By JULIE ASH
North Harbour's Force are only two wins from securing a home semifinal in the national league.
The Force are third on the table with 17 points, behind the Southern Sting on 25 and the Bay of Plenty/Waikato Magic on 20.
To ensure a home semifinal, the Force must beat the Counties and Manukau Cometz tomorrow night in Papatoetoe and then the Shakers at the North Shore Events Centre on Sunday week.
Two wins would push the Force ahead of the Magic, who have the bye this weekend before meeting the Rebels the following weekend.
Although the Cometz and Shakers should pose few problems for the North Harbour side, Force defender Linda Vagana said her team were looking for quality performances.
"We don't just want to go through the motions," she said.
"We want to put in really good performances in our last two games. We have to prove to ourselves that we can do it and win this competition."
With at least six present or former Silver Ferns in their line-up, the Force were always expected to make the top four.
In fact, under the guidance of new coach Yvonne Willering, it was touted that the Force could be the ones to prevent the Sting from claiming their fifth consecutive title.
But after a 53-49 loss to the Sting in round four, and a surprising six-goal loss to the Magic last week, the Force appear a little shaky.
"I don't blame people for thinking that, because we just haven't done ourselves justice," Vagana said.
"We need to get street smart and toughen up."
The Sting, Magic and Force are likely to finish in the playoff positions, but the question is who will claim the final semifinal spot.
The Otago Rebels and the Canterbury Flames are fourth equal with 16 points.
The Auckland Diamonds (13 points) are still in with a shot, but must beat the Flyers tonight in Auckland and then the Flames in Christchurch next weekend.
In other matches, the Flames face the Rebels in Christchurch tonight, the Force play the Cometz in Papatoetoe tomorrow at 6pm, and the Sting face the Capital Shakers in Invercargill on Sunday.
Netball: May the Force be with them as preliminaries near an end
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