Coverage starts on Friday at 8am, with the Mystics meeting the Stars live on Sky Sports Main Event and Mix
Friday 17 July 2020 21:03, UK
Round Six of the ANZ Premiership commences with the Mystics facing off against the Stars on Friday, as all teams continue on the road to Invercargill and the Final Series on August 23.
This is the penultimate round which will be played at Auckland's Netball Centre because all franchises will be returning to home venues for Rounds Eight to Ten.
The Central Pulse are the only outfit to remain unbeaten and this weekend they will meet the team currently occuping second place in the table, the Northern Mystics.
Every match of Round Six, and the ANZ Premiership season, will be shown live on Sky Sports. Repeats will be shown later in the day due to the early morning start times.
The Stars go into this encounter off the back of two wins in the space of two days weekend and will enjoy the luxury of having just single-game to focus on in Round Six.
As ever, Maia Wilson was a rock in their shooting end and Oceane Maihi made her presence felt in defence off the bench; a sign that head coach Kiri Wills has options to play with moving forwards.
The Stars and Mystics haven't met since the middle of March, when Round One took place at the Pulman Arena, so this encounter on Friday is eagerly anticipated, as are the match-ups in both shooting circles.
The Mystics' second encounter of the weekend is against the only unbeaten side in the competition, the defending champions Central Pulse.
Once again in Round Five the Pulse were pushed hard, however they controlled the key moments and did enough to secure a 40-37 victory over the Steel.
When she's introduced Tiana Metuarau continues to add greatly to their work and she'll have good memories of facing the Mystics earlier in the season, having changed the game on that occasion.
The Pulse pride themselves on their fitness and they'll look to do everything that they can to push the tempo, given that their opponents will be off the back of a 48-minute match the day prior.
The Tactix and the Pulse will be first onto court on Sunday and both outfits are packed with dynamic and exciting individuals.
The key for their pair will be the fluidity of their connections and in the Pulse's case, mustering up enough energy to hit their high standards after what will have been a tough encounter on Saturday.
Aliyah Dunn and Ameliaranne Ekenasio testing themselves against Temalisi Fakahokotau and Jane Watson is always a joy to watch, as will be the duel in the middle between Kimiora Poi and Claire Kersten.
The Steel's positive work in Round Five was tainted by the awful injury to Jennifer O'Connell in the final minute of their match against the Pulse.
It has now been confirmed that her season is over. The shooter, like Georgia Heffernan, suffered a horrific knee injury and has ruptured her ACL and torn her MCL.
It leaves the Steel 'continuing to explore options' before confirming replacement players in their shooting end. For their second game last weekend, after O'Connell's injury, they had to play a training partner and Beko league player.
The Magic arrive off the back of their draw with the Tactix and despite sharing the spoils, captain Sam Winders was positive and is enjoying the netball they're playing.
The final match of the round will be a greater challenge for both the Steel and the Tactix; the Steel's attack-end will need to front up against exceptionally dynamic defenders and the Tactix must keep their focus throughout.
Fakahokotau and Watson are an imposing duo and it will be up to Kalifa McCollin to show her international credentials and support those around her in the shooting circle.
The duel between Gina Crampton and Charlotte Elley should be electric and the fitness of both Shannon Saunders and Poi will make for a pacy exchange in mid court.
