Pulse to host final
It was always going to be a case of when, not if, last night in the national netball premiership.
The Central Pulse beat the Northern Stars, 66-48, securing top spot and hosting rights for the final on August 12, where they will face either the Southern Steel, the Mainland Tactix, or the Northern Mystics.
It was the result that was expected at Pulman Arena in south Auckland, and one that was never in doubt from the middle of the second quarter.
Pit the team at the top of the ANZ Premiership against the one at the bottom at this stage of the season and you’re expecting a lot if you think it won’t go according to the form book.
Throw in the fact that the Pulse were coming off a loss to the thirdplaced Tactix the day before, and it was hard to see them doing anything other than winning big.
So it was a bit of a surprise, then, when the Stars gave them a run for their money in the opening quarter, playing aggressive defence and converting all of their attempts at the attacking end.
With just over five minutes to play in the opening spell, the Stars had opened up a three-goal lead, 11-8, but that was when the game turned.
A tight penalty call went the way of the Pulse defence, and Stars goal attack Ellen Halpenny got a telling off for her reaction, as she rolled to noone rather than to Sulu Fitzpatrick, who was due to restart play.
It may have been a coincidence, but the Pulse scored the next four goals, turning their three-goal deficit into a one-goal lead, and from that point on, they never trailed again.
Up by two, 16-14 as the second quarter began, the Pulse kept playing their patient brand of netball, knowing it would only be a matter of time before they made further inroads.
Goal shoot Aliyah Dunn was in fine form, hauling in passes even when they weren’t exactly where she wanted them, and forming a neat partnership with Ameliaranne Ekenasio, who was handed a rare start at goal attack.
At halftime, the Pulse had grown their lead to six, doing most of the damage at the end of the second quarter, and it was a similar story in the third, where the Stars hung in there for 10 minutes or so, but saw the margin grow as the buzzer approached.
The Pulse’s advantage was 10 as the final period began, and they stretched it to 18 by the final buzzer, with both teams making plenty of changes once the result was clear.
Round 12 of the ANZ Premiership concludes tomorrow when the Mystics host the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic at Trusts Arena in Auckland, a match the home team probably need to win if they are going to make the finals at the expense of the Tactix.
The Stars’ season wraps up at their Pulman Arena home next Sunday, when they host the secondplaced Steel in the first contest of round 13, with the Magic hosting the Tactix the following the day, and the Pulse hosting the Mystics two days after that, two games that will decide whether it’s the Tactix or the Mystics who head to Invercargill for the preliminary final on August 8.