Steel shooter rates two point shot a ‘game changer’
May 9, 2025
The introduction of a two-point shot in this year’s ANZ Premiership has Georgia Heffernan buzzing.
The Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel shooter believes the innovation will add a thrilling new dynamic to matches.
“The two-point shot really does change the game and I’m really excited about it,” she said.
“I feel like it really mixes things up. You’re never safe anymore. If you’re up by say 10, you’re not safe and on the flip side, if you’re down by 10, you’re not out of the game. That’s actually really cool.”
The two-point shot will be introduced in the final five minutes of each quarter, rewarding long-range shooting.
“In a way the ANZ Premiership has sort of trained out the long shot over the years so a lot of us goal attacks are really happy about this new concept,” Heffernan said.
She has been relishing the chance to work alongside team-mates Aliyah Dunn and Summer Temu to integrate it into their arsenal.
“We’ve been really enjoying training for it. We’re lucky in this team because all of us can shoot the long shot so it’s nice to be able to share the pressure amongst us.
“They’re awesome and I’m so lucky to be playing with them. They can each play both games – the holding strong shooting game or else a bit of a moving shoot – but are both a bit different in their styles too.
“Aliyah has so much experience and Summer has just come in so hot this season so I can’t wait to see what we can achieve as a unit this season.”
Bold new tactics needed to be developed.
“Defence-wise there’s going to have to be a lot of strategy around how to stop a two-point shooter that’s on form. It’s going to be interesting,” Heffernan said.
“At least for us we can split the d’s and they’re going to have to worry about both of us, otherwise there’s a lot of pressure for one shooter just to be on all the time.
“We’ll definitely be tactical as to when we use it. Sometimes it’s better to get one than go for two.
“It’s about flow and learning to feel it, not to force it. Sometimes, if it’s really hard to get the twos because the defenders are going hard and we’re shooting under fatigue, we’ll just shoot the ones.
“It will be a case of learn as we go so the first couple of rounds are going to be interesting.”
She expected an energetic response from the stands.
“It will be so exciting for the fans when the shots go in. Even at preseason the crowds have been so much more into it. As for the team benches, we are on our feet so much more because it’s just so exciting to watch.
“It’s definitely a bit more stressful as a shooter but it’s so cool when you nail it.”
Heffernan predicted it would have a positive impact in the international arena.
“I found at Fast5 the Aussie girls were a step ahead of us. They didn’t put up as many twos or threes but they were so smart with the tactical game because they’ve had the two-point shot as part of the Suncorp Super League for a while now. So I think it will be great for us to develop that aspect of our game for Fast5,” she said.
“It’s cool to get more shooters confident at range and that has to be a benefit for our game internationally.”
Head coach Wendy Frew rated the two-point shot as a great addition.
“It changes the whole game and kind of evens out the playing field in many ways. We’ve been training for it in preseason and working out tactics but it won’t be until that pressure cooker in the last few minutes of a game when you really see what it’s like and you’re playing for points on the board. In those crunch situations you will really see who knows how to play the game,” she said.
“No one is showing their cards at the moment, everyone is playing it safe. I think they will use the first round to get a feel for it. We haven’t seen a lot of strategy around it from teams yet but it will come.”
The Steel opens its 2025 campaign against the VIP Frames & Trusses Tactix in Christchurch on Sunday – a South Island showdown Heffernan was eagerly anticipating.
“We had a slow start to preseason with a few niggles but now we’ve got just about everyone out on court and you can see it all coming together,” Heffernan said.
“I feel like this season is going to be over before we know it, so we just really want to get started.
“The first game is going to be a big one, just to show how hard we’ve worked because we’ve been put through it this preseason. We want to do it for ourselves but also for our coaches Wendy and Liana (Leota) and our management team who have all put so much into preparing us.”
