Kopua unfazed by Steel's tall order

The Southern Steel may have been dismissed as a one-woman band, their style of play boring and predictable, but Magic defender Casey Kopua can't wait to get another crack at them.

Fortunately for Kopua, she had to wait only two weeks between her side's seven-goal loss to the Steel in round nine, and tomorrow's rematch in Rotorua. It will be the third straight week Kopua and her defensive partner Leana de Bruin have taken on one of the league's Jamaican giants, with the Magic facing Romelda Aiken's Queensland Firebirds in between their two meetings against the Steel, led by 1.98m super-shooter Jhaniele Fowler.

The increasing influence of super-tall shooters has led some to bemoan the one-dimensional gameplans of teams lucky enough to have one at their disposal. But Kopua said that, as a defender, the challenge did not get any greater than trying to contain a tall target like Fowler.

"I don't find it boring, it's a really good challenge for us," she said. "I'm glad we're getting a second go at Jhaniele, it gives us a chance to try and suss things out that we didn't do right last time."

Averaging a shade over 50 goals a game, Fowler has shot 200 more goals this season than the Magic's Irene van Dyk.

The key to shutting Fowler down sounds simple enough - just stop the ball from getting to her. But it is an approach that requires relentless defence and hands-over pressure right throughout the court for the full 60 minutes, as was demonstrated by the Melbourne Vixens last Monday.

"It sounds easy, and you practise working at that intensity, but when it comes to putting it into action it's really hard," said Kopua.

The Magic need to win all their remaining matches to guarantee their place in the top four, although having rediscovered their ability to grind out a win against the Firebirds last weekend, their task now seems a lot more achievable than it did a week ago.

"I felt against the Firebirds there were definitely glimpses of things we did as a team and as individuals that we did last year," said Kopua.

Round 11

Tomorrow: 2.10pm NSW Swifts v Adelaide Thunderbirds, Sydney; 4.10pm Queensland Firebirds v Melbourne Vixens, Brisbane; 7.20pm Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic v Southern Steel, Rotorua.

Monday: 7.40pm Mainland Tactix v Central Pulse, Christchurch.

Byes: Northern Mystics/West Coast Fever