Netball: Big guns happy with Mystics hitouts

Bailey Mes shot confidently and provided some nice touches in attack. Photo / Dean Purcell.

The NSW Swifts believe their decision to bypass a preseason tournament in Queenstown over the weekend in favour of two tough competitive hit-outs against the Northern Mystics has paid dividends.

After toppling their fellow Australian franchises in a preseason tournament in Sydney last weekend, the Swifts got further valuable court time under their belt in Auckland over the weekend, playing two lengthened games against the Silver Ferns-stacked Mystics side.

The Swifts had originally signed on to play in Queenstown this weekend at a preseason tournament organised by the Southern Steel, but later withdrew after receiving an invitation to play a couple of warm-up matches against the Mystics.

The powerful Swifts line-up was dearly missed in Queenstown - with the Steel missing five frontline players for most of the weekend and the Firebirds making the trip across the Tasman without their main attacking weapon, Romelda Aiken, the tournament was largely devoid of stars.

Swifts midcourter Kimberlee Green said it proved to be the right move coming to Auckland.

"I heard in Queenstown the Steel had four or five players out and the Firebirds didn't have Romelda [Aiken], so it would have been a little bit useless going there," said Green.

"We had two good hit-outs here against a really competitive team, so this was definitely what we needed."

The honours over the weekend were shared, with the Mystics bouncing back from a 64-61 loss on Saturday to topple the Swifts 61-52 yesterday. The two games were played over five 15-minute periods.

But given both coaches chopped and changed their line-ups throughout, the results were always going to be considered secondary.

For Mystics coach Debbie Fuller the weekend was more about welcoming her Silver Ferns, who have had a week of compulsory rest following their return from their tour of Britain earlier this month, back into the fold and refamiliarising them with the structures.

"Some of them have had big international commitments so you're always wary about how they will come back into the programme, but they have come back really focused and raring to go," said Fuller.

The two trial games also gave Fuller and her sidekick Jenny-May Coffin the opportunity to try a number of different lines and test her young players against the highly experienced Swifts stars.

With Ferns star Maria Tutaia sitting out the weekend's games through illness and experienced defender Rachel Rasmussen sidelined with a calf complaint, Fuller got the chance to test her youngsters more than she probably would have originally planned.

Both Kayla Cullen and Jess Moulds impressed in the defensive circle - although that had a lot to do with the experience around them with Anna Scarlett and Joline Henry returning from the England series in brilliant form.

The real surprise package was shooter Bailey Mes, who shot confidently and provided some nice touches on attack in her three quarters against English international Sonia Mkoloma.

The Swifts are the early favourites for the 2011 ANZ Championship crown, with athletic defender Mo'onia Gerrard returning to Sydney this season to bolster what was already an extremely dangerous line-up that includes Australian stars Green, Catherine Cox, Susan Pratley and Rebecca Bulley, along with Mkoloma.

As with most of the ANZ franchises, the absence of the international players for most of January has proved disruptive, but Cox is confident her side will be up to speed come their season-opener on February 13.

"It's a tricky time of year to be juggling two seasons and it doesn't normally happen," the Swifts captain said.

"This is the first time we've all played together so it's nice to have a couple of games and see exactly what we need to work on and we've certainly found some of those."