The Steel's attack end has not been functioning as well as the Invercargill-based franchise would have liked with the combination between Wipiiti and Griffin just not clicking.
The pair play a similar style of netball and it has been evident for weeks the Steel has lacked a genuine playmaker at goal attack. Megan Dehn performed the role so well for the Steel last season and Donna Wilkins has also done it in the past, before linking up with the Tactix this season.
Steel coach Robyn Broughton has had her hands tied with no other options. Back-up shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit is very much a holding shooter and Sophia Fenwick is still honing her craft. Neither is ready to make the step up to ANZ Championship level.
The decision to switch Wipiiti and Griffin was really the only move available. And with the Tactix getting off to a rollicking start to take a 15-10 into the first break, there was not much left to lose.
Griffin looked far more assured in the goal shoot bib and made an immediate impact, landing 11 from 11 in the second quarter as the home side stormed back into the match.
It is her preferred position and it showed. Wipiiti, though, did not look as at ease with the switch.
"I guess it depends who we are playing," Griffin responded when asked if she believed the combination worked better with her at goal shoot.
"But I think it works both ways. We both have our different strengths when we switch. It is really in Robyn's hands. We don't mind where we play, as long as we win."
For her part, Broughton was not giving too much away.
"We'll have to wait and see," Broughton responded when asked if she might persist with the tactic.
"[That combination] worked better today. Whether we think that is what Daneka's role should be, I'm not sure. It probably depends on the type of defence being played against you, as well."
Broughton said she wanted to see more movement from the goal attack and to help create more space in the shooting circle.
While the Steel finished the match well, it made a disappointing start. The Tactix looked the hungrier of the sides.
The visitors lost experienced midcourter Phillipa Finch in the opening two minutes, when she fell awkwardly and injured her right knee.
Her replacement, Kiley Hikawai, changed the dynamics of the Tactix midcourt and not necessarily in a bad way. While she lacked Finch's physicality, she added some flair and generally had a tidy game.
Trailing by five goals, a grumpy Broughton blasted her troops. The Steel returned, shaken from its complacency and with an improved intensity.
"We tend to start slow, which is not good," Griffin said.
"We are definitely working on it but perhaps we need to go back and look at our warm-up and preparation. But, really, I think it is up to the individual players to step up, and getting going at the beginning rather than leave it to the second half."
The Steel outscored the Tactix 15-8 to take a two-goal lead into halftime. The decisive break came towards the dying stages of the third quarter when the Steel posted five unanswered goals to open an eight-point buffer.
Steel v Tactix
- The scores
• Southern Steel 49
Daneka Wipiiti 15 from 22, Paula Griffin 34/39
• Canterbury Tactix 40
Donna Wilkins 23/26, Anna Thompson 17/20
• Quarter 10-15, halftime 25-23, 38-30
