Netball: Magic desperate to turn things around

Irene van Dyk. Photo supplied

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic will look to star bookends Irene van Dyk and Casey Williams to get them out of a hole when they play Adelaide Thunderbirds in the preliminary final of the trans-Tasman netball championship at Hamilton on Sunday.

The Magic travelled the same route to last year's grand final, beating the Thunderbirds 51-49 at the same stop, also at home.

In that game Williams threw herself like a dervish around the court in the fourth quarter, making key intercepts and deflections to help stem a threatened Thunderbirds revival.

Van Dyk reigned over the best defence Australia and England could muster - Mo'onia Gerrard and Geva Mentor - scoring 31 goals from 32 attempts.

She will face the same pair again but unlike last year, there is an air of disarray hanging over her side while the Thunderbirds appear settled.

The Magic were trounced 54-35 by the Thunderbirds in Adelaide two weeks ago - the ir heaviest defeat of five regular season losses since the league started last year.

While the Thunderbirds - powered by Mentor and Gerrard, Natalie von Bertouch in midcourt, and the attacking trio of wing attack Emily Beaton, goal attack Natalie Medhurst and goal shoot Kate Beveridge - looked like a team, the Magic turned in a "Keystone Cops" performance that night.

Van Dyk, who averages 32 goals a game in the league, scored just 19 from 25 attempts while goal attack Maria Tutaia added 16 from 23.

Looking fractionally less shambolic, the Magic then lost the major semifinal 43-58 to this year's title favourites, the Melbourne Vixens, while the Thunderbirds swatted aside the Southern Steel 51-45 in the other semifinal.

Along with no form, the Magic go into Sunday's match missing defender Leana de Bruin, who is pregnant, and hoping Williams and Jodi Tod can reawaken their combination from last year in time.

They are also hanging out for wing attack Frances Solia to recover from a calf strain, having lost Halana Leith to a serious knee injury from last weekend's match.

The key will be breaking up the von Bertouch-Beaton-Medhurst combination and rattling Beveridge while trying to work Van Dyk and Tutaia into space and feed them quality ball.

As Magic skipper Joline Henry says, the players need to turn up with heart and soul for the match.

"It will be the defining moment of the season, it's do or die for us," she told NZPA.

"If we don't come away with a win, essentially the last seven months have been a waste of time.

" We are all very aware of the stakes and are asking nothing but the best from ourselves in hopes of coming away with the win."

This season, the Magic have given only glimpses of what their line-up of six Silver Ferns can do, something the tough defender is aware of.

"We are not playing the best netball we know we are capable of playing and it's really a matter of putting it out there (on Sunday)."

While hoping for consistent umpiring for the match, Henry gave an insight into what it would take to win - and it might not be pretty.

"We have been criticised a lot for not being able to cope with the physicality of things (and) we need to be able to cope with that.

"But in saying that, when we go out there and be physical back, we get labelled as thugs.

"So regardless of what anyone has got to say this weekend, we need to be prepared to do anything possible to get the ball - label us thugs, whatever, we need to be put it out there.

"We need to mean business and we've really got to be prepared to do whatever it takes to get possession."

Despite their troubles, homeground advantage for Sunday's match has the TAB retaining the Magic at $7 odds to win the league over the Thunderbirds at $8.

At $1.17, the Vixens, who will host next week's grand final, remain almost unbackable favourites.

"It's gonna be blooming tough, but I think we can take real heart and pride from being at home," Henry said.

- NZPA