A dominant spell of extra time helped the GoSweetSpot Northern Mystics clinch a hard-fought 61-53 win while leap-frogging the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel into top spot on the table in Invercargill on Sunday.
Round 8 of the 2026 ANZ Premiership sees the race for finals positions intensify, with just three rounds remaining in the regular season.
Needing extra time to find a winner, in a first for the season, Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel edged a gallant Avis Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 56-53 in a drama-filled and intense outing in Dunedin on Saturday.
Round 7 of the 2026 ANZ Premiership sees finals pressure beginning to build, with teams entering the final month of the season.
Based in Invercargill, the Steel were formed in 2007 and represent the Netball South Zone which embraces Southland and Otago.
The Steel resulted from the merger between two former National Bank Cup teams, the Southern Sting and Otago Rebels. The Steel subsequently becoming a founding team when netball launched into the semi-professional era with the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship in 2008.
Robyn Broughton was appointed the team’s first coach with Jenny-May Coffin and Megan Hutton named as co-captains.
The Steel had their best season in the final year of the ANZ Championship in 2016 when they won the minor premiership but subsequently lost the New Zealand Conference Final.
The Steel celebrated the introduction of the new elite ANZ Premiership domestic league in 2017 in style when claiming the inaugural title, completing a 16-match season unbeaten. They retained the title in 2018.
The Steel’s playing strip contains a mix of the burgundy/cerise and blue colours of Southland and Otago. The team’s home venues are ILT Stadium Southland, in Invercargill and the Edgar Centre, in Dunedin.
