KEY POINTS:
Mystics midcourter Temepara George may well have played her last game in New Zealand in the weekend win over Central Pulse, but it could be some weeks before the former Silver Ferns star ends the speculation over her future.
With the Mystics out of play-off contention, this weekend's
match against the Melbourne Vixens across the Tasman will be the Auckland side's last game of the season and possibly George's swansong.
With her partner, league star Sione Faumuina, linked with a switch to UK Superleague next year, George may not return for the Mystics next season. But George said she is yet to make any firm decisions on her netball future.
"I haven't decided yet, I think I'm going to finish the season and then I'll evaluate where I'm at and where my personal life is at and then there maybe news," she said.
"I've really enjoyed this year, and part of the enjoyment has kind of changed my mind on some things. But I want to go out on top you know, so I don't know if I'm still playing well enough to keep going."
Mystics coach Yvonne Willering would scoff at that statement from George, who has been the stand-out player for the Auckland side all season.
The dynamic midcourter would surely be one of the first names Ferns coach Ruth Aitken would scribble down when selecting her squad later this year if George was still available.
The Mystics' 42-28 win over the Central Pulse on Saturday continued the Auckland side's late season resurgence and George said she was pleased with their showing in their last home game of the year.
"We know we've come a very long way since the beginning of the competition so we wanted to show everyone that we have got it," she said.
The Mystics will take a similar mindset in to this weekend's game as they bid to become the first Kiwi side to win on Australian soil this season after the Canterbury Tactix suffered a 50-44 loss to the West Coast Fever in Perth yesterday.
In other matches over the weekend, the Adelaide Thunderbirds secured their place in the semifinals while at the same time consigning the Queensland Firebirds to dust with a convincing 66-47 win. It will take a major upset in the final round for the Firebirds to make the play-offs.
Tonight the number two spot on the ladder is on the line when the Melbourne Vixens take on the NSW Swifts. The Swifts are gunning for their sixth win in a row.
Also tonight, the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic are looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they meet the Southern Steel in Invercargill.
