Netball: Pulse lose another one

Pulse goal shoot Irene Van Dyk. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Central Pulse look nothing like a playoff-calibre team in the ANZ Championship but they're still firmly in the hunt - somehow.

Due to the revamped tournament structure in 2015, three teams from both the Australian and New Zealand conferences make the knockout stages, which is generous given there's only five sides in each conference.

After losing 51-48 to the West Coast Fever in Wellington tonight, the Pulse slipped to two wins and five losses for the season but they're in fourth in the New Zealand conference.

They have the same record as the Southern Steel and both sides have four competition points but the Steel are in third due to a better goal percentage. The Mystics (10 points) lead the conference with the Magic in second on seven.

Pulse coach Robyn Broughton, celebrating her 100th game in charge in the competition, provided a notable talking point tonight as she benched veteran goal shoot Irene van Dyk in favour of Ameliaranne Wells.

The 42-year-old van Dyk struggled against the Mystics last week, while Wells has shown positive signs in her limited playing time this season.

Wells may be the future but her shooting was mixed against the Fever as she finished the game with 17 goals from 26 attempts. Goal attack Jodi Brown (31/37) took on a bigger shooting role.

The Pulse began well against the travel-weary Fever, who played against the Tactix in Blenheim last week, and took a 12-10 lead to the break after the first quarter.

But the 7-1 Fever showed why they're the side with the best record in the competition this year as they ground their way back in to the game.

The Western Australians took their time to adjust to the Pulse's slow style of play but once they got in to the game, they never looked troubled.

West Coast Fever 51 (Caitlin Bassett 41/45, Natalie Medhurst 10/13) Central Pulse 48 (Jodi Brown 31/37 Ameliaranne Wells 17/26) 1Q: 10-12, halftime: 23-23, 3Q: 36-33