Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News / Sport

Magic make history in netball final thriller

By Ingrid Tiriana
Hamilton News·
22 Jul, 2012 10:50 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sunday's thrilling come-from-behind victory over Melbourne Vixens in the transtasman grand final was vindication for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

Captain Laura Langman was elated as she "finally" held aloft the coveted ANZ Championship trophy after her team's 41-38 win in a rollercoaster grand final in Melbourne.

Also named the competition's most valuable player, 26-year-old Langman said Magic never lost faith in what they were doing, despite a rocky start to their 2012 campaign.

Written off by some after a season-opening four straight losses, Magic celebrated their biggest moment in the ANZ Championship, becoming the first New Zealand team to take the title.

This year Magic changed their approach and held one another more accountable, creating a performance culture which saw them find something extra, an unbreakable internal strength that led them on an unprecedented 12-game winning streak.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The losses were definitely unplanned but we went from strength to strength every game and knew we were on the right track. We never stopped believing," Langman said.

Winning the title was "a long time coming" for Magic and would mean "a whole lot to a lot of people for many different reasons".

"We've not had the easiest campaign, we've had our ups and downs and I'm just so proud of what we've achieved, given where we've come from," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Magic are the only side to have made the play-offs every year so far but had always fallen short until yesterday, twice beaten in the grand final.

Langman, who shared the most valuable player award with Northern Mystics star Temepara George, said every game had been a full team effort.

"That includes the girls on the sideline - and the support we get from everyone involved and the fans is sensational."

There were plenty of Magic fans among the 10,500 at Melbourne's Hisense Arena.

As they have done several times this season, Magic stole the match late in the game, digging deep to turn around what looked to be a Vixens win by converting some crucial turnover at the defensive end where Casey Williams and player of the match Leana de Bruin were in devastating form.

The pair had the Vixens' shooters under the pump all game and poured on the pressure as the game wound down, causing hesitation and creating turnover opportunities.

Magic held their nerve to convert at the other end, sharpshooter Irene van Dyk once again coming up trumps and goal attack Julianna Naoupu, who struggled at times during the match, stepping up when it counted most.

The match opened with a low-scoring, error-ridden first quarter from both teams, ending with the Vixens up 8-7. In the second spell Williams and de Bruin continued to badger the Vixens shooters and gained plenty of turnover but Magic had trouble finding any rhythm at the attack end. Clean ball was hard to come by and the Vixens were better at converting their turnover.

The Vixens were up 22-18 at halftime and by the middle of the third spell Magic had slipped back to a six-goal deficit before pulling themselves together for a four-goal streak to finish just three down, the Vixens leading 31-28 going into the final 15 minutes.

The final quarter saw Magic start well, scoring four goals in succession, then continuing to gain turnover to fashion a three-goal lead. The Vixens were far from done, however, battling away to level the score at 38-all to set up a nail-biting finish.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was Magic who held their nerve to score the winning goals and take the title.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

All Blacks forward Sititi out of French series

26 Jun 04:54 AM
Waikato Herald

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

25 Jun 10:36 PM
Sport

Super Rugby Pacific sees viewership increase

25 Jun 08:25 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

All Blacks forward Sititi out of French series

All Blacks forward Sititi out of French series

26 Jun 04:54 AM

Christian Lio-Willie has been called into the squad as cover.

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep
Waikato Herald

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

25 Jun 10:36 PM
Super Rugby Pacific sees viewership increase

Super Rugby Pacific sees viewership increase

25 Jun 08:25 PM
From All Blacks to Barbarians: Sam Cane's rugby journey continues

From All Blacks to Barbarians: Sam Cane's rugby journey continues

25 Jun 01:17 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP