Netball: Four minutes of goalscoring magic has Force on top

By DAVID LEGGAT

A final-quarter scoring burst removed the jitters and carried the R'toto Force to victory and a share of the lead in the national netball league yesterday.

The North Shore franchise had their work cut out against a lively Waikato/BoP Magic outfit before winning 61-53 to go joint top with the Capital Shakers, who sneaked past Western Flyers 73-71 in a high-scoring thriller in Wellington.

A devastating burst of scoring from Force goal attack Tania Dalton proved the critical element in the final quarter, which began with the Magic 45-44 ahead.

Within four minutes, the Force bagged seven unanswered goals - Dalton succeeded with 13 of 14 attempts in the quarter - and that was the game.

"I was very pleased with three-quarters of the match, but we made a few costly mistakes and in that four-minute period we went off the boil," Magic coach Ruth Aitken said last night. The Magic, rated a decent chance for a top-four playoff spot, while the Force are strong tips to be in the final, were again without inspirational mid-courter Jenny-May Coffin. The Silver Fern has a disc problem in her back and, having missed the first two rounds, is touch and go for next weekend.

The Shakers trailed the Western Flyers by three goals with three minutes to play before collecting the points, while the Auckland Diamonds beat the CMTV Cometz 51-43.

Defending champions Southern Sting got off to a winning start, thumping the Otago Rebels 58-26 - but Sting coach Robyn Broughton said it was the Rebels players doing the thumping. She then admitted physical play was "something you've got to stand up to, no matter what. It's a good, hard, physical game now."

Rebels coach Lois Muir reacted angrily.

Muir said her players "were hit long before the fourth quarter" by Sting players.

"Around the circle, Lesley [Nicol] is clawing our people to death, Donna [Loffhagen] is belting people and just running through them and into the circle - [and there's] no [umpire] calls. It's not my type of game."