Netball: Bruising style way of future - Taurua

Magic player Jodi Brown is closely monitored by Thunderbirds player Mo'onia Gerrard. Photo / Mark McKeown

Teams using tackle bags at training, players sporting black eyes and broken noses - the marketing gurus were right, this isn't netball as we know it.

But Magic coach Noeline Taurua believes the increasingly confrontational style is here to stay and is doing everything she can to prepare her players for the brave new world of no-holds-barred netball.

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty side are priming themselves for a physically demanding match against the NSW Swifts this weekend after overcoming the Southern Steel in a willing transtasman league semifinal contest in Auckland.

The game featured its fair share of rough and tumble, so much so that both Taurua and her Steel counterpart Robyn Broughton lamented the death of the fan-friendly game of yesteryear in the post-match press conference.

After their 50-42 win over the Steel in Auckland, the Magic head across the Tasman to Newcastle for a sudden-death match against the Swifts this Sunday. The winner will meet the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the ANZ Championship grand final on July 11.

Taurua said her side still have a lot to work on if they were to earn a tilt at the title and this week's training would entail plenty of work with tackle bags to prepare them for a physical contest against the Swifts.

"We expect that really tough man-on style so [we'll be doing] a lot of bag-work, lots of bags right in your face and just taking the space."

Over the past couple of seasons the Magic have wilted against the Australian teams come play-offs time and Taurua believes a lot of that has to do with their inability to cope with the step up in physical intensity.

"In our experience in the last two play-offs we've gone in there quite soft. So we've got to the stage where you've got to compete, you've got to disrupt as much as possible. But we like to keep our skill level and make sure we are going for the ball and going up and over or around."

The Magic's new take-no-prisoners approach will be the last thing Swifts captain Catherine Cox wants to hear.

Cox broke her nose after an accidental head clash with defender Geva Mentor in her side's shock 38-52 loss to the Adelaide Thunderbirds in their major semifinal, but will be taking the court against the Magic this Sunday.

The Australian international will have surgery on her nose early next week, but insists the injury won'thold her back out on court this weekend.

She said there is no room for hesitancy out on court, even with Casey Williams' sharp elbows flying about, and isn't concerned about receiving further knocks to the face.

"I played half the game on the weekend like this, so I don't think it'll affect me much at all. I mean obviously you don't try stick your head anywhere where you're going to get in to any strife, so I would hope it'll be the last thing on my mind."

The Swifts' limp performance against the Thunderbirds has caused many to reassess their title chances, but Cox is playing down the affect the loss has had on the team's psyche.

"I don't think a loss is a bad thing. The idea of a loss didn't bother me towards the last few rounds of the season, we're just exceptionally happy about the fact that it's not the end of the season, we've still got another shot at this," she said.