It’s all on in Tāmaki Makaurau on Monday night as the Northern Mystics head south for their final encounter against the Stars at Pulman Arena.

The last time these teams met was in round one, a match that saw the start of a raft of injuries that have plagued the Stars this season.

Mystics Assistant Coach, Rob Wright acknowledges this saying, “The Stars have had a dreadful run with injuries throughout the season. They have not had much or any luck. They are dangerous because they are now very hard to prepare for due to their changing line ups, and they have very little to lose.”

This was shown last week as the Stars injected another shooter into their line up, when Tongan International Marie Hansen took the court for the final 8 mins of the match, immediately showing her long range skills slotting a quick 5/6 from the two point line.

For the Mystics, the quality of players and unpredictability of line up for the Stars, means that they just need to continue focussing on their own jobs and keep improving each match.

This is something they did in round 7, cutting their lost possession by more than half of that in their messy round 6 outing, and cementing a 12 goal win over the Magic.

Monday night will also bring the news that Mystics fans have been waiting to hear with shooter Donnell Wallam likely to begin her return to play after the wrist injury that has kept her sidelined since round 4.

Young shooter Sophia Lafaiali’i has also been confirmed as part of the team, adding extra fire power in the circle for the remainder of the season.

With finals spots still very much up for grabs, a win in round 8 could be season defining for teams, “This upcoming round of matches is vital for every team. We just need to keep getting better every week and working hard to try and secure our spot in the finals” says Wright.

As the regular season winds down Wright knows what the Mystics need to do to secure that finals berth, “We would like to see continued improvement and consistency in the last three round matches. So far this seaon we feel we have had only one complete performance across a match. Most matches either our defence end or attack end will have a great performance, ideally we want both ends firing at the same time.”

Under no illusions that Monday’s match against the Stars will be anything but the toughest of encounters Wright says, “It is going to be important that every player on court does their role. We know this is going to be a really tough game, so we need to be switched on from the first centre pass.”

But before the teams take to the court the night will open with the first game in a three match series between the Mystics Men and Stars Men. These teams always excite and entertain fans with their amazing skills and netball flair, and both will be desperate to get the first win on the board.

Stars Men v Mystics Men
Monday 30 June
Pulman Arena
Live on Sky Sport from 5.30pm
Followed by:

Go Media Stars v Northern Mystics
Live on Sky Sport from 7.30pm