LAST ROUND SHAPES FINALS SERIES

2nd July 2009 - ANZ

 As Queensland Firebirds walk out on court to face West Coast Fever and a fervent sell-out crowd at Perth’s Challenge Stadium on Monday night, the statisticians will have fingers poised over calculator keys.  But Fever coach Jane Searle and her valiant young team will be oblivious to the number crunchers.

Fever’s chance of a place in the ANZ Championship top four has already been extinguished, but they, in effect, are the kingmakers in this final game of the round-robin.

More than likely, the last berth up for grabs in the finals series will come down to the outcome of the Firebirds-Fever clash.  If Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel, the other finals contender, win their last match against NSW Swifts in Invercargill on Sunday, Firebirds will have to beat Fever by a decent margin to continue on in the competition through a better goal percentage than Steel.

But all the statistics and scenarios mean little to Searle and her Fever side, who are simply determined to beat Firebirds on Monday – to end their remarkable face-saving season on a high and avenge the loss earlier in the season that cost them a place in the top four.

“We’re going into this game to win – to finish the season well and be the best we can be. The last time we met the Firebirds, we let a five-goal lead slip through our fingers in the last three minutes, and that loss ultimately cost us a place in the finals,” Searle says. 

“We’re geared up to make amends for that, regardless of what the outcome is for other teams.”

Searle, who has taken Fever from their ninth placing last season to be among the top six for most of this year’s competition, believes her team have the ability to upset Vicki Wilson’s Firebirds.

“[Goal keep] Susan Fuhrmann is playing really well at the moment, and I think she will match up pretty well against Romelda Aiken.  The team are pretty determined to go out with their best performance.”

Searle is predicting Steel will be the fourth finalist alongside Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, Melbourne Vixens and Adelaide Thunderbirds.  She knows only too well the edge that the geographically-isolated Steel and Fever have in home games.

“Steel are certainly going to have a tough match against Swifts, but they have a pretty strong advantage playing at home in Invercargill. When a team travels to Perth or Southland, it costs them a couple of goals a quarter – they are usually playing at 95%."

Although Fever are not exactly where they would have liked to be come the end of their ANZ Championship season, Searle is happy with the way the team – many from Australia’s under-21 side – has grown.

“We won five games, which is a lot further along than last year; we’ve played an exciting, competitive brand of netball, and we’re very happy as a team. I don’t think there will be any trouble keeping them together for another season,” she says.

Steel and Firebirds are on equal points – seven wins a piece – going into this final round. If Steel beat Swifts by one goal on Sunday, Firebirds will need to beat Fever by four to grab the last berth.

The statisticians will be on the ball in two other games this weekend to determine who wins the Minor Championship title and earn the right to a home Semi-Final. 

Current leaders Magic will be aiming to beat Adelaide Thunderbirds outright to claim top dog status.  After finally breaking the hoodoo that hung over New Zealand teams trying to win on Australian courts, Magic will be fired up to repeat the feat in successive matches. 

If Magic win by their average winning margin of 12 goals, Vixens need to beat Central Pulse on Saturday by at least 40. If Magic win by one, Vixens need to win by 28.  But Pulse proved in their historic first win over Swifts last round that they are capable of putting up a spirited fight.

In Christchurch, Mercury Energy Tactix and LG Mystics will be vying for final standings mid-table. Last season, Mystics nudged out Tactix for seventh place on goal differential; in their last meeting in  Round 9, Mystics pipped Tactix by one goal.

Pictured: Susan Fuhrmann, whose performance against Romelda Aiken will be a key factor in the outcome of Monday evening`s important Fever-Firebirds match. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
 

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