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NZ Herald
27-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
ANZ Premiership: Mainland Tactix break drought, defeating Mystics in grand final
Tactix captain Erikana Pedersen said the win was for all Canterbury sports fans. Pedersen finished the grand final cheering from the bench, after limping off with injury in the final quarter. She credited Bird's performance, with the underrated shooter excelling, after coming out of retirement to have another go at netball. Karin Burger appeals for an umpire call during the ANZ Premiership final. Photo / Andrew Cornaga / 'A lot of people doubted us, but we knew we could do it,' Pedersen told SkySport. 'The region has really stuck behind us with all the ups and downs. 'I'm really proud and emotional. I know how hard we worked over the last how-many years,' The jubilant captain said the experience of Ferns legend Wilkins was a crucial factor in building belief in their breakthrough season. 'She's brought a ruthless mindset into our team and we also have to give credit to Marianne Delaney-Hoshek [the former Tactix coach], who has been there for many years.' The Tactix set the platform with a storming defensive effort in the opening quarter. The trio of Jane Watson, Karin Burger and Paris Lokotui stifled the flow of ball into the Mystics attack. Watson and Burger pressured Mystics target and former Australian Diamonds shooter Donnell Wallam, who was restricted to just 38 goals for the match. Mystics coach Tia Winikerei went to her bench to turn the momentum. She moved midcourt dynamo Peta Toeava into the goal circle. Later the Mystics coach tried a defensive reshuffle, bringing on rookie goal keep Charlotte Manley, but the Tactix held the upper hand, with a brilliant back-up shooting performance from Te Paea Selby-Rickit (8/11) and a slick midcourt. – RNZ
RNZ News
20-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Netball: New 'mindset' sees Tactix get a crack at elusive title
The Tactix celebrate. Photo: Photosport The Tactix have earnt themselves their first grand final berth since 2021 after beating the Pulse 57-52 in last night's elimination final in Christchurch. They will meet the ANZ Premiership defending champion Mystics, the team that beat them by two goals in that 2021 final. And they believe Sunday's gutsy victory over the Pulse shows they are capable of winning a maiden title, which has been so elusive for the franchise. The Pulse had far better flow on attack than the home side to start with and led 14-10 after the first quarter. They pushed that lead out to six goals part way through the second quarter but the Tactix started to consolidate. When Silver Ferns defender Karin Burger shifted to goal defence, after starting at wing defence, the Tactix defensive end started to slow down ball into Pulse shooter Amelia Walmsley. Maddy Gordon at wing attack was able to fire balls at will into Walmsley early on. Walmsley, who has had a tremendous season, looked on track to score 50-plus goals, having put up 29 in just the first half. But it was Tactix goal shoot Ellie Bird, who ended the game as the highest scorer, with 47. The veteran shooter became a better target as the game went on and Tactix coach Donna Wilkins said Bird just gained more confidence. "I think at times we can talk ourselves out of something and you know look she's playing against Kelly [Jackson] right so you know that's a pretty tough ask and she probably hasn't in the past performed as good as she could against Kelly but today she did. She was a bit scratchy to start with but by gosh she was awesome." Wilkins said. When Tactix goal attack Te Paea Selby-Rickit nailed a Super Shot on the halftime buzzer to get the home side within four, it also signalled a momentum shift. During the third quarter the Tactix defensive end really turned it on and disrupted the Pulse, which saw the home side win the period 15-10. Amelia Walmsley and Jane Watson (right) Photo: / John Davidson Captain Erikana Pedersen, playing in her 100th match for the Tactix, said the finals pressure was palpable. "And we felt that ... but I thought as cliché as it sounds it was literally a game of two halves. I thought we came out really strongly, we looked after our centre pass, the defence got us ball and we scored off it as well which really lifted us," Pedersen said. It took the Pulse 3.5 minutes to score in the final quarter. Amorangi Malesala came on at GA for the super shot period and nailed three in the dying minutes but it was too little too late. The Pulse made countless changes throughout the match in complete contrast to the Tactix, who finished with the same seven on court. It was a disappointing loss for the Pulse, who suffered a heartbreaking one goal loss in last year's grand final. "Disruptive" was the term used to describe their season as the side dealt with injury and illness. Perhaps the biggest blow was the loss of tenacious goal defence Parris Mason, due to a nasty neck injury suffered in round eight. Given that adversity, finishing third in the competition was not a bad effort. Wilkins acknowledged that the Tactix looked like a different side to the one that lost 56-70 to the Mystics in Auckland just a week ago. "And we didn't get a lot of ball last week and it was probably one of our worst performances collectively. But you learn more from losses and we had a really good week training, we worked on what we needed to work on and I think we brought that." Donna Wilkins Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2025 Wilkins is in her first year as a head coach in the domestic league. The former Silver Fern and Tall Fern was a no-nonsense player in her day. Pedersen said there had definitely been a shift in the Tactix this year, and that was reflected in how they had been able to lift themselves after a loss. "I think our mentality has shifted and Donna this year has probably brought that ruthless mindset, growth mindset always wanting to be better. As a collective I thought we trained our butts off this week, we were coming off trainings exhausted but we knew that we needed to do that to prepare for this game because it was exhausting on the court. "I just love Donna's passion, you come into a huddle, you see that she wants it just as badly as we do. And there's nothing that gives up more confidence when you see a coach like that really lead us with confidence and passion. "I think that game was the best preparation we could have got leading into the final next week." The Tactix were runners up in 2020 and 2021. Wilkins said there was no reason they couldn't lift the title for the first time. "Just being in the final and having a chance ... we've given ourselves an opportunity, probably nobody will pick us ... but just going up there with nothing to lose. We know we can play better than last week [against the Mystics] and look out if we do get it all right on the night," Wilkins said. She said it was easy being around a group of people who wanted to perform and work hard. "Just giving those opportunities to people that want to play. You know we've got the experienced ones that are leading by example and working their butts off every game, you look at Te Paea and her workrate this year alone. "Erikana coming back from injury but managing to play every game so she can tick off that 100. Holly [Mather] coming in first year contract, she's been up and down but all she wanted today was to get ball and she got that one so the lift that she's going to get from that performance today to go into the final is massive." The Tactix and Mystics meet in the grand final on Sunday at 4pm in Auckland. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Pulse climb ANZ Premiership ladder with crucial win
