Netball: Tangle on NZ ladder at competition midpoint

Magic player Courtney Tairi (right) fights for the ball with Tactix player Jade Clarke. Photo / Alan Gibson

It was supposed to be the period in the competition where a clear pecking order was established.

Instead, the past few weeks of the transtasman league have only further confused things on the New Zealand conference ladder.

The only thing we can be clear on as the ANZ Championship approaches the halfway point this weekend is that the Mainland Tactix are not finals contenders.

Even then you can't discount the Tactix mathematically just yet, but after last week's 84-58 loss to the Southern Steel it is safe to say this year won't be the year the Canterbury side break their finals drought.

Aside from the struggling Tactix, the rest of the table is decidedly congested, with no team really able to break free after the first phase of intra-country competition, which has traditionally proved the "moving" stage.

The Northern Mystics lead with a three-point jump on the rest of the competition, but they won't be feeling too comfortable with their position having amassed just one more win than the Magic, Steel and Pulse.

The Mystics have had to settle for two draws over the past few weeks, although last week's last gasp tie against the Magic would have felt more like a win for the Auckland side after trailing for most of the match.

The Mystics are also the only New Zealand side that have won more games than they have lost - a statistic that will have transtasman league bosses feeling a little twitchy as they brace themselves for the inevitable backlash over the new conference format comes finals time.

It is hard to argue with critics of the new format when the second-placed team on the New Zealand ladder (the Magic) has a negative goal differential. Yet it is coach Julie Fitzgerald's Magic that proved the most competitive against the Australian sides over the first few weeks of the competition, toppling the Thunderbirds in Adelaide in round one.

The heavily depleted side then pushed the Swifts and Vixens to the wire in the weeks following.

They have not looked as composed against the New Zealand sides, with a shaky win over the Tactix their only other victory this year.

The Magic looked to be back on track last week against the Mystics, holding a healthy lead for most of the second half before letting a crucial point slip as the Auckland side stormed back to snatch a draw - a result that could prove costly come the end of the season.

Magic shooter Ellen Halpenny said her team's inconsistency had been a source of frustration.

"I think it's hard to give our team a really good rating because at times we've played like a ten but then at times we've played like a four.

"We definitely need to nail the little things, those little percentages which make all the difference, like losing a nine goal lead in the final quarter against the Mystics when all we needed to do was score off our centre pass," she said.

The Magic will be looking to create some breathing room on the ladder when they meet the third-placed Southern Steel in Invercargill today.

The Steel are just hanging on to the third spot over the Pulse through a stronger goal percentage. In another oddity on the New Zealand table, the Steel have the best goal percentage of all the Kiwi teams.

The Pulse have the opportunity to force their way into the top three with a win over the Mystics on Monday, in what is shaping up to be a tense showdown between two virtually all-international line-ups.

The Wellington side were bitterly disappointed after letting a handy lead slip against the Mystics three weeks ago, falling prey to the Auckland side's fast-finishing ways.

Round 7
Today: 4.10pm Southern Steel v Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, Invercargill.

Tomorrow: 2.18pm Melbourne Vixens v Queensland Firebirds, Melbourne; 4.18pm Adelaide Thunderbirds v NSW Swifts, Adelaide; 7.10pm Mainland Tactix v West Coast Fever, Blenheim.

Monday: 7.40pm Central Pulse v Northern Mystics, Wellington.