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RNZ News
28-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
ANZ Premiership Netball: Waikato BoP Magic can't steal a win from rivals Southern Steel
From left: Steel Kimiora Poi, Aliyah Dunn, Georgia Heffernan and Renee Savai'inaea celebrate their win. Photo: Marty Melville A late comeback by the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic was not enough to stop a dominant Southern Steel from securing a 64-56 win in the ANZ Premiership in Invercargill on Saturday. The Steel are on a three-game winning streak and have taken outright third place on the points ladder with two more rounds before the finals. The Magic finished strongly with a last quarter flurry to win the final 15 minutes 18-11 but were outplayed across the first three quarters. Steel shooter Aliyah Dunn was nearly flawless from close to the hoop converting 43 of her 45 goal attempts. It was shooting accuracy which proved the difference at the end of the first quarter, the Steel leading 15-13 after nailing all their opportunities and the Magic missing two after both sides had equal attempts. In the second quarter the intense pressure employed by Carys Stythe and Abby Lawson under the Magic hoop resulted in turnovers while at the other end Dunn and Georgia Heffernan continued their recent strong form. The pair shared the load expertly and intuitively in feeding off each other with Dunn producing a standout first half through her positioning, pin-point shooting and rebounding ability. The home side were ahead 33-25 at halftime. The Magic struggled to keep up after the break with the Steel outscoring them 20-13 in the third period as the visitors' misguided passes and inaccuracies took a toll. The loss was the Magic's third defeat in a row and the second time they have lost to the Steel this season. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steel's miracle win over Pulse a season-defining game: coach
Steel goal shoot Aliyah Dunn (left) and Pulse goal keep Kelly Jackson compete for the ball during the ANZ Premiership match in Wellington on Monday night. PHOTO: HAGEN HOPKINS/MICHAEL BRADLEY PHOTOGRAPHY There are no genuine miracles in sport but the Southern Steel delivered the closest thing to one on Monday night. They roared back from a nine-goal deficit heading into the final quarter to stun the Central Pulse 58-57 in a wild finish to the ANZ Premiership game in Wellington. Steel goal attack Georgia Heffernan, in perhaps the defining performance of her career, landed a late two-point shot, and after the Pulse missed an attempt, it was 57-57 with 37 seconds to play. The Steel stayed patient, worked the opportunity and celebrated wildly when Aliyah Dunn converted the winning goal right on the buzzer. Steel coach Wendy Frew described this as a season-defining game, and it may prove to be just that. The Steel remain in the hunt for a playoff place. Perhaps just as importantly, they have proved they have reservoirs of courage and heart, especially considering they were pumped 70-45 the last time they played the Pulse. "We never lost belief," Heffernan told Sky Sport after the game. "We really thought we could win this game, and we came together as a team, so we're stoked." The Steel have two more home games, against the Magic and Stars, either side of a tricky away game against the Mystics.
Otago Daily Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steel 'stoked' with miracle win over Pulse
Steel shooter Aliyah Dunn (left) and Pulse defender Kelly Jackson contest possession in the ANZ Premiership game in Wellington. PHOTO: MICHAEL BRADLEY PHOTOGRAPHY There are no genuine miracles in sport but the Southern Steel delivered the closest thing to one tonight. They roared back from a nine-goal deficit heading into the final quarter to stun the Central Pulse 58-57 in a wild finish to the ANZ Premiership game in Wellington. Steel goal attack Georgia Heffernan, in perhaps the defining performance of her career, landed a late two-point shot, and after the Pulse missed an attempt, it was 57-57 with 37sec to play. The Steel stayed patient, worked the opportunity and celebrated wildly when Aliyah Dunn converted the winning goal right on the buzzer. Steel coach Wendy Frew described this as a season-defining game, and it may prove to be just that. The Steel remain in the hunt for a playoff place. Perhaps just as importantly, they have proved they have reservoirs of courage and heart, especially considering they were pumped 70-45 the last time they played the Pulse. ''We never lost belief,'' Heffernan told Sky Sport after the game. ''We really thought we could win this game, and we came together as a team, so we're stoked.'' The Steel have two more home games, against the Magic and Stars, either side of a tricky away game against the Mystics. The Pulse made the early running as they capitalised on some sloppy Steel centre passes to leap to a 7-2 lead. But the rest of the first quarter was much more even and both teams delivered some slick play through the court. While the Pulse focused on ambitious long feeds — most of which came off — to Amelia Walmsley, the Steel were at their best when they kept things close and crisp. The combination between the Heffernan sisters, Kate making just her second start of the season at centre and Georgia in sublime form at goal attack, was particularly impressive. A couple of soft Steel turnovers threatened to let the Pulse get away again. But a huge held ball forced by Carys Stythe on Walmsley then a shut-down of a Maddy Gordon centre pass helped the Steel limit the Pulse's advantage to 16-14 at the first break. The Steel quickly nabbed their first lead of the night before an unfortunate lapse let the Pulse nudge ahead by four. Jaws dropped around the TSB Arena when Walmsley, who had earlier taken her accuracy streak to 100 consecutive goal attempts without missing, finally missed a shot. The Steel called for a time out later in the second quarter and injected both Abby Lawson and Kate Lloyd into the circle defence. Lawson had an immediate impact, and the southerners forced a couple of big turnovers, but every time the Steel looked like charging back, the Pulse stepped up, and the home side led 34-30 at halftime. When the Pulse slipped ahead 38-31 early in the third quarter, there was a sense the game was getting away from the Steel. But again they responded. Lawson kept battling furiously and Georgia Heffernan kept finding herself space to influence the action at the attack end. What followed, though, was probably the most significant passage of the game. With goal defence Parris Mason firing in some dazzling long balls to Walmsley, and the Steel committing a couple of bad turnovers, the Pulse went on a five-goal run. Tiana Metuarau then dropped in a two-point bomb as the Pulse took a commanding 50-41 lead into the final quarter. That was a formidable task for the Steel to overcome, and while they banged in the first three goals of the quarter, they appeared to suffer a fatal blow when wing defence Renee Savai'inaea was sent to the bin for two minutes for clattering Whitney Souness to the floor. Oddly, that led to the Pulse falling apart — they seemed to panic, and lose their structure — and the Steel deciding they would refuse to be beaten. The scores Southern Steel 58 Aliyah Dunn 34 (34/35), Georgia Heffernan 24 (24/26) Central Pulse 57 Amelia Walmsley 49 (49/53), Tiana Metuarau 8 (7/9) Quarter scores: Pulse 16-14, 34-30, 50-41.
