Match Report Steel v Magic – Rd 5
May 9, 2026
The winning streak remains intact for the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel, toppling the Avis Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 61-48 in Tauranga.
The ANZ Premiership round five clash might not have delivered the flawless performance the Steel strives for, but the victory is a vital boost to the points tally and secures top spot on the competition ladder.
After an opening spell marred by niggly turnovers, the odds were locked – although a stack of deflections evidenced the determination from the southerners.
Finally able to capitalise on the hard-earned possession, a spurt of unanswered goals earned the Steel a handy advantage which was never relinquished, despite some commendable patches from the Magic.
The Steel’s leadership duo of Kimiora Poi and Georgia Heffernan delivered in all facets of their game, impressing in the deflection stats and providing sublime ball, ably supported by the in-form Serina Duanakakamakama.
With the game firmly in hand, head coach Wendy Frew nabbed the chance to give everyone valuable game time.
“I was really happy to get those girls out. They train so hard and it’s tough when you’re not always getting rewarded with court time. I think they did their job really well out there and it was nice for them to showcase what they can do and it makes them a threat to be in that starting seven,” she said.
“This team are a pretty hardy group of girls and they play for each other. We’ve been training really hard so it’s nice to put a performance out there like that.
“We just really wanted to make sure we looked after our ball. They are quite a physical team so ball placement was important. At times I can say I wasn’t quite happy with that but credit to the Magic – they put a lot of pressure on us and covered a lot of the options around the circle edge so we’ll go back to the drawing board on that.”
Steel vice-captain Heffernan was satisfied, remarking on her team’s progress as the season has evolved.
“It’s been a big shift from all of us right down the court since round one so we are really proud of that,” she said.
She heaped praise on her fellow attackers in goal shoot Aliyah Dunn and the dynamic Poi and Duanakakamakama firing in quality feeds.
“She’s (Dunn) a holding shooter but she can also move so I absolutely love playing with her.
“Our middies are just playing so well and hitting circle edge brilliantly. We just have a calmness down that end and it feels really good and we’re really proud of the netball were playing at the moment.”
Goal keep Carys Stythe produced another MVP effort.
“It felt good out there. We had a lot of goals we wanted to nail this week, especially that last quarter. I still think there is heaps of room to improve but we are building on that,” she said.
“Against the Pulse last week we really didn’t finish with the same intensity that we held through the whole game … I think it was better, especially in defence.
“We’re actually working together not just as a goal d, goal keep combo, but actually all four of us. It makes my job so much easier at the back when my people are doing their job so well in front of me.”
Playing a Magic side searching for their first points of the season, the Steel weathered the early storm at Mercury Baypark Arena.
Breaking the deadlock in a key four-minute period of play in the second quarter was the turning point for the Steel, led by the relentless defensive efforts of Stythe and Khanye’ Lii Munro-Nonoa, leadership of Poi at centre and the accuracy of both shooters in the circle.
The southerners must take plenty of confidence into the second half of their campaign having gone from strength to strength since their only loss back in the opening round.
In contrast, the Magic found themselves in a must-win moment on their home court with zero points on the ladder and, despite making improvements across the board, suffered their fifth straight defeat.
Playing with a freedom of nothing to lose, the Magic started strongly with Georgie Edgecombe earning the starting centre bib and Sarah Guiney again picking up the goal attack bib in the absence of Saviour Tui who remains sidelined through injury.
Converting turnovers has hurt the Magic this season and it was a similar start to this match when defenders picked up early ball but couldn’t take advantage on the scoreboard.
Backed by their home crowd, Magic stayed in the hunt with the scores locked after five minutes – Guiney stepping into her starting role at goal attack with confidence, working hard off the line and combining well with shooter Kate Taylor.
The match-up between Edgecombe and Poi in the middle promised plenty, and the duo delivered in the opening quarter.
Nothing could separate the two teams at the first break, the score at 14-14, and the question for home fans was whether their team could continue their form for the next three quarters.
Steel goal attack Heffernan played a steady role outside of the circle and took her shooting opportunities when she could.
Waiting for one side to take the upper hand took until the midway mark of the spell when wing attack Daunakamakama snaffled a rare intercept on the transverse line, giving the visitors a two-goal edge.
It sparked a four-minute period of play where the Steel piled on the defensive pressure for a major shift in momentum and a seven-goal difference on the scoreboard.
With just over a minute left in the half, Magic brought Losa Fifita into goal keep with Erena Mikaere moving to goal defence, but the hosts went into halftime trailing 23-31.
They maintained the circle combination in the third spell with Oceane Maihi coming on at wing defence.
But it was at the other end of the court where the wheels started to wobble as the Steel’s defensive unit shut down options.
Frew introduced Josie Bingham into the line with less than five minutes to play with Heffernan replacing Dunn.
The mounting pressure took its toll on the Magic and despite nailing the first two two-point shots of the game, still went into the last break down 37-49.
