Two Kiwi sides in netball playoffs

New Zealand has doubled its presence in the trans-Tasman netball league playoffs although form suggests the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and Southern Steel will struggle to wrest the title from Australia.

The fourth and final playoff spot in the ANZ Championship wasn't decided until the closing minutes of the 65th and last regular season game in Perth last night, where the Queensland Firebirds beat the West Coast Fever 54-52.

A two-goal margin wasn't enough for the fifth-placed Firebirds to deny the Steel, who qualified narrowly on points percentage and will be the only team among the qualifiers to experience their first taste of playoff netball.

Their opponents in the minor semifinal - for the third and fourth-placed teams - in Adelaide on Monday will be the Adelaide Thunderbirds. The losers of that match will be eliminated while the winners will play off a week later against the losers of this Sunday's major semifinal clash in Melbourne between the Melbourne Vixens and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

In the inaugural ANZ Championship last year, the Magic were the only New Zealand team to reach the playoffs. On that occasion they qualified top but lost to the New South Wales Swifts in the major semifinal, and went down to the same opponents in the grand final two weeks later.

Current form suggests both the Magic and Steel will struggle this weekend against red-hot opponents who have a firm advantage in playing on home soil.

The result that screams loudest in assessing their respective merits is Sunday's 54-35 thrashing of the Magic by the Thunderbirds in Adelaide, an outcome that allowed the Vixens to power to the minor premiership.

The Magic's two losses this season have both been across the Tasman and they will need a substantial turnaround to lower a Vixens side who have won their last two games by an average score of 72-37.

Magic coach Noeline Taurua held nothing back in assessing her team's effort in Adelaide.

"We were just outmuscled, outplayed and it went away too fast, too soon. We were just dominated," Taurua told The Waikato Times.

"What's most disappointing is to play so far below par from what we expect of ourselves as a team and as individuals.

"We gave up too soon, too fast."

Taurua also called their effort "defensively soft", calling on them to adapt better to the more lenient Australian umpires who New Zealand players have routinely struggled with.

The good news for the New Zealand teams is that they beat their respective opponents in their only meetings this year.

Magic beat the Vixens 55-48 in Tauranga a month ago while the Steel clobbered the Thunderbirds 58-49 in Dunedin.

The other New Zealand teams flattered to deceive this year although the Canterbury Tactix improved by two spots on their eighth placing of last year and suffered a number of unfortunate, narrow defeats.

The disappointing Northern Mystics were eighth, one worse than a year ago, while the Central Pulse picked up the wooden spoon again, although at least managed a solitary win this season.

Veteran Magic shooter Irene van Dyk again finished the regular season as the most accurate shooter. He 93 percent - from 414 shots out of 445 attempted - was fractionally up on her 92.8 percent of 2008.

- NZPA