Netball: Mystics' mistakes put line-up in doubt

Pamela Cookey and her fellow Northern Mystics shooters are to work on shooting under pressure. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Northern Mystics coach Te Aroha Keenan has put her players on notice after their embarrassing 11-goal defeat to the West Coast Fever in round three.

The Mystics jetted to Perth last weekend confident they could knock over the Fever and become the first Kiwi side to win across the Tasman.

They failed spectacularly, with the young Fever side thrashing their visitors 57-46.

With two losses and one unconvincing win from the opening three rounds, Keenan is imploring her side to lift their performance several notches when they step out on court against the NSW Swifts in Sydney on Monday night.

The no-nonsense Keenan says some players simply aren't doing their jobs and has hinted that if they don't step up, the axe may fall.

"I played 11 players on Monday night, and my comment to them this morning was, 'You know, I'd love to make changes because I want to make changes, not changes that are forced upon me because people aren't doing their job'," said Keenan.

"When players out on court are not doing their job and not sticking to the gameplan, then people are going to question why they are out there and that's what I said to the group this morning - 'Give me a reason why you should be out there."'

On top of the alarming number of basic unforced errors from her side on Monday night, Keenan was disappointed in the reluctance her shooters displayed to put up the shots.

Starting goal-shoot Cathrine Latu put up just six shots in the second quarter of the match before being replaced at halftime by Jade Topia, who also had limited output.

Keenan said her shooters needed to learn to absorb the pressure and have confidence to put the shots up.

"There's a feeling with some of our shooters that 'oh my gosh they're too close', or 'she's intimidating me' but, hell, that's life, get used to it. For shooters, they've got to be able to put the ball up under pressure, whether they're getting pushed around or shunted, so that's something we really need to work on."

Mystics captain Temepara George said there had been a lot of soul-searching going on in the camp after their disappointing performance in Perth, but she believes her side will respond well to Keenan's hard words.

"We've looked at the video and we've seen it's just basic errors that we're making and it's up to us as individuals to clean that up and do the givens really well," George said.

"I think a lot of us were cringing at some of the things we did, but we need to actually look at them. It's like that song Man in the Mirror - we need to look at ourselves and do something about it."

The Central Pulse will kick off a weekend of transtasman battles today when they take on the West Coast Fever in Palmerston North, while the Southern Steel's top four credentials will be put to the test in the later match-up against the Melbourne Vixens across the Tasman.

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic won't be weighed down with the curse of New Zealand teams still seeking an elusive win on Australian soil when they meet the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane on Sunday.

But Magic coach Noeline Taurua will want to follow up last Monday's emphatic 18-goal win over defending champions NSW Swifts with another comprehensive all-round performance to keep Magic at the top of the table.

The Canterbury Tactix are bracing themselves for a bruising encounter against the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Christchurch on Monday night.

ANZ CHAMPS - ROUND 4

Today: 2pm Central Pulse v West Coast Fever, Palmerston North; 4pm Melbourne Vixens v Southern Steel, Melbourne.

Tomorrow: 4:30pm Queensland Firebirds v Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, Brisbane.

Monday: 7pm Canterbury Tactix v Adelaide Thunderbirds, Christchurch; 9pm NSW Swifts v Northern Mystics, Sydney.