Netball: Magic coach fights to find fresh combo

Magic coach Noeline Taurua. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic coach Noeline Taurua has plenty to ponder after her side's blistering win over the Canterbury Tactix at the weekend as she seeks to fill the gap left by injured midcourter Peta Scholz.

The Magic regrouped admirably after the loss of Scholz, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last weekend, recording an impressive 72-52 win over the Tactix.

After trialling a number of defensive combinations against the Canterbury side, Taurua must now decide if she is satisfied with the cover she has within her squad or whether reinforcements are needed.

While the margin of victory would suggest things are a ticking along nicely for the Kiwi heavyweights, it somewhat masked what was an unusually lacklustre defensive performance from the Magic.

The Waikato side used the same defensive line-up that saw out the rest of last week's game against the Central Pulse after Scholz was carted off the court.

Regular goal defence Jodi Tod moved out to the wing, star defender Casey Williams was brought out of the circle and Kahurangi Waititi took her place at goal keep.

This appears to be Taurua's favoured option.

But while the trio did a solid job against the Tactix, the worry is how the Magic will fare without the strength of Williams at the back when they come up against the Firebirds, Thunderbirds and Swifts later in the season - all of which have world-class goal shooters to contain.

The Magic also tested a couple of other defensive combinations late in the game, including the shock move of bringing back-up shooter Jess Tuki on at goal-keep in the final quarter.

The injection of Tuki in the defensive circle wasn't completely out of left field - Steel coach Robyn Broughton attempted to convert the three-time Silver Fern in to a defender during Tuki's one season at the franchise in 2008.

Tuki showed a lot of potential in the defensive circle, but it is unlikely that potential can be fully realised in the space of a few of weeks.

Taurua also briefly gave rookie Eli Shadrock a run at centre, shifting captain Laura Langman back to wing defence for the final seven minutes of Saturday's match.

However with Langman in red-hot form at centre, and feeding sharpshooter Irene van Dyk superbly, this does not appear a particularly viable option against top sides either.

Taurua has said she will not be rushing in to any snap decisions when it comes to calling in a replacement. But looking at the balance of the side, the Magic are lacking midcourt cover on the bench and with five weeks of round robin remaining, it would be a risky move not to bring in another player.

In the weekend's other match the Adelaide Thunderbirds put a week of bad press behind them, dealing the defending champion Melbourne Vixens their fourth straight loss.

With the Thunderbirds stars who took off to Bali in their bye round receiving only minor sanctions for their unprofessional behaviour, all four of them took the court in yesterday's 58-47 win.

The loss means the Vixens are now in danger of dropping out of the top four, if the Queensland Firebirds can topple the high-flying NSW Swifts in Sydney tonight.

With the focus firmly across the Tasman, the Northern Mystics will be looking to quietly continue their ascent up the ANZ Championship ladder, with a good win over the Central Pulse in Auckland tonight.