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Preview of round 13 of the ANZ Netball Championship (all times AEST).
SATURDAY
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS v QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS at Etsa Park, Adelaide at 2.30pm
Last met: Round nine, Thunderbirds 47-41
Playing the penultimate round before finals, this is a crucial match for these teams with the T-Birds fifth and Firebirds currently fourth. Adelaide must bounce back from their biggest loss of the season, going down by 10 goals to the Swifts, while the Firebirds broke a three-game losing streak against the Tactix. This match should be a shooting spectacular with the league’s most prolific goal-scorer, Queensland’s Romelda Aitken, and the competition’s most accurate, T-Birds shooter Natalie Medhurst, on show. But Adelaide also boasts the best defensive record, led by import Geva Mentor, which should give them the edge at home.
TAB Sportsbet: Thunderbirds $1.50, Firebirds $2.50
Tip: Thunderbirds by seven.
NORTHERN MYSTICS v CENTRAL PULSE at North Shore Event Centre, Auckland at 12.30pm
Last met: Round eight, Mystics 54-48
The Mystics (eighth) and the Pulse (10th) are out of finals contention but will still be hoping to finish the inaugural season on a high. Both sides are more competitive than their ladder position suggests, particularly the winless Pulse who have pushed three games into overtime without success. But they are up against a Mystics side that has been gaining momentum and chalked up its biggest win of the season last round, downing the Steel 47-41. The Mystics in-form defensive combination of Leana de Bruin and Vilimaina Davu should provide a tough afternoon for the young Pulse pair of Jamilah Gupwell and Susan Tagicakibau.
TAB Sportsbet: Mystics $1.07, Pulse 7.00
Tip: Mystics by three
SUNDAY
WEST COAST FEVER v CANTERBURY TACTIX at Challenge Stadium, Perth at 2.30pm
Last met: N/A
Both teams boast unenviable records – the Fever have never won at home while the Tactix haven’t cracked a victory in Australia. There must be some sympathy, however, for the biggest travellers in the competition, who will play successive games in Perth for the just the first time. Fever shooter Caitlin Bassett has been in fine form, ranked second in the leading goal-scorers list, while Nikala Smith chimed in with a 90 per cent record in last round’s fighting loss to the Vixens. The Tactix had a disappointing 14-point loss to the Firebirds and will find another tough opponent in the young Fever, who will be eager to give their fans something to cheer about.
TAB Sportsbet: Fever $1.65, Tactix $2.15
Tip: Fever by 10
MONDAY
SOUTHERN STEEL V WAIKATO BAY OF PLENTY MAGIC at Stadium Southland, Invercargill at 5pm
Last met: Round seven, Magic 56-47
The table-topping Magic haven’t lost a match in New Zealand all season and with the minor premiership and a home semi-final in sight, are unlikely to stumble now. The Steel’s loss last round to the Mystics was their lowest points haul of the season and effectively ended any chance of a play-off berth. Lining up against one of the competition’s best defensive combinations in Joelene Henry and Casey Williams, they will have their work cut out again.
TAB Sportsbet: Magic $1.50, Steel $2.50.
Tip: Magic by eight.
MELBOURNE VIXENS V NSW SWIFTS at Vodafone Arena, Melbourne at 7pm
Last met: Round five, Vixens 53-52
The two best Australian teams go head to head with both eyeing a home semi-final and both hitting their straps at the right end of the season. The second-placed Vixens have accounted for the Fever and the competition front-runners, the Magic, in recent weeks while the Swifts are on a record five-match winning streak. The battle between NSW shooters Catherine Cox and gun Melbourne defensive duo Bianca Chatfield and Julie Prendergast will be a feature, while stars Sharelle McMahon and Rebecca Bulley will be butting heads at the other end.
TAB Sportsbet: Vixens $1.58, Swifts $2.30.
Tip: Vixens by one.