Team Talk

As the anticipation builds for our opening ANZ Premiership game, we couldn’t be more pumped! It honestly seems like we’ve been waiting for the 2019 season for years! In reality, this is the shortest off-season we’ve ever had so I guess that says a lot about how eager we are to get underway.

With the bulk of our group back together from last season it was a like a family reunion when we met up again in November. We officially welcomed Kendall McMinn, Lenize Potgieter and Kate Heffernan into the clan … I guess we can call them the weird uncles or something!

The girls have been through a massive preseason consisting of the usual ‘hurt box’ training … not to mention both a heat wave and freezing temperatures thrown into the mix. A huge tally of metres has been clocked up with typically three sessions a day on court or in the gym.

Our pre-season games went relatively well with the aim being to connect and build combinations.

We’ve got a tough task first up with three games … in three different cities … in six days! We’ll need to focus and rally together. I’m really looking forward to it though because ‘gals on tour’ is always a blast with this group.

I have big hopes for our team and know we can definitely produce some quality netball. I predict we will peak at just the right time.

Enjoy the adventures ahead – it’s awesome to have our Steel army behind us.

Cheers,
Gina

2019 ANZ PREMIERSHIP
Round 1 - Super Sunday 24 Feb

Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v Northern Stars

When: 2:10pm, Sunday 24 February 2019

Where: Claudelands Arena, Hamilton

Broadcast: SKY Sport (NZ), FanPass (SKY),  
ANZPremiership.co.nz (outside NZ) 
#ANZP | #STEvSTA


Match Notes

• When the teams last met in Round 13 last season the Stars defeated the Steel 65-59 in Auckland.



• The Stars win in their last meeting against the Steel was their first win over the Steel in six meetings.



• The Steel won the first five meetings between the teams while the Stars won the most meeting last season.



• Charlee Hodges is the Stars international import for the 2019 ANZ Premiership season. Hodges played 13 matches for the Thunderbirds in Suncorp Super Netball in 2017 (2) & 2018 (11).

• Leana de Bruin is the most capped player in the ANZ Premiership. De Bruin was the Stars inaugural Captain in 2017 and returns to South Auckland after a season with the Thunderbirds in Suncorp Super Netball.



• Temepara Bailey last played in the ANZ Championship as a replacement player for the Mystics in 2014 (2 matches) while she officially retired from International Netball after the 2011 Netball World Cup in Singapore and domestically in 2012 after the ANZ Championship season.



• The Steel had the fourth best team defensive record in 2018 conceding an average of 53.8 goals per match, they had the best attacking record scoring 57.7 goals per match, while they had the fourth best shooting accuracy at 81.8%.


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Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel - PO Box 6034, Invercargill North, Invercargill 9841 NEW ZEALAND Telephone + 64 3 219 9350