Netball: Night of drama shakes up playoffs

Sharelle McMahon. Photo / Getty Images

One drama-filled night of netball has changed the complexion of the 2011 transtasman league playoff race.

The opening night of the ANZ Championship's "Super Round" saw the Southern Steel's hopes of a third straight finals appearance crushed, while the Melbourne Vixens - tipped as title favourites - suffered a serious setback in their top-four bid.

With five games still remaining over the weekend, round eight is shaping up as "moving weekend" on the ANZ Championship ladder.

A top-four spot now looks beyond the Steel after they suffered a shock 44-49 loss to the cellar-dwelling Canterbury Tactix on Thursday night.

Playing back in their home stadium for the first time since the February 22 earthquake, the Tactix marked the emotional occasion by bringing to an end a dire run of 17 straight losses - a league record.

The Vixens' playoffs aspirations were damaged following a season-ending injury to inspirational captain Sharelle McMahon in their 10-goal loss to the Queensland Firebirds.

The veteran shooter underwent surgery yesterday on a torn Achilles tendon, which will almost certainly rule her out for the rest of the ANZ Championship season and Australia's defence of their world crown in Singapore in July.

It is a cruel blow for the champion goal attack who was widely tipped to be stepping down from netball after this season.

In the ANZ Championship, the loss of one key player can ruin a campaign - the Vixens will be only too aware of this, after their 2010 season came unstuck when star defender Julie Corletto was sidelined with injury.

As the Vixens contemplate how to move forward without their key attacking weapon, the Northern Mystics' odds of securing a maiden playoff appearance will have shortened slightly.

However after two straight losses the Mystics must regain some momentum over the next few rounds to reassert their credentials.

They will be chasing a big win against the Central Pulse in Auckland today in order to sneak back into the top four, although goal percentage will likely determine if they will still remain there by Monday.

Mystics coach Debbie Fuller has highlighted her side's inability to capitalise on turnovers as one of the key areas they need to improve on. "We need to work on getting our turnover to score rate higher because at the moment it is one of the lowest in the competition. "And if we can't score off our turnovers our defence start to get deflated, because they are getting lots of turnover."

The Mystics attack has struggled to make the most of their defensive gains in recent weeks with hesitancy and indecision creeping in.

After an impressive start to the season, star shooter Cathrine Latu has had a quiet couple of games, and without their go-to girl at the back the Mystics attack end have struggled to find their rhythm.

Although Latu's shooting accuracy has remained impressive, she has been well down on volume in recent weeks having displayed a reluctance to the post.

But Fuller denies her star shooter is suffering a confidence crisis. She believes it is more a case of Latu being more widely touted as the key player to shut down in the Mystics attack, and devising game plans to limit her influence on the game.

In tomorrow's games the Vixens take on the Steel in Melbourne, while the Tactix will be looking to secure back-to-back wins when they take on the Thunderbirds in Christchurch.

ANZ Championship

Today: 4.20pm Northern Mystics v Central Pulse, Auckland.

Tomorrow: 4.20pm Melbourne Vixens v Southern Steel, Melbourne; 6.20pm Canterbury Tactix v Adelaide Thunderbirds, Christchurch.

Monday: 7.40pm Central Pulse v West Coast Fever, Porirua; 9.40pm Queensland Firebirds v Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, Brisbane.