Magic are ready to initiate phase two

Lessons learned on a pre-season canoe trip set the tone for phase one of Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic's 2011 campaign. Now they're on the lookout for a new focus.
Last night they ended the first phase on a high, ramping things up to take a comprehensive 53-41 victory over Melbourne Vixens at Mystery Creek.
Setting targets for phase two of this year's ANZ Championship will be the first order of business when Magic arrive in Perth later this week to play West Coast Fever before facing competition leaders Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane.
Rather than setting goals for the entire competition, Magic are breaking it down this year, setting objectives for six weeks at a time.
They didn't give a flawless performance last night but there were some sublime passages of play, the big names set the tone and the less experienced players took another step up. The display had head coach Noeline Taurua smiling at full time and looking forward to her team's 10-day trip to Australia.
She said the win set the team up "nicely", preparing them for "that Aussie style of play".
Magic will fly to Perth on Saturday and will set the tone and objectives for the next six weeks prior to their clash with Fever next Monday. Taurua said the process would be a democratic one and would involve reviewing the previous phase and reflecting on the challenges ahead.
"It's something different we've started this year. We've always had an overall goal but this season we're breaking it down into phases."
Magic had intended taking six wins from six games in phase one but came up short, pipped at the post by Northern Mystics last week. However, Taurua said that match had included enough positives to build on and provided the opportunity for some solid analysis.
"When you lose you always look at and reflect on things differently than you do after a win and sometimes that can be a good thing."
Last night saw Magic put on a solid, all-round team effort, their best to date this season. They led all game, up 16-11 after the first spell, 29-25 at half time and 39-32 heading into a final quarter they dominated.
Vixens shuffled their line-up each spell and made some inroads in the first three quarters but fell apart in the fourth. They had come into the match following a win over Fever last week and had promised they could match Magic player for player.
Magic had previously shown only glimpses of what they are capable of but came up trumps last night, taking Taurua's instructions to "play what they saw" to heart.
Midcourter Laura Langman stated pre-match that she wanted to have more presence on court and certainly achieved that last night with an excellent display.
Goal shoot Irene van Dyk, who has seemed content to take a back seat to the emerging talents of goal attack Julianna Nauoupu had a great game and defenders Casey Williams and Peta Scholz chimed in with some well-timed turnover.
Meanwhile, Jess Tuki, who is new to the wing attack role, Nauoupu and defender Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick all showed the benefits of regular court time.