Thompson: 60 minutes was the key

When the final whistle blew on Sunday afternoon, the smiles said it all as the Silvermoon Tactix ended their season on a high with victory over the SKYCITY Mystics.

It was a performance described by Thompson as gritty, but says they still need to learn from 2017 in order to be better in 2018.

“We just came out and gave it our all and we knew we had nothing to lose. It’s a win but it’s a convincing win for us so it was a really proud moment and certainly gave the girls a whole lot of confidence moving forward,” Thompson said.

“Obviously we don’t want to forget what happened in terms of what we have been through this year and the disappointing games we have had, because we need to learn from that to be better next year.”

Thompson said the key was putting together 60 minutes of Netball, something they hadn’t done all year.

“Previously we have been up in games and then we have let the teams back in and almost get, I guess, in a way scared because we aren’t used to being in that winning position,” she said.

“For the girls to just grit their teeth and hang on to it and extend it… we did let them come back but I think we showed some true character out there and everyone just did their job and that was probably the main thing.

“60 minutes was the key. In previous games we’ve certainly been hot for one quarter and then died off. Often it’s been just one quarter that it has blown out but that one quarter has made such a difference. To be able to maintain pressure and absorb the pressure they put on us was a real positive.”

The Tactix' win over the Mystics turned the Finals Series scenarios on their head, with the WBOP Magic still a chance of keeping their record intact and sneaking into the top three.

“We knew that there was a bit of a lock up at the top of the ladder, but for us we weren’t focused on numbers, we were focused on doing our own job and regardless of what the score was going to be, we just wanted to come out and have 60 minutes of good Netball,” Thompson said.

“I think the rest of the round is going to be very interesting in terms of what happens and how much teams need to win by, so I guess we made things a bit more interesting.”