Match Preview: Mystics v Magic

TEAM NEWS:

WBOP Magic captain Casey Kopua was blunt in her assessment of their most recent performance as her side suffered their first loss of the season.

“I don’t like losing and I know that we’re better than that,” she said of their 13-goal defeat to the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel.

She felt they were flat even before they stepped on court and admitted it was an area they needed to address ahead of their road trip to Auckland to play the SKYCITY Mystics.

Cohesion up front will also be key against another tough defensive unit in the Mystics – the Magic losing their ability to penetrate into the shooting circle at times against the Steel.

It will be no easy ask against the Auckland side who hit their stride against the Northern Stars last week with an all-round impressive display.

They showed plenty of pace and length with their game particularly in the first 30 minutes where they looked unstoppable – the defence picking off enough ball while the attackers were accurate with their game plan.

Maintaining that intensity for a full 60 minutes will be crucial however against the Magic.

“Consistency is the key that netballers all talk about,” captain Anna Harrison said.

WHO TO WATCH:

Lenize Potgieter (Magic) – the South African shooter missed just three goals last week but found the going tough against Jane Watson.A match-up with another Silver Fern in Anna Harrison will test her strengths yet again.

Casey Kopua (Magic) versus Maria Tutaia (Mystics) – two legends of the game go head-to-head in a match-up expected to excite.Tutaia’s silky moves were on display in the Mystics first win of the season while Kopua brings an edge to the Magic defence.

Sasha Corbin (Mystics) – the English international has taken some time to find her feet with her new side, but the centre played perhaps her best game so far against the Northern Stars.Showed a strong drive onto attack and some lovely touches into the shooting circle.

HOW TO WATCH:

NZ-based fans can tune into SKY Sport 4 and Fan Pass to catch all the action live from 2pm. International fans (outside NZ) can watch all the action live on the ANZ Premiership Facebook page.

PLUS: tune into the ANZ Premiership Facebook page from 1.30pm for #ANZP LIVE. This week’s episode will be hosted by Paula Griffin. There's a new episode to watch each week allowing fans everywhere to stay up-to-date with Netball in New Zealand!