Last weekend, we saw round 3 of the ANZ Premiership. The match everyone was looking forward to was the last game of the round between the defending champions, Pulse, and the young Mystics side which has shown early promise this year. And the game didn’t disappoint.
For the first three quarters, there was barely a goal separating the two sides. It was an intense battle, with the pressure created by the strong defence of both teams, forcing errors. Pulse eventually gained the upper hand in the last quarter and ran away with a seven goal win, but that’s perhaps not a true indication of the relative merits of the teams. In the third quarter, with the match in the balance, Pulse coach, Yvette McCausland-Durie, replaced shooter Aaliyah Dunn, moved Ameliaranne Ekenasio to GS, and put Tiana Metuarau into GA. This turned out to be a winning move and demonstrated the strength and depth of Pulse’s shooting stocks. At the other end, it was all about young Mystics shooter Grace Nweke. She had the better of Pulse GK Kelly Jury for most of this match, but in the end, she was left with a bit too much to do. It must be remembered that due to injury, Mystics are without two class players in Bailey Mes and Micaela Sokolich-Beatson. Mes in particular was missed, as she would have been a great support for Nweke in the shooting circle. Earlier in the round, Steel brought up their first of the season and it came just 24 hours after they had suffered a defeat at the hands of Mystics. This is the second week in a row that a team has won despite coming off a defeat just the previous day. Round 4 starts tonight.
2020 ANZ PREMIERSHIP – Round 3
Mainland Tactix 45 (11, 8, 14, 12) def Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 36 (9, 13, 7, 7)
Tactix
E Bird 33/44 (75%)
TP Selby-Rickit 12/19 (63%)
Team Total: 45/63 (72%)
Assists 38 (E Pederson 17)
Gains 17 (T Fakahokotau 6)
Magic
K McPhee 21/26 (81%)
A Latu-Meafou 15/21 (71%)
Team Total: 36/47 (77%)
Assists 33 (W Souness 17)
Gains 18 (H Fowler, E Mikaere 5)
Points: Tactix 4, Magic 0
Player of the Match: Temalisi Fakahokotau (Tactix)
Northern Mystics 46 (13, 11, 13, 9) def Southern Steel 42 (12, 8, 9, 13)
Mystics
G Nweke 35/40 (88%)
S Tui 11/14 (79%)
A Grapes 0/2 (0%)
Team Total: 46/56 (82%)
Assists 36 (P Toeava 17)
Gains 9 (S Fitzpatrick 4)
Steel
J O’Connell 28/32 (88%)
K McCollin 12/20 (60%)
G Heffernan 2/3 (67%)
Team Total: 42/55 (76%)
Assists 40 (G Crampton, S Saunders 15)
Gains 8 (THR Selby-Rickit 3)
Points: Mystics 4, Steel 1
Player of the Match: Sulu Fitzpatrick (Mystics)
Southern Steel 49 (15, 11, 10, 13) def Northern Stars 47 (10, 13, 13, 11)
Steel
J O’Connell 32/36 (89%)
K McCollin 14/15 (93%)
G Heffernan 3/3 (100%)
Team Total: 49/54 (91%)
Assists 46 (G Crampton, S Saunders 18)
Gains 7 (THR Selby-Rickit 3)
Stars
M Wilson 37/42 (88%)
J Hume 10/15 (67%)
Team Total: 47/57 (83%)
Assists 39 (M Reuela-Buchanan 20)
Gains 7 (S Purvis 3)
Points: Steel 4, Stars 1
Player of the Match: Jen O’Connell (Steel)
Central Pulse 42 (10, 8, 12, 12) def Northern Mystics 35 (8, 9, 11, 7)
Pulse
A Ekenasio 21/24 (88%)
A Dunn 12/14 (86%)
T Metuarau 9/12 (75%)
Team Total: 42/60 (84%)
Assists 39 (C Kersten 18)
Gains 8 (K Burger 3)
Mystics
G Nweke 28/33 (85%)
S Tui 6/7 (86%)
A Grapes 1/1 (100%)
Team Total: 35/41 (85%)
Assists 34 (P Toeava 22)
Gains 5 (E Burgess, S Fitzpatrick 2)
Points: Pulse 4, Mystics 0
Player of the Match: Katrina Rore (Pulse)
Table:
1 – Pulse . 12 points (Pld 3)
2 – Mystics . 12 points (Pld 4)
–
3 – Tactix . 8 points (Pld 4)
4 – Stars . 6 points (Pld 4)
5 – Steel . 5 points (Pld 4)
6 – Magic . 4 points (Pld 3)
Upcoming matches:
(NZ times)
7pm, FRI 3 JUL – Mystics v Tactix
5pm, SAT 4 JUL – Pulse v Steel
5pm, SUN 5 JUL – Pulse v Magic
7pm, MON 6 JUL – Magic v Stars
