Netball: 'Humbling reality check' as Magic succumb to Pulse
Amelia Walmsley of the Pulse during the ANZ Premiership match against the Magic.
Photo:
Photosport
The two-point shot was not enough for the Magic to beat an impressive Pulse in the opening game of the ANZ Premiership.
Last year's beaten finalists inflicted a 57-44 win over the Magic in Palmerston North.
The Magic, who are touted by many as finals contenders this year, were blindsided in the first quarter when they were outscored 15-6 by the home side.
The Magic netted four two-pointers in the final quarter but it wasn't enough to close the gap.
It took until three minutes before half-time for the first super shot of the competition to be converted under the new 2-point rule.
Unsurprisingly it was Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio, who finished with five out of seven attempts for the Magic.
Fellow Magic shooter Saviour Tui, who shared court-time with Kate Taylor, converted two of her 10 attempts.
Pulse injury replacement player Amorangi Malesala scored four from six, and was injected during the last five minutes of each quarter, when the double scoring zone comes in to play.
Pulse captain Kelly Jackson said they were lucky to have the clutch shooter.
"Amorangi is a huge asset to our team and thankful that we've been able to bring in someone with such experience and confidence out wide and she just complements our game style really well," Jackson said.
The Magic were better in the second quarter but the Pulse led 28-19 at half-time.
The first game also saw the first suspension of the competition, with Fa'amu Ioane sent to the sideline for two minutes for dangerous play late in the third quarter.
But the Pulse had another big quarter, winning it 17-10.
Maddy Gordon in action.
Photo:
Photosport
The Magic won the final quarter 15-12 off the back of Ekenasio nailing double pointers.
Jackson was glad her side had a big buffer.
"At the back of our minds we knew that those shots are Ameliaranne's strengths and it was a focus of ours to be able to just continue to put up the ones and keep the scoreboard ticking over because we know they are a team that can hunt down a scoreline," Jackson said.
Ekenasio summed her side's performance up.
"We just weren't good enough, we didn't really show up, we prepped really well, so disappointed in what we put out in comparison to what we've been consistently putting out in training every week. We'll go back and we'll train hard and really take on the next game, I think it's a real humbling reality check for us," Ekenasio said.
"Have to give it to Pulse, they are always a quality team and that's what we were expecting, however we definitely did this one to ourselves, we didn't really take on the game right from the start."
Jackson was very happy with their start to the season but not surprised.
"I think we more so surprised everyone else. We have had a very unsettled pre-season with various injuries and illnesses but the best thing about our environment is that when the going gets tough, the tough get going and we work our way through it," Jackson said.
Australian netballer Gabi Simpson also provided injury cover for the Pulse and was impressive in her three-quarters at centre.
Jackson said it was hard to believe that she had not played netball since 2023.
"It's pretty crazy, no one would believe that ... last week was her first netball training in a long time. It just shows how much experience she has and she just loves the sport so we're very thankful that she's been able to come in and help us out for a few weeks.
"She's been loving it, she's missed netball so it's just great to see her playing with so much joy."
In promising signs for the Pulse, Maddy Gordon and Whitney Souness both got significant court time, as they near full fitness.
"One of the very few games this year where we've had nearly everyone available but having both Maddy and Whitney available is huge for us."
Pulse shooter Amelia Walmsley had a very solid outing, putting up 39 goals at 95 percent accuracy.
The Pulse defensive work was excellent, with Parris Mason nabbing lots of intercepts.
Pulse goal attack Tiana Metuarau clocked up a remarkable 100 games for the Pulse and cleverly worked the ball into Walmsley.
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