Firebirds 50
Magic 39
If the Magic are to book their third grand final appearance in four seasons they will have to do it the tough way - again.
The Magic were outclassed by the Firebirds in last night's major semifinal as the Queensland side extended their unbeaten run to 14 games to secure their place in the transtasman league grand final.
The Firebirds will now have a week off to sit back and watch the Waikato/Bay of Plenty side and their neighbouring rivals the Northern Mystics battle it out for the remaining spot in the title decider.
The Mystics advanced through to the preliminary final courtesy of a 49-44 upset win against the NSW Swifts in the minor semifinal in Sydney on Sunday.
Just as the Mystics impressed in their first taste of ANZ Championship play-offs netball, the Firebirds were equally destructive in their maiden finals appearance last night.
After setting the pace all season and going through the regular season unbeaten, many expected the pressure may get to the inexperienced Firebirds line. But the only signs of nerves the home side showed were during a wobbly opening four minutes, as they fumbled their early possession.
They soon settled down, and there was no looking back as they took a solid four-goal lead at the first break and extended on their advantage across the next two quarters to take a healthy 39-26 lead into the final period.
Much of the credit for the win can go to the Firebirds defensive line, in particular Australian defender Laura Geitz who hassled and harried the Magic's key scoring weapon, Irene van Dyk, all night.
Van Dyk was restricted to just 17 goals for the match, scoring only one goal in both the second and third quarters, as the Magic struggled to get good clean ball into the goal circle.
It is almost certainly the lowest score van Dyk has been restricted to across a full 60 minutes of netball. The veteran shooter was forced to do too much work outside of the circle to help out her stuttering attack line.
Magic defender Casey Williams highlighted her side's inability to get any fluidity on attack as a key area they need to improve on for next week's do or die clash against the Mystics.
"I think we've got the game plan, it's just our execution wasn't there. We need to find a way to get the ball in to our shooters and score," said Williams.
While the Magic struggled to get any rhythm on attack, by contrast down the other end of the court the ball was flowing freely to sharpshooter Romelda Aiken, with her shooting partner Natalie Medhurst doing a power of work outside the circle.
Magic coach Noeline Taurua made a raft of changes throughout the match - including putting van Dyk at goal attack - as she tried to find a formula to disrupt the well-structured Firebirds side. But the changes only appeared to disrupt the Magic's flow, with the van Dyk experiment lasting only seven minutes.
The only change that appeared to work was the introduction of shooter Jamilah Gupwell, who replaced Julianna Naoupu late in the second spell. Gupwell, who has been used sparingly this season, shot confidently, landing 16 of her 18 attempts at goal.
Experimentation was always going to be required in the defence - key import Peta Scholz was rested for the match as she recovers from a knee injury.
Both Jodi Tod and Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick struggled with the pace of the game at wing defence, and Taurua will be eager to get Scholz back next week.
