Netball: Kopua ticks off Cup milestone

Casey Kopua has certainly had more productive 30 minutes of netball.

Casey Kopua has certainly had more productive 30 minutes of netball.

She has played quarters where seemingly every ball coming into the opposition attacking third finds its way into her hands.

She has had games where she has restricted the opposition to just five goals a quarter.

She has come up with the clutch plays for her side in tight finals.

But it is hard to recall a 30-minute passage of play in Kopua's career that would have been more widely celebrated than her appearances in the second and fourth quarters of the Magic's win over the Central Pulse in Hamilton last night.

The Silver Ferns' inspirational skipper made her long-awaited return to the court last night, marking a major milestone in her bid to lead the national side at the World Cup in August after suffering a devastating knee injury in last year's Constellation Cup.

Kopua, who has been forced to watch the ANZ Championship action from the sideline all year, took the court in the second quarter to rapturous applause from her home town crowd at Claudelands Arena for her first transtasman league appearance of 2015.

While her anticipation and timing was off at times, Kopua showed no signs of fear or caution as she threw herself into everything, giving her re-built knee a thorough working over.

There were a couple of flashes of the old Kopua brilliance however, with a stunning intercept at the top of the circle, where she cut off a Liana Leota high ball into the shooters, a particular highlight.

She sat out the third spell, but returned at goal defence in the final quarter with the match hanging in the balance as the home side held a narrow 37-35 lead.

It was a tense time to re-introduce the star defender but she - and the rest of her Magic teammates - held her nerve down the home stretch to close out a 52-47 win over the Pulse and cement second spot on the New Zealand conference table.

The loss leaves the Pulse needing to win their final round clash against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide next weekend, and hope the Steel fall to the Firebirds, to book their place in the New Zealand conference finals. But on the strength of last night's performance, and their indifferent form all year, few would tip the Pulse to break their eight-year drought on Australian soil next weekend.

The Pulse have looked a broken team in recent weeks. Emotions ran high for the Wellington-based side after grabbing just one of the points on offer against the Steel last week, with the southerners snatching a draw courtesy of a late penalty shot that was advanced into the circle by umpire Jono Bredin. Pulse captain Katrina Grant was seen after the match remonstrating with Bredin over the decision, as the frustration of a long season of disappointment spilled over.

Last night was probably the Pulse's last opportunity to get it right.