Dana Johannsen: Getting the best out of a bitter rivalry

A Kiwi team winning across the ditch? The Central Pulse managing a win fullstop? New Zealand teams on top after a weekend of transtasman battles?

You could be forgiven for thinking the ANZ Championship had entered netball's version of the twilight zone in round 13.

First the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic finally broke that awful hoodoo plaguing New Zealand teams on Australian soil.

The Magic became the first Kiwi side to record a win across the Tasman, toppling the West Coast Fever in Perth by 11 goals on Sunday.

Yes, it was an embarrassingly long time coming - 27 rounds to be exact - but Kiwi fans will still delight in the fact the monkey is off the back.

Then just two hours later the Pulse were celebrating a breakthrough of their own, notching up their first win of the ANZ Championship.

Not just their first win of the season, but their first win ever. And it came against the reigning premiers the NSW Swifts.

If someone had told the Pulse at the start of the season they would break their duck against the defending champs, even the most hopeful among them would be dubious.

Sure, the Aussies won the Rivalry Round honours following last night's Vixens v Tactix match - the Melburnians' 28-goal win gave their country a nine-point victory - but this was a watershed weekend for the Kiwis, who won three of the five matches played.

Nine weeks ago New Zealand weren't able to win any transtasman clashes over Anzac weekend - this is a remarkable turnaround.

So what has changed? A disturbance in the force for Australia? Fortunate scheduling?

Or could it be the New Zealand teams have finally turned a corner in the transtasman league?

I'd like to think it is the latter, but unfortunately it has happened a little late in the season to draw any firm conclusions. With just two transtasman games remaining now in the regular season, there is no way to judge for sure whether the weekend's Kiwi successes were a fluke or not.

However, there have been some promising signs over the past couple of weeks that the Kiwi teams are finally learning what it takes to compete with their Aussie counterparts. The Steel's narrow defeat to the Firebirds in Brisbane is just one example.

Although the Steel lost, it was arguably their best performance of the season up until that point. They looked sharp and well prepared, and had clearly taken steps to better adjust to the local umpiring.

Across the board the New Zealand sides are now playing with a lot more confidence against their Aussie rivals. Long may it continue.