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Netball fans won't know until tomorrow night if Noeline Taurua's brave move to pull star shooter Irene van Dyk out of the goal circle and into goal attack was an act of foresight or a costly tactical error.
The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic host the Adelaide Thunderbirds in a do-or-die preliminary final then with the winner to play the New South Wales Swifts in the inaugural ANZ Championship grand final.
For the past four weeks, van Dyk has started at goal attack while fellow shooter Maria Tutaia has started at goal shoot. Taurua admits the switch was an act of desperation when her side were struggling against the Melbourne Vixens in round 11 of the regular season.
The Magic lost that game but the switch worked so well the line-up has become a permanent fixture. Taurua says the move has helped the mid-court link better with the shooting end of the court and it seems to suit Tutaia's game.
"Maria loves shooting. If you give the ball to her she'll turn and shoot all day, it's what I call her happy place," Taurua says.
"It [the switch] was probably more in desperation than anything but what I did see of Irene during that game against the Vixens was a really good goal attack, so I thought 'bugger it, we'll have a go'."
For van Dyk, it's been a welcome change. She's relished the opportunity to have more room to move and it hasn't affected her shooting percentage - which remains near perfect.
Defensively van Dyk has also had more responsibility to put pressure on the ball coming through the mid-court and she's risen to the challenge with Taurua now calling the lanky attacker "a defensive pest" - a term van Dyk embraces.
"It's every attacker's dream to be called a pest," van Dyk says. "We never get named that because we never do enough. I think it's because I'm tall and big so I make it harder for opposition to see over or past me.
"I just have to make sure I'm in the right place at the right time."
It's the first time in van Dyk's successful career she's ever played as a goal attack and she says it's given her more insight into the game she's made a career from.
"It's unbelievable how much it's changed my perspective of a goal shooter's role," she says. "When I move back, I think I'll be a better goal shooter. I have never, ever played goal attack in my whole life, now is the first time. It is different, but I do enjoy the defensive factor. You can work up to the transverse line and have an influence on defence."
It's not known if the positional switch will have repercussions for Ruth Aitken's Silver Ferns when they play Australia in September.
At 35, it's no secret van Dyk won't be around forever, and grooming another shooter, like Tutaia, has to be playing on Aitken's mind.
But van Dyk suspects it's not on the cards yet.
"I don't think Ruth would do that," she says. "Noeline has a lot of guts, she's a coach who coaches with flair and goes with her gut feeling... but I don't think it would carry on to international. Mind you, I don't mind if it does."
The starting Magic line-up has yet to be announced by Taurua and even her players aren't sure if the switch in the shooting circle will remain for the clash with the Thunderbirds, meaning van Dyk and Tutaia have their homework to do on a strong defensive Adelaide side.
On paper, the Thunderbirds are the strongest defensive team in the league. The visitors have flexibility in Mo'onia Gerrard who can play both goal defence and wing defence when needed.
Last week Gerrard started in wing defence, but moved to goal defence and played a pivotal role getting the Thunderbirds home against the Melbourne Vixens.
Thunderbirds' goal attack Natalie Medhurst predicts it's going to be another game won at the defensive end.
"Our defence all over the court is going to have to be very tight," she says. "We're going to have to stop the ball getting into the circle in the first place and hopefully out of van Dyk's hands.
"For Magic to have Irene out there is a great option for them and she can easily switch back as well. For us, we need to try and keep her out of the circle because, when she is in there, she's such a huge target for them."
Taurua predicts the game will go to the wire and is urging her team to put together a consistent 60 minutes.
"Both teams have been quite inconsistent throughout the whole tournament," she says. "It's going to come down to whoever can perform consistently on the day. We've both had inconsistent performances, even last week. We need to go into the game very positively and very confidently."
