Netball: Magic, Steel feel the heat

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic centre Laura Langman and her teammates play the Pulse in Hamilton today. Photo / Sarah Ivey

New Zealand's two biggest hopes for transtasman league success this season - the Magic and the Steel - are under huge pressure to start performing.

With the bulk of the Silver Ferns split between the two franchises, they are regarded as the best chance a team from this side of the Tasman has of taking out the ANZ Championship.

But based on their performances over the first five weeks of the competition, the ability of either side to challenge the powerful Aussie teams has come in to question.

While the two sides are in vastly different positions in the standings, the message from their respective coaches is clear: they must start performing now.

And this weekend presents the perfect opportunity for the Magic and the Steel to regain their confidence and timing against two of the lower-ranked teams.

The Magic take on the Central Pulse in Hamilton today, while the Steel match up against traditional rivals, the Northern Mystics on Monday night.

Although the Magic, who boast six frontline Silver Ferns in their line-up, are second in the competition, they have looked extremely shaky in the past few weeks. The Magic's round four loss to the Queensland Firebirds left the Waikato side looking vulnerable, with Vicki Wilson's side exposing a number of areas of weakness.

The Magic followed this up with an unconvincing two-goal win over the Canterbury Tactix and coach Noeline Taurua is demanding a complete performance from her side today to set them back on the right path.

"The Pulse are one of those really gutsy teams so we have to make sure we're prepared for that, we need to be consistent and we need to really treasure our possession," said Taurua.

The Steel's position in the League is looking even more tenuous, with their two from four record placing them in seventh position on the ladder, albeit with a game in hand.

There were high hopes at the beginning of the season that the Southern team would be a force in 2009, boosting New Zealand's chances of having two teams in the playoffs.

But so far we have seen little evidence of the Steel's top four credentials, much to the chagrin of coach Robyn Broughton.

"I'd rate our performance so far as just middling. We need to put it together now, and put it together big-time," said Broughton. "We're getting towards the business end, and we've got to start showing the results."

The Steel were dealt a massive blow to their Southern pride with a hefty 17-goal defeat to the Vixens in Melbourne two weeks ago. Having sat out last weekend with a bye the Steel will get their first chance to bury that result when they take on the Mystics on Monday.

The NSW Swifts have a tough task ahead tomorrow against the Adelaide Thunderbirds as the Sydney side look to get their shaky transtasman title defence back on track.

Just one goal separated the two sides when they met in round two - the Swifts' first of three losses so far this season.

In the other match-up across the Tasman, the Queensland Firebirds aim to halt the West Coast Fever's three-match winning streak when the sides meet in Brisbane on Monday night.

ROUND SIX

Today: 2pm Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic v Central Pulse, Hamilton.

Tomorrow: 4.30pm NSW Swifts v Adelaide Thunderbirds, Sydney.

Monday: 7pm Northern Mystics v Southern Steel, Auckland; 9pm Queensland Firebirds v West Coast Fever, Brisbane.

Bye: Melbourne Vixens, Canterbury Tactix