After 10 rounds of fast, physical, skillful netball, the last 60mins of the season is upon us. The 2026 ANZ Premiership Grand Final showdown is at Trusts Arena, Waitakere on Saturday night between the GoSweetSpot Mystics and the Ascot Park Southern Steel – and is shaping up to be a thriller.

After a slow start to their season, the Mystics finished Minor Premiers for the fourth time in the last six years, and are on their way to hitting full speed.

The Steel have been on form and competition front runners from the outset, beating the Mystics comfortably in their first match up in Auckland before losing in an extra time nail biter in Invercargill.

Mystics Head Coach Tia Winikerei knows that the Steel are going to be a formidable opponent, “They play a strong possession game and their defence have dominated in attack lines all season. They have momentum. They will be brutally tough. We will need to win the individual battles to get on top of them.”

With every member of the Mystics team adding their own X Factor of speed, smarts, hops, creativty and experience, those individual battles are going to be riveting – especially in both circles where the Steel have the leagues top shooter in Aliyah Dunn at one end and the top rebounder in Carys Stythe at the other.

But the Mystics have always maintained that the strength of their side is in the whole, which is something their coach is proud of.

“Mystics strengths come from our ability to get the job done together. Diversity and varied skill-sets are two of our most potent weapons. Anyone can take the court, they know their
role and can do their job.”

Acknowledging the disappointment of the 2025 Grand Final and moving past it has been important for the Mystics,

“We learned a lot from the 2025 Grand Final loss and have prepared differntly for 2026. Our preparation has been solid and I am excited to see this come together out on court this Saturday,” said Winikerei.

Mystics Captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson adds,

“Last year I was quite nervous going into it. This year I just feel free and I feel excited and I feel like I’m just really ready to have fun. I think what the team has done differently is probably just enjoyed the moment and really soaked in the occasion.”

At home in front of a sell out crowd who will be loud and vibrant and in full support of their teams, the Mystics are hoping that their supporters may make the difference,

“We are excited to be playing at home. We want to put out a performance we can be proud of, and we want to do this for our people – our whānau, our community and our fans. We need our fans to make some noise on Saturday. Let’s do this together!”, says Winikerei.

Sokolich-Beatson knows how important it is for the team to be playing at home,

“Playing at home is awesome, I wouldn’t want to play this game anywhere else. I just want our team to play well. Playing in front of our fans is always special, and they’re such netball fans, they cheer for everyone, both teams, they really get involved. They’re always loud, they bring their signs – they’re just such an incredible group.

I want everyone to enjoy it and to really soak up the moment and to be proud of themselves at the end of the game.”

We are beyond proud of our team. Let’s get in behind our Mystics and bring home the ANZ Premiership trophy back home on Saturday night!

Don’t miss the ANZ Premiership Grand Final, Saturday