The Southern Steel is hungrier than ever to record its first win and finish its season on a high tomorrow.
But equally, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic will be desperate to send shooter Bailey Mes off in style. Mes announced her retirement yesterday, having played 137 domestic games and 76 games for the Silver Ferns since her debut in 2010.
While neither team is in the playoff picture, it makes for an interesting match-up, one Steel captain Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit is looking forward to.
"Honestly, if we won, I think we’d almost feel like we’d won the whole competition, which sounds so silly," Selby-Rickit said.
"But we’ve been like there, or thereabouts, and you’re seeing our performances have gotten better.
"But I always say, history doesn’t kind of note down great performances or neat wins or close losses.
"It records wins and losses and so to actually get the win would be so good.
"They’ll want to finish on a high for [Mes] ... but we really need that win.
"It’s going to be a really interesting battle, I guess, of who wants it more, who’s willing to do whatever it takes — it’ll be a really fun game actually."
The Steel and the Magic have had some tough battles this season, with the Steel losing 52-45 in Hamilton two weeks ago.
The visitors led for most of that game, but an inability to close it out allowed the Magic to run away with a 16-8 final quarter.
That has been the concern for the Steel most of the season and something Selby-Rickit felt needed to be addressed earlier in the game.
"We put ourselves in those moments.
"We should have had them a few times in that game in other quarters ... and we should’ve really put our foot down.
"There were a few moments, especially at the very beginning, where we, I think, scored the first four and we could’ve gone up to six, and even eight, and it’s those moments and we kind of let it go back to even again.
"Even though, yeah, it’s the end moments that really matter, but I think there’s little moments throughout the game that we could just be a bit more, for a lack of a better word, a bit more ruthless and have that mindset from the very beginning.
"And if we do, hopefully, that’ll get us in a better position."
The Magic posed an interesting challenge on attack, Mes and captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio splitting the shooting load and playing a similar style.
They can both interchange between goal shoot and goal attack, play high in the Magic’s attack lines and have a lot more movement than a traditional circle spearhead by holding shooters.
"It’s so different," Selby Rickit said.
"They both run around way more, they swing the ball a lot. Magic play around with the ball a lot, but [aren’t] afraid to re-set it and go again.
"It’s a really good challenge.
"It’s one of those kinda teams where you have to have your head up, you have to have your arms going at all times.
"If your head’s down, the ball’s going to go past your head."
She has had a mental shift since the start of her team’s winless season — "otherwise I would be, you know, crying every week" — and embraced the year as a new challenge.
But do not doubt how much she wants to be on the right side of the scoreline tomorrow.
"Very, very hungry.
"We still want the win."
ANZ Premiership
Stadium Southland, tomorrow, 4.10pm
Southern Steel: Eseta Autagavaia, Georgia Heffernan, Saviour Tui, Sam Winders, Ivari Christie, Kate Heffernan, Renee Savai’inaea, Kate Burley, Courtney Elliott, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit.
Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic: Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Bailey Mes, Ivana Rowland, Claire Kersten, Simmon Wilbore, Georgie Edgecombe, Charlotte Elley, Amy Christophers, Erena Mikaere, Georgia Takarangi.
