Hoornweg: we’re making inroads

Northern Stars coach Julie Hoornweg is calling for fans to turn out in force on Wednesday night to support the team in their Round 5 ANZ Premiership clash.

The Stars will host their third home game of the season at Vodafone Event Centre, Manukau, against the ladder-leading Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel – GET TICKETS.

Every time the team has stepped out on court in front of their fans, Hoornweg says it starts to feel more like home.

“It’s fantastic. When we played our first game here we hadn’t trained in it, or even been into the building so it’s starting to feel more like home,” Hoornweg said.

“The atmosphere [last Wednesday] was terrific. It’s really important for Netball in this area to have an elite game; an elite team for people to come and watch.

“We’re here on their door stop; from our membership and the crowd we’re hearing that we’re making inroads.”

While they haven’t got as many wins under their belts as they would have liked, Hoornweg says the team is making gains.

“Our game plan is there; we have a quarter where defensively we are very strong and our attack falls apart a little, then the next quarter our attack stands up and our defence drops off,” she said.

“Once we get the two parts of our game together at the same time…We’re getting the ball and getting it down court – it’s just the finish at the end.

“That comes from playing with each other repeatedly over a long period of time and we haven’t had that.”

The Stars and Steel created history when they met in the very first ANZ Premiership match on Super Sunday in Round 1. Now, they face each other for a second time – the Steel are the in-form team of the league and the Stars know they’ll be in for the battle of their lives.

“We need to look at the things we did well [against the Pulse], build on them and make sure we do them more often,” Hoornweg said.

The Northern Stars will face the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel at Vodafone Event Centre, Manukau, on Wednesday night – GET TICKETS.

Can’t make it to the game? Fans can catch all the action live on SKY Sport 1 and FanPass, while fans living outside NZ can watch via the ANZ Premiership Facebook page.