Thunderbirds Too Good For LG Mystics

The LG Northern Mystics were beaten by the Adelaide Thunderbirds in their latest ANZ Championship match in Adelaide over the weekend in what can only be described as an overly-physical encounter.

The Auckland-based side were no match for the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard going down 34-58 despite being in the game for the first quarter and intermittently throughout the rest of the game.

There were signs the game could be close in the first stanza as the Mystics stayed in contention but the home side settled first and kept pushing further forward eventually going to a 12-9 lead at the first quarter and then 26-18 at half time.

It was the Thunderbirds' seventh win from nine outings and came on the back of a dominant defence which always put the Mystics under pressure in the shooting circle. The Mystics remain in the bottom three of the points table on three wins.

In one of the fastest and most aggressive games of the season, Thunderbirds goal defence Georgia Beaton was sent off with an injury at the midway point of the match, while her teammate Mo’onia Gerrad put in a few tackles rugby league players would have been proud of resulting in plenty of penalties for both sides.

In the midcourt Natalie von Bertouch and Temepara George had a great battle with some exceptional play by both midcourters. Wing defence Debbie White was also noticeable in her efforts of trying to stop the flow of goals by Natalie Medhust who shot 32 goals from 37 attempts.

At the other end, the Mystics shooting pair, Catherine Latu and Pamela Cookey, were not quite as effective. Latu managed some good long-range shots, but had a lower percentage at 76 as did Cookey – 68 percent.

The LG Mystics next match is against the Southern Steel on Monday 15 June in Invercargill at 7pm.