Netball: Mystics back in spoiler role

For the second year running the Northern Mystics are hoping to derail the Southern Steel's bid for a place in the ANZ Championship finals.

The two sides meet in Invercargill in tonight's round 11 transtasman league clash - the match a must-win for the Steel if they are to remain in control of their own play-offs destiny.

With the Mystics' hopes of a finals spot long gone, they have to be content with playing the spoiler over the remaining rounds of the competition.

And the Aucklanders will have no qualms about potentially destroying their compatriots' chances of being just the second New Zealand side to feature beyond the regular season in the transtasman league. After all, it was the Mystics who denied the Steel a place in the finals last year.

The Southern franchise's play-offs campaign looked dead in the water at the mid-way point of last season. But after a bye in round eight, the Steel launched a stunning comeback, winning five of their last six games.

Their only loss over the back half of the season came against a physical Mystics outfit in Auckland, which ultimately cost the Steel a place in the semifinals in the inaugural season.

The Steel are desperate for history not to repeat itself. Their top four hopes were given a boost on Saturday when the Canterbury Tactix beat the Queensland Firebirds in Christchurch.

With the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, the Melbourne Vixens and Adelaide Thunderbirds sitting comfortably in the top four, it is increasingly looking like it will be a two-way battle between the Steel and the Firebirds for the last play-off spot.

A win tonight would see the Steel leapfrog the Firebirds in to fourth place before their showdown next weekend.

In tonight's other match, the Vixens will be looking to bounce back from their maiden loss of the season with a good win over the defending champions NSW Swifts in Sydney.

The match-up against the ninth-placed Swifts may not be as straightforward as it appears on paper, though. The last encounter between the two went to extra time before the Vixens stamped their authority.