Taurua pinpoints Magic's turning point

NZPA - July 3, 2009, 6:27 am

 
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Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic coach Noeline Taurua has already identified the turning point for her team in this year's trans-Tasman netball league.

It was a shade over two months ago, when the Queensland Firebirds upset the Magic 53-42 in the fourth round, inflicting their first -- and so far only -- defeat of this year's ANZ Championship.

On the heels of that unexpected loss, Taurua said, the Magic took a long hard look at themselves, their mental focus and their game plan.

The revamp is still a work in progress, and Saturday's game across the Tasman against the Adelaide Thunderbirds will test the table-topping Magic's resolve and discipline to the extreme.

They need to win, and win convincingly, to secure the home semifinal as the second-placed Melbourne Vixens face an ostensibly easier home match against the Central Pulse on Saturday.

Although the Pulse are entrenched solidly at the bottom of the table, they have the boost of their first win in two years' in the competition, 53-52 over the defending champion New South Wales Swifts in Porirua last Sunday.

Taurua said the loss to the Firebirds had highlighted shortcomings and the Magic's focus ever since had been on rectifying those deficiencies.

"It's still about that same stuff -- still about ball retention, it's still about creating turnover," Taurua told NZPA.

"But I think as well, it's being able to not get frustrated or get involved with what the defence are going to do on us. We still have to handle that, the one-on-one defence they do plus the niggles they do, and deliver the ball at the same time.

"That's really what we've been trying to work on since we got dicked by the Firebirds."

The defeat was as much about mental focus as physical intensity, Taurua said.

"It really showed up mentally where we were at. It's taken us a while -- we changed our game plan totally, and I think we could still do better, but we're on the right track."

The Magic have stuttered to achieve consistency since then, with a few surprisingly close matches interspersed with some outstanding performances -- most specifically a 55-48 win early last month over the previous unbeaten Melbourne Vixens.

Taurua is well aware nothing less than a complete performance will suffice if the Magic are to secure the crucial home semifinal.

"We knew going into the last two rounds that we'd have to win both games to secure a home semifinal. So no matter who we're up against, which opposition or where we play, it's about the two points and the margin of the win."

And on a note of warning to the Thunderbirds, Taurua is adamant the Magic have yet to deliver their best. Wins over the Vixens, the Fever and the Steel have come close, but there is still plenty of room for improvement, she said.

"The thing is, you've got to dig deep as individuals. Against the Fever, everybody did and (it showed) that when we're on our game, the feeling is there's no ceiling to what we can possibly do."

The Southern Steel have done the Magic no favours with a comprehensive 58-49 win over the Thunderbirds in Dunedin last Monday, Taurua said.

"We know they'll come out firing after that. It's not just about two points, it's about whether we finish one or two, and whether they finish three or four.

"It's all on the line for both teams."

The Southern Steel will also have a huge amount of interest in the Magic result.

They need a Magic win, and a victory in their last game against the Swifts to secure a top four spot.

Even then, the margin of their win and the outcome of Monday's late game between the Firebirds and the West Coast Fever in Perth will decide who will contest the playoffs.

Canterbury Tactix and Northern Mystics, currently seventh and eighth on the table, play only for pride in the last match of the final round in Christchurch on Monday.
 

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/netball/news/article/-/5699253/taurua-pinpoints-magics-turning-point