Pulse-Mystics cliffhanger saves Netball NZ blushes

OPINION: The Mystics and Pulse saved Netball New Zealand’s blushes on a solid, but unspectacular Super Sunday.

Blowout scorelines in the opening two matches of the inaugural ANZ Premiership threatened to take the gloss off NNZ’s red letter day in Hamilton.

Sparked by former Silver Ferns coach Wai Taumaunu’s 16-year-old daughter Tiana Metuarau, the Pulse held off the Mystics 56-55 in the late match.

It was the cliffhanger the competition desperately needed as the post transTasman league era launched, following nine years of struggling against the Australians.

NNZ hope playing in our own backyard will regain their netball identity, unearth stars of the future and reignite provincial pride to give netball the shot in the arm it needs.

It’s too early on Sunday’s evidence to tell how successful the ANZ Premiership will be. That question will largely be answered next April when the Silver Ferns compete at their next major tournament, the Commonwealth Games, for the first time since the trans-Tasman split.

The Southern Steel’s 18-goal win over the new South Auckland-based Stars side and the Magic’s 23-goal hammering of the Tactix will raise concerns about a possible gulf between the leading sides and the also-rans.

With sides playing 15 round matches and the competition held over 13 rounds, there is a fear there could be a chasm by mid-season with the top three finalists already being clear.

Capturing public interest over the full three month season will make or break the first season of the premiership.

NNZ would have been slightly disappointed by the 2400-crowd at the vast Claudelands Arena, but most fans did stick around for all three matches. The netball was a bit of a mixed bag. There was plenty of New Zealand’s trademark space marking and some combative play in the defence end with Pulse duo Katrina Grant and Phoenix Karaka leading the way.

Teams weren’t afraid to take a risk on attack and heave the ball down court. The goals flowed too with the Steel and Magic both racking up more than 70, higher than any team in the new Australian league has achieved yet.

NNZ’s problem child, the Tactix, resembled a rabble, turning the ball over 36 times against the Magic, while also leaking 24 goals during the third quarter.

The new talent on show was the talking point of opening day.

Schoolgirl Metuarau clearly looks a player for the future, turning the result the Pulse’s way with a crucial rebound and goal as they took a three-goal lead late in the match. She produced a composed showing after taking the court in the second quarter, landing 16/19 in a performance that belied her youth.

Whitney Souness also caught the eye in the Pulse midcourt, while Magic rookies, goal attack Monica Falkner and midcourter Ariana Cable-Dixon were impressive.

Cable-Dixon might have left several other franchises questioning their talent identification processes after she was called up from Waikato-Bay of Plenty’s second tier Beko squad last week as an injury replacement.

Several players have a huge point to prove this season and it was encouraging to see them start with a bang.

Karaka, unwanted Silver Ferns shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti, who has switched from the Mystics to Pulse, and former Ferns’ captain Casey Kopua, returning after the birth of her first child, all stood out.

The imports were a massive highlight of the former ANZ Championship, but the premier international players have mostly opted for Australia’s league.

Outside of Steel’s Jamaican standout Jhaniele Fowler-Reid and Magic’s South African shooter Lenize Potgieter, who slotted 54 goals, the overseas players in the Kiwi sides lack the same starpower as across the ditch.

The new rolling substitution rules generally worked well. It cleaned up the mess of the old system, where players regularly feigned injuries to halt play and bring on replacements.

First impressions of the ANZ Premiership were promising, but the proof will be in the pudding as time wears on.