Netball: Heart flutters for bonus point

Flyers centre Joanna Andrew battles with Force centre Temepara George at the North Shore Events Centre yesterday. Picture / Brett Phibbs

The heart rate of Diamonds coach Sue Hawkins is probably still returning to normal after her side scraped into the semifinals of the National Bank Cup yesterday thanks to a bonus point they picked up in their loss to the Rebels.

In what has been the toughest competition in the National Bank Cup's eight-year history, the Diamonds needed a win or at least a bonus point, awarded for a loss of five goals or less, in Dunedin yesterday to advance to the playoffs.

On several occasions it looked like the Aucklanders were going to fall short as the clinical Rebels took it to them.

The Diamonds, who have not made the top four since 1999, went into the first break 12-11 ahead but that was the last they saw of the lead.

Rebels shooter Katie Ritchie, who put up the bulk of her side's shots, had a substantial height advantage over the Diamonds defence which her team-mate put to good use.

The Diamonds on the other hand really struggled with their timing on attack - possibly the result of a new-look combination which is lacking time together.

Rebels defender Anna Scarlett had the better of her Silver Fern team mate Jodi Te Huna who had a game she'd probably rather forget.

While her shooting was fine, she ended the match on 88 per cent, Te Huna seemed to have a nightmare with the ball, frittering away a huge amount of possession.

Luckily her game improved in the dying minutes which helped the Diamonds came from five behind to finish within two.

"Jodi probably had the best defender out there playing against her," Hawkins said.

"Her role was slightly different to her normal game. You'll see a different Jodi Te Huna out there next week."

Along with their high error rate the Diamonds gave away a huge number of penalties. Overall it wasn't exactly the best of performances heading into the semifinals where they meet the Southern Sting in Auckland on Sunday.

"It was the pressure game out there ... finals are a different situation. That is where experience comes in. We have been given that second life so now we can we go for it.

"We have to be positive. Although we lost today we still took some positives out of it and that is all I am looking at now."

The Diamonds weren't the only side to put in a shaky performance over the weekend.

The top-of-the-table Magic just managed to edge out the bottom-of-the-table Capital Shakers while it took the Force until the third quarter to get on top of the Flyers.

Magic coach Noeline Taurua is at a loss to explain what happened to her side.

After a promising start which saw them lead 17-13 at the first break, the Magic trailed the Shakers 32-24 and 42-38 in the next two quarters before sneaking away with a two-goal win.

Taurua started with a different combination but was forced to return to her main lineup.

"I tell you what, there is never a dull moment," Taurua said. "I know it is hard to believe but there were a lot of positives to come out of it. We were down by 10 at one stage and we were able to scrap back and were actually quite solid in doing so. In the third and fourth quarters there were only two balls that were thrown away.

"Hopefully it was just one of those things ... "

Results

Magic 55 Shakers 53

Sting 50 Flames 41

Force 62 Flyers 44

Rebels 48 Diamonds 46