Netball: Star studded Mystics follow familiar path

Anna Scarlett. Photo / Getty Images

Sport and marketing can be uneasy bedfellows but the advertising gurus certainly hit the target with the Northern Mystics.

"Get ready for something mystical from the North" the tagline promises, and fans continue to be baffled and bemused by the underwhelming performances of the Auckland-based franchise.

Their revamped team in 2010, which included seven current or former Silver Ferns as well as Jamaican star Althea Byfield, eventually finished sixth, with a poor 7-6, win-loss record. The 2009 squad was similarly star-studded but finished third from bottom in the 10-team league while the inaugural season saw a seventh place finish with five wins and eight losses.

So far in 2011 the same pattern has continued. The Mystics have struck the recruitment jackpot again, beating other local franchises to the prized signature of Anna Scarlett.

They have also gained Australian Megan Dahn from the Southern Steel, one of the most versatile and underrated attackers across the whole competition. Rachel Rasmussen is another good signing as the teenage prodigy, recently named in the national accelerant squad, looks to be in career-best form.

They are also, for the third time in four years, starting the season with a new coach as former assistant Debbie Fuller steps up. And, like every other year, management are refusing to talk up their prospects, make any bold predictions or publicise concrete goals.

"We have some in-house hopes and aims," Fuller told the Herald on Sunday, "which we will be keeping in-house. Moving up the ranks is definitely on the horizon but you have to be realistic - the margins of error are very high and games can turn on the slightest thing."

With their roster, which includes five top-line Silver Ferns and the strongest bench in the league, the Mystics are tipped as genuine contenders for the title, with a place in the playoffs seen as near certain.

"Our team will be exciting," says Fuller, "we have touches of brilliance on attack as well as being dogged on defence. The Australian sides have been very successful with their clinical, precision-based netball.

"We know we need to improve our transition game but we are counting on an X-factor to get us over the line."

Despite her short time in the role, Fuller has mastered the fine art of coach-speak.

"I like to deal in facts and evidence," she says. "The evidence is that [in the past] we have been not as good as other teams in bringing the ball through the midcourt and feeding our shooters, as shown by our centre pass stats and the number of turnovers."

It has been a challenging pre-season for the enthusiastic Fuller. She describes losing their Silver Ferns for an extended period as "destructive".

Last week was the first time all 12 members of the squad were together at the same time. A pre-season camp at the Takapuna Navy Base - where the team slept in the barracks - was a fantastic experience so much so that Fuller thinks progress has been made in the intangible but invaluable area of team bonding.

One of the perceived issues last year was too many chiefs out on court, leading to mixed messages. There was no shortage of strong personalities and potentially too many voices in the leadership group.

It is possible to have too many stars, ably demonstrated by Real Madrid, Manchester City and the NSW State of Origin team in recent years.

"It is all about finding, identifying and [getting the players] buying into a common goal. There will be plenty of competition for places, but it is about being unselfish.

"We need to have the team working for the team."

The Mystics have their final pre-season hitout against the Magic in Te Awamutu today before their opening ANZ Championship match against the Steel at Trusts Stadium on February 14.

MYSTICAL PROPERTIES

* 2008: 7th of 10.

* 2009: 8th of 10.

* 2010: 9th of 10.

2011 SQUAD

* Major gains: Anna Scarlett, Megan Dahn, Rachel Rasmussen.

* Major losses: Athea Byfield, Jenny-May Coffin, Larissa Willcox.