Netball: Umpires could hold key

Mandy Nottingham. Photo / APN

Former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering believes one of the biggest factors that will determine the outcome of tomorrow's ANZ Championship grand final will be the officiating.

And unlike most other games played on Australian soil, Willering is of the opinion that the umpiring selections in this one will put the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic at an advantage in their showdown with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

New Zealand's Mandy Nottingham and Sharon Kelly of Australia will be in charge of the title decider.

During the regular season transtasman matches are officiated by local umpires, and, as is apparent from New Zealand's appalling record across the Ditch, Kiwi teams have struggled to adjust to some rule interpretations of the Australian umpires.

However, during the finals series the matches are controlled by oneNew Zealand and one Australian umpire.

While this is seen as creating a more level playing field, having umpires with varying styles can present problems with teams having to readjust to the different calls with each change of ends.

Willering therefore believes the Magic have a headstart on their rivals as they have played under Nottingham and Kelly in their past two matches - last week's 54-49 win over the NSW Swifts in the preliminary final, and their 50-42 semifinal win over the Southern Steel in Auckland.

"It means the Magic will ... have a clear idea of what to expect from each of [the umpires] with all that recent experience.

"There'll be no excuses for the Magic on Sunday - they've had that dress rehearsal not only with the umpires but with the travel across the Tasman as well, so they know what to do."