Match Preview: Super Sunday Round 1
It’s a super battle to start of the 2018 ANZ Premiership with all six teams vying for early honours.
Northern Mystics versus Southern Steel
TEAM NEWS:
All eyes will be on the defending ANZ Premiership champions, the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel, and just how they will perform without kingpin shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid. The off-season has seen a number of key changes for the side with Fowler-Reid’s departure (Australia), defender Jane Watson returning home to Christchurch and Jamaican import Malysha Kelly suffering a season-ending injury. But the Steel proved last year they are at their strongest through adversity and the SKYCITY Mystics will be wary of the strong southerners. Fielding seven current or former Silver Ferns and with a couple of very experienced specialist coaches on the sideline, in former international Sonya Hardcastle and Linda Vagana, the Mystics are shaping as one of the early contenders on paper – transferring that promise on to court will be head coach Helene Wilson’s objective. The Mystics are again bookended by plenty of experience and are building combinations through the mid-court led by wing Elisapeta Toeava.
WHO TO WATCH:
Wendy Frew (Steel) – their captain fantastic faced a roller-coaster season last year with the highs of a Premiership crown and the lows of injury ruling her out of Silver Ferns contention. It will be a welcomed sight to see the Steel stalwart back in action.
Jennifer O’Connell (Steel) versus Anna Harrison (Mystics) – the young Steel shooter has big shoes to fill but showed last season she can walk the walk in New Zealand’s toughest netball league. It doesn’t get much tougher however than pitting your skills against former Silver Fern Anna Harrison.
Elisapeta Toeava (Mystics) – this dynamic mid-courter was one of the ANZ Premiership’s stand out players last year and now has the added advantage of having a season under her belt when it comes to her combinations with a star-studded shooting circle. Speed, vision and flair make Toeava exciting to watch.
Waikato BOP Magic versus Te Wananga O Raukawa Pulse
TEAM NEWS:
Te Wananga o Raukawa Pulse has the youngest squad in the ANZ Premiership but it is bristling with players set to play a large part in the future of netball in New Zealand. Schoolgirl Tiana Metuarau has already shown she slots in easily to the elite game while fellow shooter Aliyah Dunn, 18, is another to watch. Teenagers Renee Savai’inaea and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan make up the quartet of youngsters hoping to make their presence felt. The Magic has a core group of players back in an attempt to crack into the top three. The Margaret Forsyth-coached side has had its injury troubles during pre-season with promising young attacker Sydney Fraser cruelly struck down for a second straight season having been ruled out with a knee injury. She missed in the inaugural ANZ Premiership due to an Achilles injury. South African shooter Lenize Potgieter will also be out of action for Super Sunday after missing the Commonwealth Games campaign due to an ankle injury but is expected to return to the court shortly.
WHO TO WATCH:
Monica Falkner (Magic) – after a stellar season in 2017 which saw her rise to the attention of Silver Ferns selectors, this will be the year for Falkner to show consistency and leadership in the attacking end. Without usual shooting partner Potgieter available this weekend, she’ll need to step up and take control, especially as she’ll be facing off against Silver Ferns captain Katrina Grant.
Casey Kopua (Magic) versus Tiana Metuarau (Pulse) – these two never fail to excite when they come up against each other. Metuarau continues to defy her age and years of experience when taking on former Silver Ferns captain Casey Kopua who remains one of the game’s greatest defenders.
Claire Kersten (Pulse) – a last minute call-up to the Silver Ferns for the Commonwealth Games, the mid-courter will be looking to take her international experience on to the court to benefit her Pulse team. Consistency is a key strength for the wing defence who is a senior leader in the side.
Northern Stars versus Silvermoon Tactix
TEAM NEWS:
There will be plenty of interest in both of these teams when they suit up for the 2018 ANZ Premiership. The two sides held up the bottom of the points ladder last year but have recruited wisely in the off-season – both on and off court – and on paper could provide some of the biggest challenges of the year. The Silvermoon Tactix went through the pre-season tournament unbeaten and looks to have found the right mix through the court. Jane Watson returns in defence to team up with Silver Fern Temalisi Fakahokotau and captain Jess Maclennan (nee Moulds) while they have plenty of tall shooting timber in import Kate Beveridge and Ellie Bird. Rising star Kimiora Poi will be a Tactix player to watch through the middle. Two of the Stars biggest signings include Silver Fern Grace Kara, to shore up the front line, while Netball World Youth Cup winning coach Kiri Wills has been another key inclusion into a side keen to shed its “newcomers” tag. This promises to be a fascinating first up watch between two sides with plenty to prove.
WHO TO WATCH:
Holly Fowler (Stars) – injury cruelly robbed the exciting young defender of her Stars debut last season. The former New Zealand Secondary Schools captain can slot in at either goal defence or wing defence and could form a potent combination with internationals Ama Agbeze and Kayla Cullen.
Ama Agbeze (Stars) versus Kate Beveridge (Tactix) – the two internationals could go head-to-head in the circle. Beveridge has crossed the ditch for the first time and forms a tall shooting-combination for the Tactix alongside Ellie Bird. Agbeze is coming off a high of captaining England to their first ever Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Jane Watson (Tactix) – last year’s ANZ Premiership Player of the Year has made a return to her home roots and could find herself in any of the three defensive roles this season with Silver Fern goal keeper Temalisi Fakahokotau also in the ranks.