Otago Daily Times
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Two-pointers being used to play catch-up
Southern Steel shooter Aliyah Dunn goes for a two-pointer as Central Pulse goal defence Parris Mason puts the pressure on her shot. Pulse defender Kelly Jackson boxes out Georgia Heffernan under the hoop. PHOTO: MICHAEL BRADLEY More shots ... What do we think of the two-point shot? Every team is attacking it differently and it has been fascinating to see the tactics. But it is fair to say in New Zealand it has been used to play catch-up. That was especially evident when the Northern Mystics played the Southern Steel in Dunedin and Filda Vui entered late in the second quarter to nail three two-pointers to turn the score around. Again, on Monday night, Waikato-Bay of Plenty shooter Saviour Tui nailed three in the final four minutes to give her side a sniff of a victory against the Mystics. Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio has been the most accurate, slotting 11 of 16 two-pointers. ... more changes While many might have predicted the addition of the two-point shot leading to closer scorelines, it has had the opposite effect. Only four of the 18 games have been won by five points or fewer. At least four games have been decided by more than 20 points — the Steel beat the Magic by 28 points in round two — and that is something no fan really wants to see. They want high-intensity, closely fought games that could go either way. There have been some blow-outs and that cannot come just down to the two-point shot. A worrying theme is the top three all beating each other by bigger margins as well. Follow the path Calling players out of retirement seems to be the theme of this year's ANZ Premiership — and netball as a whole. Former Silver Fern Kayla Johnson is back with the Northern Stars as injury cover, having won the title as a replacement for the Mystics last year. Australian Gabby Simpson, who never officially retired after being dropped by the Queensland Firebirds last year, is with the Central Pulse. Steel assistant coach Liana Leota, 40, and Stars assistant coach Leana de Bruin, 47, have also been named in a game this season. While de Bruin did not take the court, and they have since added a rising replacement, is there not cause for concern about the lack of opportunities for the next generation? Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua said she was worried about the depth. Taurua highlighted giving the next generation a shot was where she found Laura Langman and Casey Kopua — who turns 40 tomorrow and has joined the Giants in Australia — as teenagers at the Magic. Taking their chances When the young guns have been given a shot, they have what it takes. The Mystics took a shot on 20-year-old shooter Sophia Lafaiali'i with Donnell Wallam nursing a wrist injury — and it paid off. Across her three games, Lafaiali'i has been a strong presence slotting 76 goals from her 80 attempts. Steel replacement Khanye'-Lii Munro-Nonoa, 21, has also been a calm presence when she has been injected. Young defenders in Carys Stythe (Steel) and Catherine Hall (Mystics) are also making a name for themselves with more court time. Turnovers Monday's clash between the Mystics and the Magic was dominated by defence, leading to a low-scoring 40-38 affair. But if you dig a little deeper, the Magic had a whopping 35 turnovers and the Mystics had 28. That is high for any game and no team can expect a dominant win with that many errors.
RNZ News
14-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Southern Steel see off struggling Northern Stars in ANZ Premiership
Monica Falkner of the Stars and Carys Stythe of the Steel during their ANZ Premiership netball match. Photo: photosport Southern Steel have inflicted another painful blow on Northern Stars in netball's ANZ Premiership, winning all four quarters to ease to a 62-46 victory in Auckland. The visitors calmly took command of a clash between the two teams ranked last on the standings, lifting the Steel to a 2-4 win-loss record and still with a slim chance of qualifying for the knockout phase. With four games remaining, the injury-hit Stars' post-season prospects have all-but disappeared, with a 1-5 record. The Steel opened up a 15-11 lead after the first quarter, but took full control early in the second, when they went on a nine-goal unanswered run. That outburst prompted a response from the Stars, who trailed 29-23 at halftime, but the match truly slipped from their grasp late in the third quarter, as the Steel again scored freely to be 12 goals up entering the final stanza. Among the Steel's best was goal keep Carys Stythe, who disrupted the Stars attacking circle throughout the contest, pulling off five intercepts and six deflections. At the opposite end, Steel goal shoot Aliyah Dunn landed 46 of 48 shots, linking particularly well with centre Kimiora Poi. Kate Heffernan continues to log court-time in her injury comeback. Photo: photosport There was another encouraging outing for Steel co-captain Kate Heffernan, who played 31 minutes, after just 18 minutes of court-time in last week's loss to the Tactix, as she recovers from a knee injury suffered before the season. "The knee feels great," she said. "It's good to be out there, obviously, and I'm hoping to keep building up the minutes. "I'm trying to tick all the boxes, but I'm feeling really good. It's so good to have a win. "We've had a couple of tough games, so to go out and do what we say we want to do with a performance we're proud of is awesome." Centre Mila Reuelu-Buchanan was the only Stars player on court for 60 minutes and was arguably their best, winning some key turnovers and treasuring possession better than several of her teammates. Stars goal shoot Charlie Bell landed 31 of 35 shots. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
