Stability a key asset for a Magic team on the move

A change in focus and the benefit of stability in their coach and playing ranks has AVIS Magic poised to break their duck in the new-look 2025 ANZ Premiership.

With the addition of rangy shooter Kate Taylor to an otherwise unchanged and well-credentialled squad, the Magic have a settled look after finishing the second half of last season with a flourish. Taylor, gunning for a spot in the NZ U21 squad to contest the World Youth Cup later in the year, is no stranger to the environment having been elevated from training partner last year.

"It’s huge being able to retain our core group and I think it’s going to be a real advantage for us going into this season,’’ Magic coach Mary-Jane Araroa said. "We’re rapt with how quickly the players have connected and how they’re looking.’’

The big talking point for the upcoming season is the introduction of several rule innovations, most notably the two-point shot, which will come into play for the final five minutes of each quarter during matches, adding an exciting dimension while rewarding the execution of long-range shooting.

Araroa has backed the two-point shot all the way, believing it will lift crowd and viewership engagement while also adding an exciting extra layer for shooters.

"It’s only going to strengthen how they shoot, and when they go into international level as well, they can shoot from range and we’re not reliant on one pass into one tall shooter,’’ she said.

"There’s going to be some good variety and we’re going to see some exciting shooters out there that can finish games off.

"Our shooters are 100 percent on board. We are one of those teams that have a rotating circle and have shooters that can shoot from range, so the two-point innovation suits us.’’

Having never made the Finals Series, in which the top three teams battle off for the title, Magic came up just short last year after being nudged out of third place in the final round of the regular season.

With this year’s season scaled down from three to two rounds, there is an increasing urgency for teams to be on their game from the get-go, a factor not lost on Araroa.

"We’ve been guilty of having some slow starts in the first five rounds previously, so that’s something we’re really honing in on and addressing, front-loading really early with as many games as we can get,’’ she said.

"It was all part of the preparation to get ourselves going and into that mindset of `there is no warming up into it, we hit it straight away.’  It’s our intention to come in to the season strong and hard.’’

With several franchises introducing new coaches this season, Araroa is preparing for her fourth campaign, and finds herself the longest serving head coach in the ANZ Premiership. With time under her belt, she has weathered plenty while adding to her overall development.

"There’s nothing like getting time in the seat and understanding the environment and the way the game is played at this level,’’ she said. "The speed and the intensity it is played at is significantly different to when you’re coming out of a more community structured environment, so time in the seat, knowing the type of athletes that are involved now and that ability to communicate are all key and I think the time that I’ve had previously will be an advantage for us.’’

The primary goal for the Magic is to make the top three and an opportunity to play in the Finals Series and with that has come a change in focus on how they’ve done things previously.

"In terms of our campaign plan, we’ve stripped everything back and we’re just focussing on two or three key things that we want to achieve,’’ she said.

"We think if we have total focus there that will get us across the line. We were super close last year and we’re intent on taking that next step this year.’’