Netball: Busy midcourter's Magic act

Should the Magic win the National Bank Cup again next week, Laura Langman will treat herself in traditional fashion - a midwinter surf at her favourite break in Raglan.

New Zealand's best-known goofy-footed midcourter will provide the thrust behind Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic's bid for a second successive crown when they meet the Southern Sting in a repeat of last year's final.

The fact they're meeting again is something of a minor miracle after the Force imploded in Invercargill on Friday night.

While shooters Bridget Tapene and Daneka Wipiiti missed chances to seal the match in the final 10 seconds, the northern side's inability to bring the ball through the court, particularly in the defensive third, cost them the match.

Victory next week for the Magic would no doubt prove as satisfying as last year's first title. While the Magic looked easily the best team of 2005, they have yet to be as convincing this year. Superstar shooter Irene van Dyk has displayed unusual frailty in the middle of the season and even Langman has shown rare inconsistency.

"We had a tough lead-up into that first semifinal," Langman said. "But we worked really hard and were ready to take it to them. It was a lot of individual responsibility, minimising our errors and making good decisions.

"When you get into the top four, the skill level is pretty even across the board. We've regained some confidence but know we've got a lot more to work on going into the final."

The Magic played a mock-up team of Silver Ferns hopefuls not involved in Friday night's preliminary final as a means of staying sharp before the final on Friday. Langman is unsure whether the lack of a competitive game the week before the final is an advantage.

In truth, a break was probably the last thing the 20-year-old needed.

Part of the reason Langman might not have been at the peak of her powers was she had to cope with university exams just as the National Bank Cup started to heat up.

Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken said it was no coincidence Langman's form switched to turbo-charge following the completion of her exams.

"That was a huge relief," Langman admits. "That's the semester done... hopefully."

Almost certainly. The third-year student is, by all accounts, one highly motivated individual. Combining full-time studies with international netball is one way of staving off boredom.

"At times, it is a wee bit challenging but I wouldn't have it any other way," Langman says. "I'm on holiday at the moment and I think I've had about three days off and now I'm starting to get a bit edgy."

Langman struggles to get her head around the concept of full-timesportsperson. There must be something in her make-up - perhaps it's the fact she was brought up on a farm and, as farmers will tell you, there's no such thing as a day off - that tells her something doesn't ring true about it.

"I'd look to carry on working. It creates a nice balance. It puts you in a better space."

Space is something Langman has become an expert at closing down. While not short on creativity, it is her destructive ability that most catches the eye.

When discussing the blonde midcourter's performance in last weekend's major semifinal against the Sting, Aitken said she made Adine Harper's night "hell".

This is a thread that would be nice to expand but this is netball, where they call a spade a nicely shaped gardening tool.

The very notion that someone has talked about her getting one over her Silver Ferns captain is enough to send Langman spiralling into a pit of false modesty.

"Adine is awesome. She's an outstanding player with awesome skill. I don't think I'd say I made her life hell. No, it was a really good game."

Farmers are not wont to start shouting their merits from the rooftops.

Langman grew up in Te Pahu at the base of Mt Pirongia, the Waikato's most significant landmark outside the eponymous river.

The story went, apocryphal as it turned out, that Langman was milking cows when she was first notified she had made the Silver Ferns. The reality was a little more mundane.

"I was actually in the supermarket with Mum."

The myth crumbles.

But not the surfing, that's true.