Finals berth up for grabs for Magic

RISING STAR: Sam Sinclair has been a leading player for the Magic this season. PHOTO: Michael Bradley

Sunday's shock win by the Tactix over the Mystics means there is still much for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic to play for in Tauranga tonight.

Magic need to beat the Northern Stars by 15 goals in the final round robin match in the ANZ Championship at ASB Arena to sneak past the Mystics into the elimination final against the Pulse on Sunday.

Rotorua's Sam Sinclair has been a shining light for the Magic in an up and down 2017 season.

Sinclair, who turned 22 this month, has successfully switched from centre to wing defence for most of the season.

She says there has to be a bigger motivation than making the final spot.

"We are a team like a lot of sports teams that are never going to be the same next year.

"We are going to have possibly different management, players will come and go, so this game will ultimately be the last game this same group of people will be able to perform together," Sinclair said.

"We don't want to leave this season on a low, or a loss, or a bad performance in our last game. For me, that is big enough motivation to get ourselves up for that game. We can produce something pretty spectacular on-court which we have seen in glimpses this season."

Magic looked set for a place in the elimination final until an inopportune loss of form saw them drop their last three games against the Pulse, the Steel and a heart-breaking one-pointer to the Mystics in their last start.

"Score lines do tell a bit of a story. We have lacked a bit of composure in these last few games at critical times in each of those matches. There were times in each of those games where we needed to capitalise on a turnover or really consolidate the centre pass and we couldn't do that.

"We have been addressing that at training but being unable to perform in high-pressure situations on court consistently has been where we have let ourselves down."

ASB Arena is highly regarded by the players as one of New Zealand's premier netball venues.

Sinclair would love to see Western Bay fans make a statement for trying to get more games by filling the stadium.

"I love going back to the Bay to play. It is a really cool location a couple of metres down from the sea. It is awesome to be able to spread the love of the Waikato Bay of Plenty netball zone back to Tauranga.

"For regions like Tauranga and Rotorua, it is pretty critical for a big crowd to turn up leading into next year's competition. A big finish to the season would be so awesome."