Exhausted Steel buckle to Tactix

Robyn Broughton is refusing to push the panic button one week out from the ANZ Championship after a disappointing final preseason showing by Steel in Dunedin on Saturday.

Steel saved their worst preseason performance for last, with the side looking sloppy in a 58-51 loss to Canterbury Tactix.

The previous weekend, Steel played five matches during three days at the SOPA Cup preseason tournament in Sydney, and the effects of a long preseason campaign – which has featured 19 games during the past five weekends – finally took its toll.

Steel were also slightly down on firepower for the match, with midcourt general Liana Barrett-Chase given a rest at the weekend because of conjunctivitis, and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit missing the second half of the game with a minor foot complaint. Coach Broughton said she would have liked to see more fluidity through the court and fewer errors from her players on Saturday, but expected see a much more polished effort in their first game of the ANZ Championship against West Coast Fever in Invercargill on Sunday.

"Next week, we'll go back to our normal positions," Broughton said.

"We need to look at ourselves and tidy it up from here.

"It will be an entirely different game against the Fever. They've got (shooter) Caitlin Bassett, who is nearly as tall as the goalpost, so we have to tighten up our D (defence) on the outside."

Steel were badly let down by their consistency on attack, with too much ball being spilled over in the midcourt and the side also struggling to generate turnovers on defence – which was a hallmark of Steel's play last season. They were also slow to the loose ball at times and were simply outpassioned by a hungry Tactix outfit.

"We were a bit flat. We didn't really adjust to the umpiring or their style of play," Steel captain Megan Dehn said.

"Everybody is pretty exhausted, mentally and physically. We've had a massive eight weeks (of preseason training), so we'll be looking to freshen up now before the season starts."

Steel had played more games in preseason than any other ANZ Championship side, which would only benefit them in the long run, Dehn said.

"We've had good games against all the New Zealand teams and the Australian teams, so we've covered everything now. We just need to make sure our game plan is really nailed down and we're ready to go for the first game."

Broughton confirmed after the match that Steel defender Sheryl Scanlan – who has missed the whole of preseason – will also miss the start of the ANZ Championship because of a calf injury, which she re-aggravated late last year.

"Sheryl is still out for another six weeks, so that doesn't help much," Broughton said.

"It's very frustrating but there's nothing you can do."

Selby-Rickit looks set to start the season at goal defence in Scanlan's absence after starring in preseason, with former Sting player and Steel physio Jenny Ferguson called into the squad as cover.

In Steel's earlier match on Saturday, they accounted for the Otago Lois Muir Challenge side 42-27 in a shortened 40-minute match, with all the side's reserve and wider training squad players getting court time.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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