The spotlight looks set to fall on the Waikato Bay of Plenty (WBOP) shooting circle in Rotorua when the hosts take on Mainland in the second round of the Beko Netball League.
The Margaret Forsyth-coached side takes on Mainland at the Rotorua Events Centre tomorrow for the first time in the new national competition following the ANZ Championship game between the Magic and the Steel.
There are plenty of players to watch from both sides including young WBOP netballers Courtney Elliott, who can play either end of the court and was recently named in the national secondary schools side, and Monica Falkner who was named shooter of the tournament at last year's national under-23 championship.
The 1.81m shooter made the national under-21 development squad last year with a goal of making the national side to compete at Netball World Youth Cup Botswana 2017. But Falkner could find herself up against an opponent who knows plenty of shooting tricks with Mainland captain Sophia Fenwick making the switch from goalshooter to defence.
Fenwick, who dabbled in defence at club level, played for the Tactix and Steel at ANZ Championship level in the shooting circle but Mainland coach Nic Kelly believes the former attacker has the ability to play in defence at a higher level.
The Mainland side is light on experience in the shooting circle but has a strong mid-court with former franchise players Hannah Poff and Chloe Williamson set to make an impact.
The other Beko Netball League match sees Northern back up from their three goal first-round loss to South, to take on Central at the Auckland Netball Centre on Sunday at 2.30pm.
It will be the first outing for the Yvette McCausland-Durie coached Central side which includes a number of players who stood out at college netball level in recent seasons, including shooters Tiana Metarau and Jermaine Howard-Vallance, midcourter Mila Reuelu-Buchanan and defender Colleen Faleafaga.
The Beko Netball League runs over 12 weekends with a double round-robin ending in a Grand Final in Auckland on June 26.