2024 ANZ Premiership Elimination Final Preview

We take a look at this Saturday’s ANZ Premiership Elimination Final between Trident Homes Tactix and MG Mystics in Christchurch.

4pm, Saturday 27 July

Tactix v Mystics at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch

The defending champion MG Mystics have a full roster back on deck and a third ANZ Premiership title in their sights.  Standing in their way in the Elimination Final are a Trident Homes Tactix unit struggling to rediscover the form which has given them their most successful regular season in Premiership history. 

Working for the team from the Mainland will be an Arena of ardent Tactix fans and captain Kimiora Poi said they were proud to be able to bring the Elimination Final to Christchurch.  “I think it’s huge – we get to have 5000 people in the crowd, all of our families and supporters, cheering for us and we have to come out firing.”  They let the Pulse get the jump on them in the opening quarter of the last round of the regular season and never really recovered.  Poi said a couple of errors allowed momentum to shift and the Tactix were unable to make that swing in the final quarter. 

They have however beaten the Mystics twice during the season and will take some confidence heading into the Elimination Final.  But they must return to the drawing board to break the Peta Toeava-Grace Nweke connection which featured strongly when the Mystics beat the Tactix on home soil in Round 12. 

The Tactix were found wanting against the height of Amelia Walmsley last week and will need their full defensive unit to put the pressure on the Mystics’ feeders.  Toeava is leading the league for feeds with a massive 442 while her team-mate Tayla Earle is next on the ladder at 430 feeds and keeping these two quiet will be crucial if the Tactix are to make a return trip to Wellington for another crack at the Pulse in the Grand Final. 

Mystics captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson said her team also had some areas to work on heading into the must-win match.  “We really need to sharpen up on some stuff,” she said after their win over the Stars which cemented their spot in the Finals Series.  “Taking our feet to the ball and our pass placement.”  Both areas she felt the Mystics let themselves down in a tough encounter with the Stars and they would need to make improvements before heading to Christchurch.