, even if the Steel won both their encounters during the round robin.

The first time they played, in round three in Rotorua, the Magic didn’t have their Silver Ferns, Leana de Bruin and Grace Rasmussen, and the second time around, they had to use 19-year-old Kelly Jury in place of Kristiana Manu’a in defence. Rasmussen was only present for half that game as well.

Both games ended with the Steel winning by 10, but those results mean little now the finals have begun.

The Magic’s elimination final win over the Northern Mystics last weekend was evidence enough that at this time of the season, the entire game changes. There was a massive lift in intensity from both sides, even if the Magic won by 16 in the end.

Manu’a, playing at goal keep, had her best performance of the season, embodying the step up her team made.

‘‘It was a good effort, not just by me,’’ she said. ’’The whole-court defence was great. The ball coming down from the Mystics was really pressured by our outside defenders, which helped me out and made my job easier.’’

Of course, the Steel will head game as heavy favourites.

They haven’t played for two weeks, finishing the regular season with a draw against the NSW Swifts, then having a week off while the elimination finals took place. They did have a practice match, however, beating the Otago-Southland men’s team last Sunday.

Travelling from Hamilton to Invercargill means two flights for the Magic, but Manu’a said that wouldn’t be a problem.

‘‘We’ve done it before, we’ve flown to Perth and played, we’ve flown to Sydney, so it’s not too much different.’’

First centre pass will be at 4.15pm. into the