Magic eager to take Pulse

The chance to cement second place should be motivation enough for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in their final-round ANZ Championship netball match against the Central Pulse on Monday.
Already assured of a place in the top four for the finals, a win for the Magic, who will be playing in Taupo for the first time, would seal the runners-up spot behind the Queensland Firebirds. That would give them the bonus of the double-life system afforded the top two.
The Magic are the only team to have reached the finals series every year since the competition began in 2008 but Australian teams have won the trophy each time.
For now, coach Noeline Taurua is not looking beyond the Pulse, who with three wins this campaign are celebrating their most successful season. They also have a habit of playing well against the Magic.
Taurua was thrilled with the Magic's last outing against the Adelaide Thunderbirds, responding to criticism of recent disjointed performances with a 19-goal win.
While acknowledging the contribution of Irene van Dyk, Laura Langman and Casey Williams, Taurua stressed she had been bedding in a new attack line and it had taken time.
"Recently our product may not have been as good as it could be but at the moment we're still winning and our team unit is really strong," Taurua said. "At this time of the season, when the pressure is on, good team morale is priceless.
"Sometimes pressure can have a distracting influence but, if anything, it is working in the opposite for us in that we've formed a rock-solid tight team unit.
"Jess (Tuki) and Julianna (Naoupu) are learning on the job. Confidence is a huge thing and can be there one game and gone the next.
"At this stage I'm pretty proud of what the girls have done and where we sit.
"We want to do well in this last game, get the two points and see what happens after that, instead of thinking too far ahead."
Patchy past performances against the Pulse have not been lost on Taurua who would like the Magic to build on the momentum gained in the last round.
With many teams starting to feel the pinch from the condensed season, Taurua said she was thankful for the meticulous planning that had gone into the Magic's 2011 campaign.
Meanwhile, Northern Mystics coach Debbie Fuller is confident her side can cope with the pressure and book a spot in the playoffs in their must-win match against the Southern Steel in Invercargill tomorrow.
A win will ensure the Mystics qualify for post-season play for the first time, but anything less will see the talent-laden side fail to join the Magic as New Zealand's representatives in the top four.
The Mystics thumped the Steel by 17 goals in the first round but Fuller is only too aware of the coaching nous of Robyn Broughton and the ability of the southerners to cause an upset.
"You can't go into this game underestimating anything about the Steel, and you never do, because of the way Robyn prepares her team," said Fuller.
"It's another game we've got to win. The ball is in our court - for want of a better word - but we've really got to go down there and play positive and attacking netball.
"I think it is good to have pressure like this, it's a must-win game for us and that's the way we're going to approach it."
Shooter Cathrine Latu will be motivated to put in a good performance after her bid to play for the Silver Ferns in the world championships was scuppered by a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week, but Fuller said she was not dwelling on the decision.
"She's dumped it, we've dumped it and we're moving on," she said.
The Canterbury Tactix host the unbeaten Firebirds tonight, while third-placed Melbourne Vixens entertain the fourth-placed NSW Swifts, the winner banking their place in the playoffs and the loser at risk of dropping out of the top four if the Mystics win. On Monday, the Thunderbirds face the West Coast Fever, both out of contention.