Match Preview: Pulse & Mystics to battle in Elimination Final
TEAM NEWS:
The ANZ Premiership season for these two teams comes down to this – win and the campaign continues, lose and the bags can be packed for the year.
Te Wananga o Raukawa Pulse and the SKYCITY Mystics meet in the Elimination Final in Wellington with the winner set to reach the premiership’s first ever Grand Final.
The ledger gives the Pulse the edge heading into their biggest game of the season having beaten the Mystics twice already.
But the Mystics can take some confidence into the game after netting an 11-goal win over the Pulse in their latest outing in Round 10.
Re-discovering that form will be crucial if they are to progress however as they come off perhaps their worst game of their campaign after being upset by the Silvermoon Tactix in the last round game.
Captain Anna Harrison found it a painful experience watching from the sideline – and not just from the “niggle” she was feeling in her back which kept her out of the action.
“It was a harsh game,” she said.“We’ll go away and have some honest brutal words.”
The Pulse is also coming into the Elimination Final on the back of a loss having gone down to the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel and captain Katrina Grant said maintaining possession would be key.
“We need to learn how to treasure ball throughout the whole court – every single one of us.”
The Pulse tried a number of defensive combinations in their last round-robin game – with their spot in the Finals Series already safe – with Grant shifted to wing defence and Karin Burger also trialled on the wing as well.
But Grant said they would need to go back to what they know best when it comes to the Elimination Final.
“We just need to go back to playing how we want to play, enjoy ourselves, let the ball go, trust each other and trust ourselves.We can play some outstanding netball and it looks darn good, so we’ll go back to that on Monday.”
WHO TO WATCH:
Anna Harrison (Mystics) – missed the last game of the regular season with a “niggle” in her back.Has been influential playing at wing defence for the Mystics in recent weeks with her long reach disrupting the flow of any front line in the league.Leads the premiership for intercepts (40).
Katrina Grant (Pulse) versus Maria Tutaia (Mystics) – both players rose to the occasion when they last met and you can expect the two Silver Ferns to bring their best in a must win match.Grant nabbed one intercept and six deflections in the game while Tutaia took the most centre pass receives for her team and still put up 37 attempts at goal, netting 30 of them.
Cathrine Tuivaiti (Pulse) – netted the perfect game (36/36) when the Pulse last met the Mystics and has proven the most accurate in the league at 95 per cent throughout the regular season.Getting ball into the shooter’s hands will be key if the Pulse is to build on an already successful campaign.
HOW TO WATCH:
NZ-based fans can catch all the action live on SKY Sport 1 and Radio Sport from 2pm. International fans (outside NZ) can watch live on the ANZ Premiership Facebook page.