Netball: Steels sink Pulse in Dunedin

Jamaican Jhaniele Fowler-Reid was a happy recipient of numerous balls in to the circle. Photo / Getty

The Central Pulse have moved in to "must-win" territory.

They've got four games left in their 2015 ANZ Championship campaign, three of which are against Kiwi sides, and they probably need to win those three if they want to make the playoffs.

The Pulse round out the season with a trip to Adelaide to meet the Thunderbirds on May 31 but you could bet the farm on the Australians in that one given the Pulse's record across the Tasman.

Robyn Broughton's Pulse went down 50-49 to the Southern Steel in Dunedin today, which pushed the Steel two points clear of the Pulse in the congested New Zealand conference.

The Mystics lead the pack with 10 points, the Steel have seven, the same figure as the third-placed Magic, while the Pulse are stuck on five; the top three teams make the playoffs. The Tactix are existing in the competition but aren't a factor.

The Steel don't boast the most complex gameplan but when you have a 1.98m goal shoot, feeding her the ball seems the best option.

Jamaican international Jhaniele Fowler-Reid (35/44) was a happy recipient of numerous balls in to the circle and the challenge for the Pulse was to cut them off at the source.

The Pulse were down 31-27 at halftime following a mixed second quarter and coach Broughton, not a noted user of her bench, made a handful of changes.

She pulled the struggling Irene van Dyk, centre Elias Shadrock and defender Ama Agbeze.
The evergreen van Dyk, who turns 43 next month, was unable to impose herself on the contest as her movement was limited in the circle and she was only able to shoot seven goals from nine attempts during the first half.

The former Silver Fern's replacement was Ameliaranne Wells (11/15) who offers a point of difference in the circle as support to goal attack Jodi Brown (31/33). Brown, a former Steel captain, lifted for the match with her former side.

Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit replaced Agbeze, which meant she was sent on to help mark her younger sister Te Paea (15/18) who was at goal attack for the Steel.

The Selby-Rickit who plays for the Southern franchise leads the league in goal assists, which is part of the team's mantra of feeding the ball to Fowler-Reid who has scored the second-most goals in the competition.

Broughton's changes helped the Pulse edge the third frame 12-10 and they entered the final quarter trailing 41-39 as the game moved towards a tight finish.

The scores were locked at 49-49 with less than two minutes left but a crucial error from the Pulse in the dying seconds help Fowler-Reid find the winning goal.

Southern Steel 50 (Jhaniele Fowler-Reid 35/44, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 15/18)
Central Pulse 49 (Jodi Brown 31/33, Ameliaranne Wells 11/15, Irene van Dyk 7/9)
1Q: 14-14, HT: 31-27, 3Q: 41-39