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FULL TIME: TACTIX WIN
Tactix 43 Steel 36
Tactix making some errors bringing the Steel back up... but it wasn't enough. Te Paea misses the last shooting opportunity with 5 seconds to go but it doesn't matter. The Canterbury based team have won by 7 goals.
Georgia Heffernan lands her third goal of the game.
10 Min: Tactix 42 Steel 34
Saunders lands a bomb to McCollin from center third which she then lands nicely.
8 Min: Tactix 32 Steel 42
Te Paea draws both Steel shooters away from Bird as she get the ball from Erikana Pederson right under the post.
6 Min: Tactix 41 Steel 30
The Silver Ferns duo in the Steel shooting circle is putting the Steel shooters under pressure. Gerogia Heffernan slotting her first goal of the game.
4 Min: Tactix 39 Steel 29
McCollin misses a goal after Heffernan passes it off to her. Tactix up by 10
2 Min: Tactix 37 Steel 28
Saunders gets a nice tip around the Tactix' shooting circle. Poi and Saunders having great competition.
The Steel have made two changes with Gerogia Heffernan coming on as GA and Abby Erwood as GD moving Te Huinga Selby - Rickit to GK facing Bird.
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Third Quarter: Tactix 34 Steel 27
Bird dropping to a low 79% in this quarter. Crampton nearly gets a clean intercept in the mid cout. Te Paea land an amazing goal from just inside the circle with 5 seconds to go to get the red and black side up by 7.
10 Min: Tactix 25 Steel 32
The Tactix have got three goals in a row as Watson and Fakahokotau are using their silver fern experience in the Steel circle. Tactix have made their mark in this quarter, although Bird is struggling to get free.
8 Min: Tactix 30 Steel 24
Tactix are building the pressure in the mid court, as the Steel try to get it down. Bird struggles to get the ball in from under the hoop with 3 attempts before Te Paea lands it.
6 Min: Tactix 23 Steel 26
O'Connell has got a finger in the eye after going up for a rebound. Ellie bird misses but gets lucky after Fifita touches it before it goes out. Another intercept from Waton
4 Min: Tactix 25 Steel 22
The Steel manage to score for the first time just after 2 minutes. Great communication between Te Paea and Bird.
2 Min: Tactix 23 Steel 20
Poi tips us off, with the Steel making it hard for the Tactix to get the ball down to the shooters. Te Paea slost her first shot of the 3rd quarter. An error leads to the Taxtic scorig off the Tseel pass off, and again off their own.
Going into the Third Quarter with 20 all, the Tactix have 95% shooting accuracy while the Steel are struggling to land the shots at 87%
*****
Second Quarter: Tactix 20 Steel 20
It was goal for goal through out the 2nd quarter, with each team having turns on top. Watson's arms are keeping the ball out of the Steel circle and building defensive pressure with refelction after reflection. Silver Fern Te Paea is now the only shooter to have 100% shooting accuracy
10 Min: Tactix 19 Steel 19
The ball keeps going up and down the court between the two teams as contact keeps being called. A draw with 2 minutes to play.
8 Min: Tactix 17 Steel 18
Fakahokotau goes up for an intercept but O'Connell wins the fight with Fakahokotau landing on the ground. The two Selby - Rickit sister's are having some intense contact in the Tactix' circle.
6 Min: Tactix 16 Steel 16
A beautiful loob from Watson by the centre circle made it into Selby - Rickit who slotted it in under the hoop.
4 Min: Tactix 15 Steel 16
Pressure is starting to build on the shooters, with only Shelby-Rickit keeping her 100%.
2 Min: Tactix 13 Steel 14
A bad feed to Bird into the shooting circle resulted in a steel goal off a Tactix pass making it a draw. McCollin slotted two nicely from under the hoop giving the lead.
*****
First Quarter: Tactix 12 Steel 11
The Tactixs have managed to stay in front by one, with both shooters slotting 100% each by the end of the first quarter. These new 12 minutes quarters have shaved 12 minutes off the normal 60 minutes games.
