Netball: Heavyweights ready for difficult week

Laura Langman of the Magic. Photo / Getty Images

Having just returned from a difficult road trip across the Tasman, the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic will kick off another crucial phase in their campaign tonight when they meet the NSW Swifts in Tauranga.

The game will be the first of three matches the Magic will play over the next seven days - they meet the Canterbury Tactix in Rotorua on Thursday before heading south to meet the Steel on Sunday.

In the condensed season, all teams experience a double-header round at some stage and for Magic captain Laura Langman the emphasis is on staying grounded as the race for play-off spots intensifies.

"It's going to be a huge week," said Langman, who will tonight notch up her 100th game in Magic colours.

"The double header rounds, on top of travel, little niggles and just the intensity of the competition really adds to how hard it is."

Langman believes the trick to getting through the next week will be sticking to the old mantra of taking it one game at a time, and said their build-up has been fully focused on how to tackle the talented Swifts line-up.

"We want to get off to a good start and ultimately win all those three games. But it's a matter of taking it game by game otherwise you're at risk of getting a little bit overwhelmed by it all."

Tonight's much-anticipated clash between two of the competition heavyweights will be played in a far from glamorous setting. The only venue available for the match is Tauranga's lacklustre Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, which seats just 1500 and is about 15 years past its best.

With international stars littered through both sides it is a shame the fixture couldn't be played at a more suitable venue to give more fans the chance to watch live.

Boasting five Australian Diamonds players - Catherine Cox, Susan Pratley, Kimberlee Green, Mo'onia Gerrard and Rebecca Bulley - as well as English star Sonia Mkoloma, the Sydney side lay claim to having the deepest team in the league.

But they have failed to convert their immense talent into on-court dominance, lying fifth in the standings with a five win, three loss record.

With the Melbourne Vixens and Northern Mystics, who sit third and fourth on the ladder respectively, having already notched up wins this round, Swifts coach Julie Fitzgerald acknowledges her side desperately need to collect the points tonight to stay in touch of the top four.

"The team is aware of the fact that we've got ourselves into a situation where one more loss could potentially rule us out of the finals," said Fitzgerald. "They know that they're playing in pressure situations, but they're used to being there."

The Swifts will come into the match well-rested as they are coming off a bye and have not played since March 27, making it difficult for the Magic to get an accurate gauge of where their opponents are at form-wise.

The Magic v Swifts clash is the first of two big transtasman matches tonight, with the Mystics seeking to break their duck on Australian soil when they take on the West Coast Fever in Perth in the late game.

Th me close to shaking free from the giant monkey on their back against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide earlier this season, but blew an eight-goal lead in the second quarter to eventually go down by two.

The loss prompted Mystics shooter Cathrine Latu hit out at the umpiring in a post-match interview, landing her in hot water with league officials.

Latu admits her composure let her down both during and after the match.

"[The Thunderbirds game] was there for us to take home and we got complacent then and we gave in to what was happening around us - even people that weren't on the court, we gave in to that.

"We have learnt a lot from it and we're just going to go over there and play the netball we play."

* The Pulse were beaten 61-44 by the Firebirds in Porirua last night, while the Vixens earlier beat the Thunderbirds 55-53.

ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 9
Tonight's games

* 7:40pm Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic v NSW Swifts, Tauranga.

* 9:40pm West Coast Fever v Northern Mystics, Perth.