The best
Hard to look past the 47-43 win over the Northern Mystics in Dunedin in round seven. Defeating the defending champions is no easy feat, even if they were missing Grace Nweke. The Steel fired on all cylinders and had the consistency they had been demanding for the whole 60 minutes.
The worst
A few contenders here. One week after beating the Mystics, the 57-37 loss to the Central Pulse was tough to take.
There were promising signs against the Mystics, but they were hard to find in this game.
The round nine 63-46 loss to the Northern Stars was also disappointing. The Steel matched up well against the Stars and had grabbed their first win in 21 games earlier in the season, so to see them hardly fire a shot was disheartening.
MVP
Captain Kate Heffernan carried a heavy workload in the middle and never gave up. Finished with 420 feeds.
Most improved
Renee Savai’inaea is often an unsung hero at wing defence, but she hardly plays a bad game. Grew throughout the season and finished with 21 intercepts.
The future
• The Steel need some height defensively and they need proven ball-winners. Only Savai’inaea (21 intercepts), Abby Lawson (23 rebounds) and Taneisha Fifita (nine rebounds) sit in the top 10 of the league after 15 rounds. Something has to change there. South African Jeante Strydom never really got going, either — and lost her starting spot to Lawson — so it might be time to look elsewhere. They need to be strategic in their signings in the coming months.
• They could use some height in the shooting circle too. Hopefully in the form of George Fisher’s return. Georgia Heffernan — who, admittedly, did a lot of work outside the circle to support their young wing attacks — and Grace Namana just lack that extra height and stability needed. Attacking-wise they need a stable wing attack. Both Ivari Christie, before her injury, and Serina Daunakamakama showed glimpses, but they need more consistency.
• It felt like there was a lack of accountability at times from this young unit. One mistake led to a flurry and once their opposition had a run, they were unable to bring it back. They have to have more belief in themselves next season and they have to find a way to get some consistency back in their game. When they get turnover ball, they must treasure it and punish teams at the post — something that was lacking this season.
• Stating the obvious, but no injuries would be nice.
