Netball: Last chance for Mystics to get Oz gameplan right

Northern Mystics shooter Cathrine Latu tends to draw a lot of offensive penalties. Photo / Getty Images

Fluid style and attacking mindset hasn't worked too well against Aussie sides.

Out of the ashes of a disappointing 2014 transtasman league season the Northern Mystics salvaged one small gem: in their final two matches they thought they'd found the makings of a successful gameplan against Australian opposition.

The Mystics finished off an awful season last year with impressive wins over the West Coast Fever and the finals-bound NSW Swifts.

The games were notable for not just the Mystics' sudden turnaround in form, but the fast, open and thrilling style of netball the Auckland side employed. And so, when Mystics coach Debbie Fuller and her assistant Noeline Taurua began their planning for this season, they sat down with senior players Cathrine Latu, Maria Tutaia and Laura Langman and looked closely at what was different about their approach.

"In essence the girls played, without actually thinking about how they played. And then when we sat down and asked the players why were they successful in those last few games, we were able to start unfolding the behaviours and looking at what they did differently and what gave them that connectedness to one another," said Fuller.

From that session the Mystics came up with a bold, new gameplan - they wanted to play a dynamic, fluid style, taking an attacking mindset in all areas of their play.

But for all their late-season success last year with this approach, the Mystics have so far failed to replicate it in 2015 against the Australian sides.

There have been glimpses of brilliance throughout the year as they charged through the regular rounds unbeaten against their domestic rivals, but they have yet to successfully pull off their gameplan against the Aussies.

The Mystics will have one last chance to get it right tomorrow, when they meet the high-flying Queensland Firebirds in the first of two transtasman semifinals this weekend. Later in the day the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic host the NSW Swifts - the same side they dispatched in last year's playoffs.

Taking on the in-form Firebirds at home will be the ultimate test of the Auckland side's resolve to commit to their new brand of netball.

Of all the Australian sides, the Firebirds - fairly or not - are considered to be the most physical. It's true, the Mystics are, as former Australian coach Norma Plummer would say, no angels either, but more on that later.

The Queensland side, captained by the impressive Laura Geitz, are well drilled on defence.

They play hard on the body, will contest every ball that comes remotely near them, yet have a remarkable ability to recover and put strong hands over pressure in the next phase of play. Geitz in that regard leads from the front.

But her physical presence on court also makes her a strong presence in the league's penalty stats. Geitz, who also leads the Australian national side, has been the most penalised player in the league for three of the past four seasons. This year she looks likely to lose her crown as Queen of the Whistle to Swifts' defender Sharni Layton, but Geitz is still on track to finish the season in the top two of the league's penalty count for the sixth straight year.

While this means she is standing out of play more than any other player, Geitz's critics will argue it is also the reason she is so effective as the constant physical pressure wears opposition shooters down. Tired and frustrated players are more prone to making mistakes.

But Fuller isn't one of those critics.

"Laura Geitz is a really great competitor, she's great for the game - the game needs competitors like her," said Fuller.

"There's a tendency for the Australian style of play to work hard on the body, and it's a successful style for them. It's a game style we're anticipating. We have to be able to withstand the Australian defensive style and part of the approach we've taken this year is trying to play as much uncontested offensive plays."

Trying to limit the amount of ball the opposition can have a crack at involves a lot of hard work off the ball. It means the attacking players need to start their movements early to get free of their defender and constant changes of direction, as long leads are a lot easier to defend. That extra effort could in some way explain why it has been difficult for the Mystics to maintain their intensity throughout matches - the team's key downfall this year.

"We look at our GPS data and our midcourters are running at about five and a half to six kms at high speed during a game, with big open game style that increases. So the demand on the players is bigger, but I still firmly believe it is the way to go, because when we are playing an open court and moving the ball, we're successful."

That attacking mindset is also carried through to defence, with the defenders encouraged to push forward and attack the ball early rather than packing back and waiting for it to come to them. This approach has seen the Mystics' also accused of overt physicality, with some of the team's young defenders lacking finesse.

But it is the penalty count down the other end of the court that will be of concern for Fuller heading into tomorrow's match. Shooter Cathrine Latu tends to draw a lot of offensive penalties, particularly across the Tasman, because of the way she uses her body to hold space.

"It's something we're aware of and Cathrine is aware of. They've been reducing over the season and I'm really proud of the adjustment she has made because she has made a lot of effort of looking at the situations she gets pulled up on," said Fuller.

Semifinals:
Queensland Firebirds v Northern Mystics; tomorrow, 2.18pm, Brisbane.
Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic v NSW Swifts; tomorrow, 7.10pm, Hamilton.