Netball: Mystics pack out stadium for Magic

The Magic will be looking to beat the Mystics in front of a sell-out crowd at Waitakere. Photo / Getty Images

The Northern Mystics open their 2009 ANZ Championship season against the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic tonight with what is likely to be their first sell-out crowd since the inception of the transtasman league.

Less than 200 tickets remain for the match and with walk-up crowds traditionally upwards of 500, Mystics chief executive Mark Cameron said Waitakere's Trusts Stadium will almost certainly be at capacity tonight.

With the Mystics taking on a Magic line-up peppered with Silver Ferns, there is little doubt the standard of opposition is partially responsible for the healthy crowd. But Cameron still sees it as a promising sign for the rest of the season, particularly given the Monday night games have attracted slower ticket sales in the past.

It will take a big effort from the Mystics for the largely partisan 3700-strong crowd to go home happy tonight though, with the Magic clearly having the edge on paper.

Still, after some impressive pre-season form, the Mystics are quietly confident they can sneak a win. The Auckland side believe the Magic could be vulnerable at the start of the season.

The opening three games over the weekend all appeared to follow the same script with the more fancied teams looking a little shaky early on, before finding their feet later in the match to record fairly comprehensive wins.

The Southern Steel, who welcomed back new mums Donna Wilkins and Adine Wilson, had a slow start to their season opener in Invercargill, leading the inexperienced Central Pulse side by just two goals at halftime. But the Steel eventually ground down the Pulse defence, going on to record a 55-46 win.

The Melbourne Vixens also met some unexpected resistance on Saturday, encountering a determined young Western Fever side in Melbourne. With the Fever getting good service into lofty shooter Caitlin Basset, the visitors dominated the opening exchanges in Melbourne. But the more experienced Vixens found another gear in the second half of the match, to pull off a 57-44 win.

In yesterday's game the all-star Thunderbirds had a convincing 60-46 win over the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane.

Tonight's late match features the only transtasman showdown of the opening round, with defending champions the NSW Swifts taking on the Canterbury Tactix in Sydney.