Te Wānganga o Raukawa Pulse have kept their eye on the finals series with a commanding win to end a three-match losing streak and keep their campaign rolling. Playing in front of a raucous home crowd, the Pulse were in control from start to finish to beat the ANZ Premiership table-topping VIP Frames and Trusses Tactix 59-50 at TSB Arena in Wellington. The last eight matches between these two teams has seen the result alternated and it proved no different this time with the Pulse getting one back over their red-and-black rivals, a crucial three points banked and a return to the top three on the ladder. When they last met in Round 6, the Tactix came away with an 11-point win with goal attack Te Paea Selby-Rickit having a big impact on the outcome, but the work of captain Kelly Jackson and Parris Mason nullified the Tactix' key weapon. In contrast, the Tactix had to throw everything at Amelia Walmsley who dominated in the circle against Jane Watson, Karin Burger and Charli Fidler – netting 54 of her team's points. The Pulse were without regular midcourters Fa'amu Ioane and Whitney Souness, both players ruled out with illness, giving Ainsleyana Puleiata her first start of the season. Gabi Simpson started at centre while Maddy Gordon moved to wing attack in a re-jigged midcourt. For the Tactix, it was again a settled line with Martina Salmon getting the start ahead of Ellie Bird at goal shoot. Both teams took time to settle, the hosts realising the importance of the result and the points on offer, but it was the Tactix to make the first break on the scoreboard. Finding the league's highest scorer was paramount for the Pulse with Walmsley a safe bet under the hoop, and her feeders were made to work hard over the ranging arms of Jane Watson and Karin Burger. But it wasn't easy at the other end of the court either with Salmon pushed high in the circle by Jackson and Mason keeping tabs on Selby-Rickit. Every goal was hard fought for entering the super shot period and a turnover created by Gordon lifted the Pulse's intensity as they levelled the scores – a goal on the buzzer giving the hosts a 13-12 advantage at the first break. Shutting down the shooter-to-shooter play, the Pulse defensive duo troubled the Tactix' attacking flow and a couple of turnovers gave the hosts a four-goal lead early in the stanza. It prompted Tactix coach Donna Wilkins to make a change in the shooting circle with Ellie Bird replacing Salmon, but there was no stopping the Pulse who jumped out to a 21-14 buffer before a timeout was called. The connections between Tiana Metuarau and Walmsley were solid in the spell as the latter kept the scoreboard ticking over – the Tactix having no answer to the high ball into the circle. Confidence continued to grow, and the full house cheered loudly as Amorangi Malesala was injected into the super shot period, landing her first two point shot as the Pulse went into halftime with a commanding 30-20 lead. The Tactix made changes in the midcourt with captain Erikana Pedersen moving to centre and Parris Petera coming on to wing attack with Holly Mather moving into defence, while Salmon returned to the shooting circle. But it was again the long reach of Jackson foiling the visitors attempts on attack as the Pulse held onto their lead. The quick release into Walmsley was the undoing of the Tactix' defence and with Mason and Jackson picking up plenty of ball at the other end of the court, the visitors were in danger of falling out of the contest, trailing 33-45 heading into the last turn.
RNZ News
22-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Netball: Mainland Tactix regain ANZ Premiership lead with win over Northern Stars
Charlie Bell of the Stars and Karin Burger of the Tactix tussle for the ball during their ANZ Premiership Netball match at Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch, 22th June 2025. Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2025 Mainland Tactix have regained the ANZ Premiership netball lead, but Northern Stars have uncovered a new shooting sensation. The Tactix beat the Stars 61-53 in Christchurch and now lead the premiership by one point from the champion Mystics, who had a brief 24 hours at the top, after beating Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 63-51 on Saturday night . The win sounds comfortable for the Tactix and they certainly controlled the first half, leading at the break 36-19, but the game opened up in the second half, with the Stars bringing a lot more energy to their game and disrupting the Tactix flow. The big talking point was the debut performance of diminutive Stars goal attack Marie Hansen, who took the court late in the match and nailed five super shots out of six attempts to give the Tactix a few jittery moments. Hansen - who plays for the Comets in the Netball National League - said she only got the call-up on Thursday. "It definitely took me by surprise," she told Sky Sport. "I think this has never been on the cards for me, just being a shorter shooter. "It was cool getting the call-up.'' Tactix captain Jane Watson, a commanding presence particularly in the first half, joked about the problem that Hansen posed to the defence. "It's bloody hard when they are really short, you just lose them," she said. "She was quick as well. "She came on with so much energy and she did a really good job, so kudos to her." Goal shoots Ellie Bird (Tactix) and Charlie Bell (Stars) both shot 100 percent with their one-point shots, and uncannily both missed their single super shot attempts, with Bird's miss coming in the last 10 seconds of the game. Kayla Johnson, who had a strong game for the Stars, will now be a permanent replacement player for the injured Kate Burley through to the end of the season, the Stars announced during the match. Fellow defender Julia Wynands will stay with the Stars until the end of round nine, as an interim replacement. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