10 Min: Tactix 11 Steel 9
A few errors from the Tactix let the Steel get ahead, before Watson gained another reflection getting the red and black side on top.
8 Min: Tactix 8 Steel 7
Only one in it with 4 minutes left of the first quarter.
6 Min: Tactix 7 Steel 5
All shooters have aimed at the hoop, and all landing their shots. Bird just landing 4 from 4.
4 Min: Tactix 4 Steel 3
Both Watson and Fakahokotau have had created intercepts within the Steel shooting circle.
2 Min: Tactix 2 Steel 2
No goals have been missed yet within the first two minutes. Watson has already made impact in the Steel's circle with an intercept.
Centre Pass: The Steel have won the first centre pass with Saunders starting us off.
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Starting line up for this evenings Tactix VS Steel match:
Tactix: GS - Ellie Bird, GA - Te Paea Selby-Rickit, WA - Samon Nathan, C - Kimiora Poi, WD - Charlotte Elley, GD - Jane Watson (C), GK - Temalisi Fakahokotau.
Steel: GS - Jennifer O’Connell, GA - Kalifa McCollin, WA - Gina Crampton (C), C - Shannon Saunders, WD - Kate Heffernan, GD - Te Huinga Selby - Rickit, GK - Taneisha Fifita
NOTE: This will be the first time the Shelby-Rickit sisters will face each other after Te Paea moved north this season. Te Paea is starting at GA for the Tactix, while older sister Te Huinga is starting at GD for the Steel.
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Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the ANZ Premiership clash between Southern Steel and Mainland Tactix at the Auckland Netball Centre
With the national netball competition restarting its schedule at the one venue, these two southern teams must travel from the other end of the country for a fixture that should have been a local derby.
Such is the affect of COVID-19.
Both teams will hope to bounce back from first-round losses, with the Tactix falling 53-41 to reigning champions Central Pulse in the season-opener.
After several seasons of mediocrity, the Christchurch-based outfit was favourted to challenge for the title this year, but went into receivership during the coronavirus lockdown and again face an uphill battle to remain competitive.
They will be spearheaded by a potent defensive combination of Jane Watson and Temalisi Fakahokotau, while shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit will face her old team for the first time since moving north.
Meanwhile, the Steel fell 54-48 to Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. They have recruited Trinidad & Tobago shooter Kalifa McCollin to replace Selby-Rickit, but will need her to take greater attacking responsibility, after attempting just 12 shots in her debut.
Southern Steel: Kendall Corkery, Gina Crampton, Abby Erwood, Taneisha Fifita, Georgia Heffernan, Kate Heffernan, Jennifer O'Connell, Kalifa McCollin, Shannon Saunders, Te Huinga Selby-Rickit
Mainland Tactix: Ellie Bird, Charlotte Elley, Temalisi Rakahokotau, Sophia Fenwick, Samon Nathan, Erikana Pedersen, Kimiora Poi, Jess Prosser, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Jane Watson
Centre pass is timed for 5pm.
Stadium issues hamper struggling Mainland Tactix
After being hit especially hard by the COVID-19 crisis, the Canterbury-based Tactix are desperate to get back playing in front of a home crowd.
The revised ANZ Premiership will revert back to home-and-away games at the end of next month, after six weeks at the centralised Auckland Netball Centre.
But the Tactix have an unexpected hurdle to overcome before getting the chance to play in front of their fans.
Captain Jane Watson hopes the support of home fans later in the competition will provide a much-needed boost, as well as the chance to generate some crucial revenue.
"A sell-out would be awesome," says Watson. "Whether you can make enough off that, who knows, but every little bit helps."
But securing a stadium may be easier said than done, with the Tactix saying their regular home venue - Horncastle Arena - is heavily booked.
"Horncastle is quite hard to get into, but we've really got our fingers crossed," says coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek
A Horncastle Arena spokesperson won't say what events are booked over the coming months, but Netball New Zealand is working closely with the teams to secure venues, with an updated draw to be announced on Wednesday.
