Steel beat Tactix to face Mystics in decider
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The Steel have won through to their first netball Premiership Grand Final in eight years after a 60-54 win over the Tactix in the Elimination Final in Invercargill.
The Steel will face Minor Premiers GoSweetSpot Mystics in the season-decider in Auckland next Saturday evening.
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On the same court with the same teams and same full-house crowd in attendance, the Steel produced the same outcome for the second time in seven days. This time, however, the home side produced a compelling outing to leave the result in no doubt after pipping the Tactix by two goals in the final clash of the regular season last week.
Anchored by big-game players in shooter Aliyah Dunn and defender Carys Stythe at either end of the court, and filled by like-minded contributors in between, the Steel put their stamp on the match with a blockbuster 17-11 first quarter. And from there, didn’t let the Tactix back in.
After rebuilding their team in the off-season, the gallant defending champion Tactix fought back strongly through the following three-quarters after doing a remarkable job to make their way to the Finals Series but came up against a well-drilled and experienced Steel team to end their run.
With the match getting away to a tight, tense and frenetic start, it was the Steel who settled best through their non-stop defensive pressure and accuracy on attack and under the hoop. With the teams all square heading into the final five minutes, the home side broke the shackles with a forceful finish.
The back three of Stythe, Khanye-Lii Munro-Nonoa and Renee Savai’inaea created all sorts of problems for the Tactix attackers.
The well-versed shooting duo of Dunn and Georgia Heffernan made the most of their extra opportunities, including a super shot, pushed the home side out to a handy 17-11 lead at the first break.
The Steel nailled the first three goals on the resumption, things didn’t get much better for the Tactix as the home side threatened to take the game out of reach. Continuing her impressive season, Stythe was in the thick of action with four intercepts and four deflections for the half.
In tandem with her sidekick Munro-Nonoa, the defensive duo inflicted hesitancy among the Tactix feeders while key strike weapon Charlie Bell was well-contained under the hoop. Forced to shoot from wide out added some extra wobbly moments for the visitors.
On the flip side, the Steel mixed their attacking momentum expertly, switching from sweeping free-flowing play with patience when required. Ash Barnett and Laura Balmer swapped defensive bibs, the Tactix finished the second quarter strongly but still faced a significant deficit when trailing 32-24 heading into halftime.
Reducing the deficit to just five goals after a 5-2 start to the third stanza, the Tactix showed improved consistency while getting more ball into the hands of towering shooter Bell to stay in the contest.
But the visitors were unable to push on, the Steel bouncing back to retain their grip on proceedings. Rising young wing attack Serina Daunakamakama proved a key contributor for the home side,
With a drawn quarter at 16-apiece, it was not enough for the Tacix to make serious inroads while still staring down an eight-goal deficit when the Steel went to the last turn with a 48-40 lead.