Netball: Straight in deep end for Mystics

Northern Mystics coach Te Aroha Keenan. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A difficult first up assignment against the Adelaide Thunderbirds will provide a good yardstick of how Northern Mystics are tracking as transtasman title contenders this season.

The revamped Mystics line-up will hit the court for the first time today when the third season of the ANZ Championship begins.

With a swag of star recruits the Auckland side are considered top four material this year, but those predictions may be hastily reassessed if the Mystics don't put on a strong showing against last year's beaten finalists.

While it is a long season ahead and it would be foolish to consign a team's season to the rubbish bin on the basis on one performance, today's match could prove important in the overall scheme of things.

Given the atrocious record of the New Zealand sides on Australian soil, winning transtasman clashes at home is crucial. One of the anamolies of the 1 round draw system is that each year some teams get three home games against Australian sides, and others two.

The Auckland side are lucky to have three Australian fixtures at home this year and coach Te Aroha Keenan said if they can win all they will be in a good place to challenge for the crown.

"If you can win those home games against the Australian sides it definitely gives you an edge," Keenan said.

To overcome the Thunderbirds they will need to shake a rather large proverbial primate off their backs.

The Mystics are the only Kiwi franchise to have never beaten an Australian side. Even perennial cellar-dwellers the Central Pulse have managed to jag a win against an Aussie team, with their only victory from the first two seasons coming against the NSW Swifts last year.

But Keenan said they had not paid this rather unflattering statistic any attention in their build-up. "We just need to win games fullstop."

And Keenan is aware of how difficult it will be to snatch the two points today. The Adelaide side have strong core of top-class internationals including co-captains Natalie von Bertouch and Mo'onia Gerrard, shooter Kate Beveridge and English defender Geva Mentor.

But it is their newest addition - 1.93m Jamaican shooter Carla Borrego - that is causing the Mystics the most consternation.

Having played College basketball in the United States for the past six years, very little is known about what Borrego brings to the netball court.

Mystics defender Joline Henry said the team had been quizzing their own Jamaican star Althea Byfield on what they can expect.

"Carla has been out of the game for about six years, so she's very much an unknown quantity. But Althea has been able to tell us a few little things, like she's left-handed, and where she likes to hold and things, so that definitely helps," said Henry.

Henry, who has been struggling with a calf injury for the past six weeks, is eager to get out on court and experience first-hand what Borrego is about.

But the Mystics management may have other ideas as they look to ease the Ferns defender back in to action.

"I'm itching to get out there and contribute in what ever way possible. I did a fitness test last night and passed it, so I'm allowed to see the court. But for how long and in what capacity, I'm not too sure."

Today's game is the first of three big transtasman clashes on the season's opening weekend.

The Southern Steel take on the West Coast Fever in Invercargill tomorrow, while the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic begin their campaign for redemption against defending champions the Vixens in Melbourne on Monday night.

The all-local match-ups also look intriguing, with the Queensland Firebirds taking on the NSW Swifts on the Gold Coast tomorrow and the Canterbury Tactix set to take on the Central Pulse on Monday.

ANZ Championship

* Today: Mystics v Thunderbirds, Auckland, 2.20pm

* Tomorrow: Queensland Firebirds v NSW Swifts, Gold Coast, 4.50pm; Southern Steel v West Coast Fever, Invercargill, 6.50pm

* Monday: Canterbury Tactix v Central Pulse, Christchurch, 7.20pm; Melbourne Vixens v Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, Melbourne, 9.05pm