Steel unstoppable

The Southern Steel underlined their favouritism in the ANZ Premiership by thumping the second-placed Central Pulse 80-44 last night. The Steel (10-0) needed only one quarter to send an emphatic statement to the Pulse (6-4) and the rest of the competition, racing out to an almost unassailable early lead to silence the Porirua crowd. Victory preserved the Steel’s perfect record and solidified top spot with five games to play, vanquishing any doubts that may have crept in after a couple of unconvincing outings. The Steel have experienced a 10-day layoff since their last match against the Magic but showed no signs of rust last night, as Jhaniele Fowler-Reid scored 18 goals in the first quarter en route to a personal haul of 66.