Netball: Road to title decider littered with potholes

Magic Coach Noeline Taurua. Photo / Sarah Ivey

There is something to be said for a little bit of adversity.

This weekend's ANZ Championship grand final clash between the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic will pit two of the most maligned teams in the competition against one another.

It has been a bumpy road to the title decider for both teams, who have endured some dark times this season.

The fact they are now the last two teams standing is testament to the tenacity of the sides, having weathered the storm and using those lows to propel them towards exceptional highs.

The Magic came under intense scrutiny a month ago when they found themselves on the verge of missing out on the play-offs after three straight losses late in the season.

Waves of criticism from media and netball identities followed, with the Magic's lack of preparation and some baffling selection decisions following the loss of import Peta Scholz cited as key reasons behind their alarming drop-off in form.

While stung by some of the criticism, it led to a great deal of soul-searching in the Magic camp.

Coach Noeline Taurua credits this period of reflection for her side's remarkable turnaround.

"I think it took a lot of inner strength, self-belief and confidence in each other," she said. "We really had to take a look at ourselves and be honest about where we are, and sometimes through adversity you see where the strengths are of people."

Facing an early exit from the competition, the Waikato side adopted a new mentality, taking the approach that if it was going to be their last week, they would leave it all out there on court.

It meant upping the frequency and intensity of their training, addressing those concerns with their forward line with a lot of repetitive attacking drills.

The hard work has clearly paid off. The Magic are no longer regarded as simply a team with spectacular individuals, but a spectacular team.

Their 54-49 win over the NSW Swifts in the weekend's preliminary final was probably the Magic's best performance in three years of the competition - the fact they managed to do it on Australian soil adds further hope that 2010 could finally be their year.

Taurua believes having to fight their way into the play-offs and facing the pressure of do-or-die match-ups for the past three weeks has helped them find their best form.

"I think leading into the [final round] Thunderbirds game we got ourselves into a situation where it could have been our last week and out of that we decided if that's the case we wanted it to be the best possible week, so everything we did was going to be high-energy, whether it be our walk-on, our warm-up, and just make sure we have a lot of fun.

"And every week we've been in the same situation where it could have possibly been our last week, so we've used that same philosophy."

Had it not been for the fact they are hosting the grand final, 2010 could have been described as one of the darkest on record for the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

They hit their rough patch mid-season when it was revealed four senior players jetted off to an Indonesian party resort on their bye week, unbeknown to team management. The notorious "Bali Four" - Mo'onia Gerrard, Geva Mentor, Kate Beveridge and Georgia Beaton - were rightly slammed in the press for their unprofessional behaviour. Then came the inevitable jibes from other teams and sneering suggestions in player blogs about not ducking off to some exotic location for their bye week.

Coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson also didn't escape scrutiny, with some reports claiming she had lost the confidence of her dressing room.

You can bet whoever wins Sunday's grand final in Adelaide, it will be all the sweeter for the adversity they encountered this season.