Steel ready to go after short break

THE Southern Steel has a short turnaround after passing its toughest test of the season.

It faces the WaikatoBay of Plenty Magic tomorrow in Auckland, just four days after a gruelling onepoint win over the Northern Mystics in Dunedin.

It was forced to work hard for that win, withstanding several onslaughts and requiring a lastsecond goal to edge in front 6867.

It was a game that potentially could have taken its toll.

But captain and wing defence Wendy Frew said the team had pulled up well heading into the third Super Sunday of the season.

She said the team had done a good job with its postmatch recovery this year.

It put an emphasis on doing all the ‘‘little onepercenters’’ which added up to ensuring it was ready to go again in a short space of time.

Mentally one might imagine it would be tough getting up again after a such an intense game too.

However, Frew did not think it would be an issue.

She felt a close loss could be hard to bounce back from, but emerging with the win meant that should not be a problem.

That win had come in what Frew described as a really good game of netball.

Turnovers had been hard to come by and trying to extract a few more was something the defensive unit had worked on.

She also felt the Steel made some crucial errors at key times which it wanted to eliminate.

Now looking ahead to the Magic, the side was expecting another tough battle.

Both of the previous games between the teams had been hard fought.

In their most recent match the Steel won 6561, while in the first encounter the Steel played an outstanding second half to win 7259.

The third match will potentially be the toughest.

It is a crucial one for the Magic, tied on 16 points in second place with the Central Pulse. However, the Mystics are just behind on 15, meaning every result is critical for those three teams as they fight for the remaining two playoff spots.

Those sides had improved as the season went on as well.

While the Steel maintained consistency in its lineup from last year, the other teams had experienced several changes.

Those teams have developed their connections and are starting looking more slick.

Frew agreed the opposition is now making the Steel work harder. She added that teams were beginning to break each other down after reviewing film footage.

It was something of which the team was aware and it was not taking anything for granted heading into the final stretch.

With just three games left before a guaranteed home final on June 28 it was still taking things week by week, one game at a time.

For the Steel that meant not focusing past tomorrow, as it looked to win 13 on the bounce.