Tight matches help toughen Steel
Southern Steel coach Reinga Bloxham doesn’t enjoy sitting through close games in the national netball league, but she does see the benefit of them heading into the business end of the season.
The Steel have another tough game ahead in their Super Sunday top-of-the-table clash against the Waikato-BOP Magic in Auckland, as they head towards the ANZ Premiership finals.
The unbeaten Southern Steel looked like they were cruising to their 12th win of the season with an eight goal lead in the early stages of their 68-67 ANZ Premiership win over the Northern Mystics on Wednesday night, before the Auckland-based team produced an impressive fightback.
The fourth-placed Mystics squad showed that they will be a tough side to beat at the business end of the season, as their Silver Ferns-laden side overturned an early deficit to lead by four goals at one stage in the third quarter and had their noses in front up until halfway through the final quarter.
Bloxham was pleased with the way her side fought back in the final quarter to record the character-building victory.
‘‘We were under extreme pressure there and for us to stay composed and to peg the lead they had in the fourth quarter back, I am really proud of the way the girls did that to just keep the ball and score the goals off it,’’ she said.
‘‘I think we did start well, we got a bit of a lead, but obviously their defensive pressure, they sort of upped the ante and made quite a smart change, putting Anna Harrison out to wing defence. She has got extremely long arms that are hard to see over and so I think that sort of stopped our flow and stopped our rhythm.
‘‘It took us a wee while to adjust and get away I suppose. It was definitely close and tight and good to have a win, it was exactly what we thought it was going to be.’’
The Southern Steel have been confirmed as the national league minor premiers with three games left, meaning they will go straight into a home final on Wednesday, June 28.
‘‘I think everyone loves to have a home final and we love it more than anyone else in the country, because we know we have got the best supporters and fans down here. So we are extremely happy to bring that home final back to Invercargill,’’ Bloxham said.
While the Steel are the only one of the top three Kiwi sides already guaranteed a spot in a new international club tournament in Nelson in July, they are waiting until the conclusion of the national league, before they switch their attention.
‘‘We have started planning in regards to that Super Club stuff, it is something we are looking forward to, but we really just want to focus on the next three games we have got coming up and that final I suppose,’’ she said.
They will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run for a franchise record 13 matches in a row, to equal their 2016 ANZ Championship run.
The Magic are in a tight tussle to join the Steel in the three-team playoffs.
They sit second on 16 points, tied with the Pulse and one point clear of the fourth-placed Mystics, with three games left.
The Steel take on the Magic in the first game of Super Sunday in Auckland at 2pm, with the Mystics taking on the Stars at 4pm, while the Pulse play the Tactix in the 6pm match.