Defender Leana de Bruin will play in her 50th ANZ Championship fixture when she takes the court for the Steel against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill tomorrow night.
It is just a pity the Steel has next to zero chance of reaching the playoffs.
According to championship data, the Steel had 0.1% chance of reaching the semifinals after nine rounds of the competition.
That has taken some of the gloss off de Bruin's special occasion but the South African-born goal keep said the team was focused on finishing the season well and enjoying each remaining game.
"For us, we have nothing to lose and can just go and play the game we love," de Bruin said.
"I think we will actually play better if we play like that. For myself, I still want to give 100% every game regardless.
"We've been disappointing this year and just want to make sure we head out strong."
Spoiler is a negative term but the reality is the Steel can play party-pooper and ruin the Magic's prospects of reaching the play-offs.
"They have a lot more to lose than we do. But we're not going to sit back and just give it to them - it is going to be a tough game."
De Bruin spent a season with the Magic and the Northern Mystics before transferring to the Steel last season.
Tomorrow's game will be her 25th for the franchise and 50th in total.
"I feel a little bit old to be perfectly honest," de Bruin said.
"But it is an amazing competition which is awesome to be part of. So it definitely feels like a cool achievement."
The tournament is in its fourth season but each year the competition and athletes get tougher, de Bruin said.
"Every year people come back stronger and fitter and the competition demands it. It has definitely sped up since the first season and it has got more skilful."
De Bruin prides herself on her fitness. She enjoys training hard and puts in a lot of effort to stay on top of her game and it shows.
The 33-year-old mother has been in great form. Her ability to burgle the ball and get her long limbs in the way has been a godsend.
She will need to be at her best again when she marks her old friend, Irene van Dyk. The pair have played a lot of netball together with the Silver Ferns and at the Magic, so it will be fascinating to watch them go head-to-head. The duel will likely have a big impact on the final result.
The Magic has been the dominant New Zealand team in the competition but has not looked as formidable this season.
Van Dyk is still as accurate as ever but defensively teams have worked on ways to keep the ball out of her hands.
"It is always challenging to mark her because we know each other so well. But every game we try to bring something new to the court."
"She is an amazing athlete. Once she has the ball in hand it is going to go through the hoop. The older she gets, the better she gets."
The Magic has won six of the eight games between the teams and thrashed the Steel 51-36 in Rotorua during round two.
The Steel, though, has beaten the Magic in two of the three games in Invercargill.
Steel vs Magic
Venue: ILT Velodrome, Invercargill
Time: Tomorrow 6.20pm
PREVIOUS MATCHES
• 2011: Rotorua, 51-36 Magic
• 2010: Auckland, 50-42 Magic
• 2010: Invercargill, 52-47 Steel
• 2010: Rotorua, 47-41 Magic
• 2009: Invercargill, 48-39 Magic
