KEY POINTS:
The Canterbury Tactix have invited Australian umpires attend their training session in Perth this morning ahead of tomorrow's match against the West Coast Fever in a bid to avoid a repeat of last week's lop-sided penalty count against the Queensland Firebirds.
The Tactix were left bewildered after being heavily penalised in their 50-36 loss in Brisbane in round 12, and they are still in the dark as to what some of the calls were for.
A frustrated Tactix coach Helen Mahon-Stroud tried to speak to the umpires after the game to get some clarification on the rulings, but was told the officials were unavailable.
She hopes some of the areas of confusion will be cleared up today after arranging through Netball New Zealand umpiring co-ordinator Jan Teesdale to have Australian whistleblowers sit in on the Tactix training.
"We just think it's one way we can try and establish a bit of clarity around it so when we go in to the game on Sunday there's not a repeat of what happened last week," the Canterbury coach said.
A lot of the confusion surrounding last week's game was over the number of penalties the Tactix gave away on attack.
Replacement goal-shoot Hayley Stockman drew more contact calls than her defensive marker Laura Geitz, which is virtually unheard of. Stockman seemingly could do little right in the eyes of the umpires and looked at a loss every time the whistle blew.
"There was a lot of frustration because we didn't understand what the interpretation was of the contact rule," said Mahon-Stroud.
"From what I could see, what was happening down our attack end was no different to what was happening in the Firebirds attack end, and that's why we really want to seek some clarification on that rule."
The disparities in umpiring interpretations between the two countries has emerged as one of most controversial issues of the inaugural season.
No Kiwi side has been able to win across the Tasman so far this season, with even the table-topping Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic struggling to match it with the Aussies on their home soil.
But Mahon-Stroud believes if her side can get their head around the variations in the interpretation of some rules, they will be a lot more competitive against the Fever.
"We think that if we can get an understanding from the Australian umpires on the rulings and tidy up our own game, we certainly are going to be competitive against the West Coast Fever."
Tomorrow's game will be the only transtasman clash of the weekend. There is a lot more at stake in games across the Tasman though, with the top four Australian sides battling it out for a place in the semifinals and the all-important number two spot on the ladder.
Today's match between the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Queensland Firebirds is likely to determine the last available berth in the play-offs, barring any final round upsets.
Back home the Central Pulse will be looking for their first win of the season when they take on the Northern Mystics at the North Shore Events Centre today. Though the Mystics are only two places ahead of the Pulse in the competition standings, it will be no easy task for the Wellington side with the Mystics seemingly finding top form over the last few weeks.
ROUND 13
Today
- 2.30pm Northern Mystics v Central Pulse, Auckland; 4.30pm Adelaide Thunderbirds v Queensland Firebirds, Adelaide.
Tomorrow
- 4.30pm West Coast Fever v Canterbury Tactix, Perth.
Monday
- 7pm Southern Steel v Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, Invercargill; 9pm Melbourne Vixens v NSW Swifts, Melbourne.
