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Commentator’s Call: it all comes down to 3

June 24, 2017
Commentator’s Call: it all comes down to 3

In this week’s Commentator’s Call, SKY Sport’s Jenny Woods casts her eyes over the two contenders who are locked in an Elimination Final battle; all with the aim of challenging the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel for the title...

What a wobbly old way to qualify for the Finals of the ANZ Premiership.

Gift packs are no doubt being sent from the SKYCITY Mystics to their Northern Stars sisters, after they repulsed the WBOP Magic in the final game of the regular season. The Magic had the task of restricting the Stars to 48 goals, while at the same time beating them by at least 15.The Magic won 58-45.

In the end they missed by just two, with Stars captain – and former player with both the Mystics and Magic- Leana de Bruin coming up with a last minute intercept to end the Magic’s season.

ELIMINATION FINAL | PULSE v MYSTICS: GET TICKETS

That it came to this, stems from a bewilderingly poor performance from the Mystics on Sunday afternoon.The 57-46 loss to the Silvermoon Tactix reeked of a side that thought it just had to turn up to take the two points.That attitude was evident in the pre-match interviews, with the resting of Anna Harrison with a niggle, and talk that the game was simply one they had to get through.

That result took all the sting out of Monday night’s game in Invercargill.On the assumption the Mystics would beat the Tactix, it had been thought the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse would take on the Steel, knowing that a win or a bonus point loss, would deliver them home court advantage for the Elimination Final.

With nothing on the line, it’s hard to know what to take from the Steel’s 64-51 win over the Pulse.They made changes galore, as they went down to a side still very much in recovery mode, after last month’s road accident.

Which brings us to Sunday afternoon in Wellington.The Mystics have lost two of their three games against the Pulse this season, but a cursory look at the results could be misleading.They took bonus points from the first two losses, then whipped the Central side by 11 goals the last time they met in Round 10.

The strength of the Pulse side is its defence, while for the Mystics it’s their shooting.In fact a look at the numbers shows the Pulse have let around 100 fewer goals in this season, but at the same time the Mystics have scored 100 goals more.

The result will come down to which side absorbs the pressure best. The horror show that the Mystics put out in Round 13 may act as the best impetus possible to take the win.Expect them to go through to Wednesday night’s Grand Final, but Harrison’s return to the side will be critical to their chances.

As for the Steel, they’ll no doubt be going about their business, doing what they can to get players back to full strength.The last time they played the Mystics they got home by just one goal, it’s not hard to work out which side they’d rather host in the Grand Final at ILT Stadium Southland.

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