ANZ Championship: Round 5 preview

Round 5 is the last opportunity to see New Zealand / Australian team match-ups for a while, as Rounds 6 to 10 are all intra-country games, with two teams having a bye for each of those rounds.

While Australia took out Rivalry Round by a significant margin of 58 goals, the final score lines from last week’s games certainly don’t reflect the intensity of each contest. All five games were won in either the third or final quarters, and the New Zealand teams will be looking for redemption this weekend.

Saturday 17 April Haier Pulse v Adelaide Thunderbirds
2.20pm, TSB Bank Arena, Wellington

Sunday 18 April NSW Swifts v West Coast Fever
2.50pm, Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Newcastle

Mercury Energy Tactix v Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic
6.50pm, Westpac Arena, Christchurch

Monday 19 April Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v Queensland Firebirds
7.20pm, Stadium Southland, Invercargill

Melbourne Vixens v LG Mystics
7.05pm, Hisense Arena, Melbourne

* All times shown are local times


Haier Pulse v Adelaide Thunderbirds
· The Pulse almost caused the biggest upset of the year last week, when they burst on to the court to lead the Swifts 25-22 at half-time. Unfortunately they were unable to maintain their lead as the Swifts lifted in the second half.

· Meanwhile the Thunderbirds had their second successive win for the season, storming home in the final quarter to beat the Steel by 17 goals.

· The Thunderbirds’ Jamaican import, Carla Borrego, is currently second in the goal shooting tally, while the Geva Mentor / Mo’onia Gerrard combination in defence will certainly challenge the Pulse as they attempt to win their first game for the season.


NSW Swifts v West Coast Fever
· The ANZ Championship returns to NSW’s Hunter region for the first time since 2008.

· Despite being unbeaten this season, the Swifts face a tough opponent in the young, confident and determined West Coast Fever line-up, who only narrowly lost to the WBOP Magic in Hamilton last weekend.

· History shows that games between the Swifts and Fever are always hotly contested, with the Fever winning an extra-time thriller in Perth in Round 5, 2009.

· The Swifts will need to shut down the Fever’s Caitlin Bassett, who continues to lead the competition for goals scored. Bassett has averaged 50 goals in her previous four matches against the Swifts.


Mercury Energy Tactix v Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic
· The Tactix will be looking to beat the WBOP Magic for the first time in ANZ Championship history, when they host the NZ powerhouse team in Christchurch this weekend.

· The Magic’s Casey Williams now leads the competition for intercepts this season, following her stunning performance against the Fever last week.

· The last two times these teams met, there were less than four goals separating them. The Tactix were by no means disgraced when they met the ladder-topping Vixens in Rivalry Round, and they will be keen to notch up their second win for the season.


Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v Queensland Firebirds
· This is likely to be a thriller; the two have only met twice before, and the record stands at one win each, with only two goals separating them on each occasion.

· After a disappointing start to the season, the Firebirds had their first win in front of an adoring home crowd in Brisbane last week, recording the second highest score in ANZ Championship history (71 goals).

· The Firebirds will need to dig even deeper if they’re to become the first Australian team to ever defeat the Steel in Invercargill.


Melbourne Vixens v LG Mystics
· This will be the Mystics’ second trip across the Tasman in eight days. They are still searching for that elusive win on Australian soil.

· They face the daunting prospect of meeting the unbeaten Vixens at home.

· Three of the Vixens’ starters (Julie Corletto, Chelsey Nash and Natasha Chokljat) didn’t take to the court last week; with all potentially returning this round, the Vixens could be even more threatening on Monday night.