Netball: This has to be Mystics' year, says George

Temepara George says she hasn't decided whether this will be her last season in the transtasman league. Photo / Getty Images

The Mystics' tag as perennial under-achievers is starting to wear thin with captain Temepara George.

"We have been really strong on paper but underperformed - and we hate hearing that all the time. We don't want to be known as the team that always under-achieves."

But there is a reason the tag has stuck.

The Auckland side's first three seasons in the ANZ Championship have followed a familiar script - the year starts out with strong hope, which is quickly replaced by despair as the Mystics fail to live up to their immense promise by delivering a string of inconsistent performances that ultimately costs them a place in the play-offs.

Their failure in 2008 was blamed on a lack of preparedness for the physical and tactical challenges of the new semi-professional league. The following year was branded as a rebuilding year as they dealt with the loss of several key players.

But after recruiting strongly in 2010, luring Silver Ferns Joline Henry and Maria Tutaia north from the Magic, and signing Jamaican international Althea Byfield, last year was hyped as the year the Auckland side would finally deliver on their promise. They didn't.

This year they have added further firepower, signing Silver Fern defender Anna Scarlett, who will be playing her first season in the transtasman league after two and a half seasons on the beach volleyball circuit, and Australian veteran Megan Dehn - a crafty attacker.

Weary Auckland fans are hoping this time the Mystics have got their formula right.

George knows with three years to come to grips with the new professional environment, and one of the deepest teams in the league, they will have no excuses if they can't make the play-offs in 2011.

"We've recruited really well this year and we've got quality players and talented youngsters on the bench. So we need to stand up and deliver," she said.

"This year needs to be the year that we need to actually perform."

The underlying sense of urgency to George's words may have a lot to do with the stage she is at in her career.

The 2011 season could be the Auckland netball stalwart's last season in the transtasman league, with some tough decisions looming following the July world championships.

The four-year cyclic nature of international netball means a wave of retirements often follow the world championships.

But George stresses any decision over her future won't be made until after the Singapore tournament.

"I still don't know what I'm going to do after the world champs - you're a long time retired so it's something that I will have to think long and hard about," she said.

"Once it's all over I think it will be clearer what I need to do."

Certainly George feels even in the twilight of her career there are still plenty of new challenges that lie ahead to keep her interested if she wanted to continue on in the sport.

Even the past few months in her build-up to the 2011 season have presented massive physical and mental challenges for George to overcome as she battled her way back from ankle surgery.

The 35-year-old went under the knife after last year's Commonwealth Games to clear out some cartilage in her ankle that had been giving her grief for quite some time. That meant George was forced to miss the Ferns tour to the UK last month to concentrate on her rehabilitation and getting herself right for the start of the transtasman league.

But she encountered several setbacks with her recovery, including suffering from infection.

"It was really hard to take because I had the op and it was sweet, but then I got the stitches out and it just turned to custard and it set me back another three weeks in terms of rehab," she said.

"But I was at home for those three weeks just sitting doing nothing and mentally that was tough - I think my partner wanted to admit me because I was going through such weird emotions."

Now she has come through the lows of the preseason, George said she has an extra spring in her step in training and can't wait to get out on court in Monday's opening game against the Steel, where she hopes the Mystics' new, hardened attitude will be on display.

In order to learn from their run of disappointing finishes in the opening three seasons of the league, Mystics coach Debbie Fuller said her side has had to "confront a few realities" in the preseason.

Fuller is the third coach to take the helm of the Auckland side in four seasons after stepping in to the lead role this season having assisted Te Aroha Keenan for the past two years.

The first task Fuller assigned herself was providing a brutal assessment of where the Mystics have fallen down in previous years and making her squad aware of these home truths.

The Mystics' composure and execution under pressure was highlighted as the biggest area of concern in the post-mortem from 2010. In the heat of tight, pressure-filled battles they tended to lack confidence in one another and their gameplan and began playing as individuals.

What Fuller and her sidekick Jenny-May Coffin have tried to drill in to the team this year is the ability to execute under pressure and a sheer bloody-mindedness to get the side over the line.

In this sense - despite the Mystics preseason form, which although has been mixed has displayed promising signs - Fuller said it is too soon to tell if they have made any advancement in this area. They have yet to show they can come up with the big plays and show composure on attack when there are two points on the line.

"The pressure comes on when the games count, and we know every team in this league can put us under pressure and it is about ... who can handle the big games and who can handle the tight scorelines, so we'll see," she said.

Oldies but goodies nearing end of road

Temepara George isn't the only player likely to be considering her future following the world championships.

Several other veterans could decide to call it curtains after the pinnacle event in the sport this year, which means 2011 could be the last time we see them in action in the ANZ Championship.

Sharelle McMahon (Vixens): The inspirational Australian captain is tipped to be stepping down from all netball after the world championships.

It is clear the athletic shooter's long career is starting to take its toll on her body, with McMahon battling ongoing knee problems over the past few years. It is also believed the 33-year-old is keen to start a family.

Catherine Cox (Swifts): At 34, Cox is the oldest member of the Australian national side and may step aside to allow new talent to come through following the world champs. However, the Swifts shooter is still in strong form and an integral member of the Sydney team, so may opt to play on at ANZ Championship level.

Irene van Dyk (Magic): Four years ago, few would have tipped van Dyk would be back for another world champs, but at 38, the shooting superstar remains at the top of her game. Word is van Dyk plans to stay on beyond the world champs and possibly rack up 200 test caps, but if the Ferns bring home the title, it could be tempting to sign off on a high.

Leana de Bruin (Steel): Another player still in peak physical fitness, de Bruin has plenty of netballing years left in her. But the lanky defender may decide the time is right to extend her family following the world championships.

Megan Dehn (Mystics): While Dehn has long stepped down from international netball, it is thought this will be her last season of elite netball. She had intended to retire following the 2010 season with the Steel, but Temepara George, an old friend from the Northern Force days, lured her back for one last hurrah.