Finals place missed by two-goal margin

GREAT MOMENT: From left, Magic captain Casey Kopua, Aylish Dunlop, Lahkaia Reriti and Stars captain Leana de Bruin. PHOTO/Supplied

It is hard to believe a talent-laden team like the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic have missed out on making the finals of the ANZ Premiership.

But that is the reality facing the Magic as Sunday's elimination final will be between hosts the Pulse and Mystics with the winner taking on the Steel a week later.

At Tauranga's ASB Arena on Wednesday night the formula for the Magic to make Sunday's final was clear - beat the Northern Stars by 15 clear goals if the Stars score 47 or less or by 16 if the Stars score an extra goal or more.

The Magic players gave it their all in front of an excellent crowd and with the clock ticking down to the final two minutes managed to get 15 goals in front.

But the Stars were in no mood to concede any ground after the feisty match between the sides earlier in round robin play.

They dug deep and in the stand-out play of the game, captain and former Magic player Leana de Bruin intercepted a Magic pass with less than a minute to go that led to a goal at the other end.

The final victory margin of 58-45 was two short of the target for the Magic.

The tale of the season for the Magic was losing three successive games leading into Wednesday night's thriller in Tauranga after looking assured of a place in the finals.

But two young Tauranga fans were not worrying about that pre-game as they had the thrill of meeting both captains and having their photograph taken on court with them.

Lahkaia Reriti, 11, and Aylish Dunlop, 12, won the opportunity to meet the team captains and high-five each of the players as they were called on to centre court at the start of the match through the ANZ Future Captains competition.

Lahkaia attends Mount Maunganui Intermediate and has been playing for five years. She was nervous before the game but excited to meet her heroes and watch them play.

"It was really cool having my photo taken with the captains. My favourite part was seeing how good the players were at defending."

ANZ head of sponsorship Susan McGregor says they are passionate about supporting netball at every level, from the elite to the grassroots.

"That's why we're giving 94 children from around New Zealand the chance to meet their sporting heroes at each of the ANZ Premiership matches this season.

"We're very pleased we're able to offer this amazing opportunity to young Kiwis and hope that by offering them the chance to stand on centre court with their heroes it will help inspire them to achieve their dreams."