South Island derby heats up

It would appear the winless Tactix are resorting to mind games ahead of Monday night’s ANZ Championship clash.
 
Former Steel defender Demelza Fellowes certainly didn’t hold back when quizzed by the media about combating a player the calibre of our Jhaniele Fowler-Reid.

Fellowes, who was replaced by Fowler-Reid as the Steel’s import player for the 2012 season, labelled the towering Jamaican a one-trick pony in The Press newspaper this week.

Our Steel team were hardly lacking in motivation heading into the showdown at Horncastle Arena and you can bet comments like that simply fuel the determination to win.

Perhaps it was the fact Jhaniele set ANZ Championship records for the highest individual goals scored against the Tactix outfit in her debut season which has the opposition attempting to thwart the threat she presents. In fact, from five games to date, Jhaniele has slotted 257 goals from 271 attempts for an impressive 95 percent accuracy.

When the two sides met in Invercargill in round two, Jhaniele shot 56/60 as the Steel won comfortably 68-54.

"I think she doesn't have a plan B. She's got one string to her bow. Don't get me wrong, it's an extremely powerful string to her bow,” Fellowes said of Jhaniele.

"For me, I prefer goalers, who have got a bit more movement and a bit more extra skills. The whole complete netballer."

Fellowes rated players like Silver Fern Maria Tutaia, Australian combo Caitlin Bassett and Natalie Medhurst, and Queensland Firebirds' Jamaican Romelda Aiken as more well-rounded shooters.

"There's goal shooters that have dodges, rolls, can play both positions, and can slot them in from the boundary, as well as under the post. They're to me, the goalers, who are No 1 in the world."

The Tactix languish at the bottom of the New Zealand Conference table and Fellowes will be desperate to snatch bragging rights over her former team-mates Gina Crampton, Shannon Francois, Storm Purvis and Te Paea Selby-Rickit.

"I love seeing them and having a chat to them afterwards, but when we step on the court, they're just stinky girls in blue dresses that I've got to smash."

Yes folks, this is shaping up as a battle of epic proportion … particularly in the shooting circle.

Tune in live on Sky Sport from 7.30pm on Monday night and make sure you #standbehindthesteel.

Steel yourself for Round 6

Mainland Tactix v Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel
Monday 6 April, 7.40pm, Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
Broadcast Live - FOX SPORTS 3 (AUS); SKY SPORT 1 (NZ)

Umpires: Danielle Maulder & Angela Armstrong-Lush. Reserve: Marise Stuart

The Facts:

LAST MEETING: Round 2, 2015: Steel 68 defeated Tactix 54, Invercargill

• The Steel lead head to head with 12 wins and three losses in 15 previous meetings.
• The Steel has won the past five meetings between the sides at an average of 14 goals per match.
• The Tactix have not beaten the Steel since 2013 when Jhaniele Fowler-Reid joined the Steel.
• The Steel sits fourth on the New Zealand conference ladder with just one win (over the Tactix in Round 2) and three losses.
• The Tactix are on the bottom of the New Zealand conference having lost all four matches so far.
• The Tactix are coming off the bye in Round 5. The Tactix have a record of three wins and three losses following their bye week.
• The Tactix attack is ranked seventh with a return of 49.25 goals per match while the Steel has the second best attacking record in the ANZ Championship with 60.5 goals per match.
• The Steel has the fourth best shooting accuracy with a return of 83.2 per cent for the season while the Tactix are ranked sixth with 80.1 per cent accuracy.
• Steel shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid has shot 187 goals in 2015 which equates to 77.3 per cent of all Steel goals this season.
• Tactix midcourter Keshia Grant will play her 50th ANZ Championship match this weekend if she takes the court.

Dress up time!

Limited edition Steel scarves have arrived from the UK! There’s only 150 so don’t miss out! Just $25 each.

Kit yourself out in the latest Steel supporters gear! We have a great range of merchandise available at our home games or from the Netball South offices at ILT Stadium Southland.

We think the players look incredibly sharp in their Scody uniforms and now you can wear it too!

Replica clothing is only available online at http://www.scody.com.au/event-merchandise/event_362/southern-steel/official-merchandise/

Simon Jones is our
Man of Steel

Losing Hurts.

We lost to the Mystics and the Black Caps fell to the Australians. Thankfully at least the Highlanders had a good win so, as a sports fan, I am pleased not every team I supported over the weekend suffered defeat.

Click Here to read more

Vote for your E Hayes STEEL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

It's time to stand behind your favourite team and get behind your favourite players.
Right throughout the 2015 season you can vote online for your choice for the Steel Player of the Year and go into the end-of-season draw to win a $500 GIFT CARD from E Hayes and Sons, Proud Supporters of the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel.

The winner of the Player of the Year Trophy, as well as the winner of our Prize Draw, will be announced at a special end-of-season function in our store, details to be announced soon.  Vote carefully though as you can only vote ONCE!

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