Jenny-May Coffin is back and raring to go for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic's Coca-Cola Cup netball clash with the Auckland Diamonds tonight.
The Silver Ferns midcourter is returning to Coca Cola Cup action after suffering a slipped disc that forced her to sit out the first three rounds.
Training at fullsteam again this week, Coffin said her back was coping well and she had experienced no problems in the lead-up to tonight's clash at Rotorua's Sportsdrome.
"I'm looking forward to getting back on court. I've got through training okay and I wouldn't come back if I didn't feel I could give the team what I'm capable of," the Hamilton-based Silver Fern said.
After two wins and a loss, the clash with the Diamonds will be a vital one as the Magic strive to make one of the competition's four play-off spots.
Coffin believes the top three spots are fairly predictable, with Southern Sting, Northern Force and probably the Canterbury Flames the frontrunners.
But the fourth spot is up for grabs.
Consistency, while an improvement on last year, has been somewhat lacking in the Magic's 2001 Coca Cola Cup performances to date and will be the key to beating Auckland, according to Coffin.
"We need to put on a top performance in all four quarters. It's vital for us to be consistent over the whole game," she said.
"Second will be the need to play to our own strengths. We know Diamonds have a fairly quick midcourt but we've got a pretty dynamic defence - Jolene (Henry) is amazing in the air - and Julie (Kelman-Poto) can pretty much pot the ball in from anywhere as long as our passes are in the right place.
"If we play to those strengths, it'll be a damn good game."
Coffin noted Auckland players to be wary of included, former Magic player Monika Gabriel at the shooting end, the potentially explosive Anna Rowberry through the court and dogged young Rachel Rasmussen in defence.
"They'll be a fairly well-polished team and we're looking forward to a fairly intense and physical encounter. It should be one those games where we'll be pushing each other to the wire," Coffin said.
