Netball: Still some Magic required to secure a playoffs spot

By RICHARD BOOCK

Jenny May Coffin is not so much wondering about which playoff spot her team can claim, as whether they can claim a playoffs spot at all.

The captain and lynch-pin of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic netball side - on top of the Coca Cola Cup table alongside the North Shore-based Force - was a picture of caution yesterday as she eyed tonight's seventh-round games around the country.

Joint leaders with 20 points, the Magic sit out tonight's round with a bye and finish their round-robin commitments with a huge assignment in Invercargill on Sunday against the Sting, and an equally thorny showdown against the Capital Shakers the following week.

"Realistically we could end up fifth," said Coffin of the dramatic finish to the round-robin.

"We're under no illusions about what we need to do - we need to win both our remaining games. Anything else and we're in danger of missing out."

A similar scenario faces co-leaders the Force, who square off against the Canterbury Flames at the North Shore Events Centre tonight, before ending their round-robin campaign at home on Sunday against the Shakers.

Having drawn the bye in the final round, the Force need to bounce back from last week's loss against the Sting with two wins to retain control over their own destiny, although neither is likely to be achieved with any degree of comfort.

The Flames will be smarting after their loss to the Magic last weekend and the Shakers showed what they were capable of in the fourth round when they pipped the Sting by three.

Whatever happens at the North Shore Events Centre tonight, the other matches carry a certain air of inevitability.

The Shakers are expected to beat the Auckland Diamonds in Wellington and the Sting are fancied to overwhelm the Counties-Manukau Cometz at Stadium Southland.

The only remaining question is whether the Otago Rebels can turn on a cold southerly and freeze out the Western Flyers in Dunedin.

Predictions become a lot more difficult on Sunday, when the Sting and the Force host the Magic and the Shakers respectively, leaving the Rebels and the Cometz scrapping over the minor money in Dunedin, and the Flames and the Flyers battle it out in Christchurch.

"It's tough and tight - it's too close to call," Coffin said. "To be honest, I don't really care who wins what in round seven [tonight].

"Five of us are all facing the same scenario, and at that point the most important thing is looking after your own game.

"We're not going down to Invercargill to lose. We've got confidence in our abilities and we know we've got lots of room for improvement - which is a good thing.

" We've been a bit inconsistent all season, and if we're going to beat the Sting we'll have to maintain our intensity all game."