ANZ Championship round 4 preview

Round 4 of the 2010 ANZ Championship is Rivalry Round. Every match will see an Australian / New Zealand team match-up, and the country to aggregate the highest number of goals across all five games will be awarded the 2010 Rivalry Round Trophy.

The trophy will be presented to the captain of the winning team at the conclusion of the Queensland Firebirds v LG Mystics game on Monday night.

Australia took out the inaugural Rivalry Round in 2009, however with three New Zealand teams in the top five and some seriously tight contests in the opening three rounds of the season, expect some of our hottest netball action yet!

Saturday 10 April Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic v West Coast Fever
2.20pm, Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton

NSW Swifts v Haier Pulse
2.20pm, Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, Sydney

Sunday 11 April Adelaide Thunderbirds v Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel
2.20pm, ETSA Park, Adelaide

Monday 12 April Mercury Energy Tactix v Melbourne Vixens
7.20pm, Westpac Arena, Christchurch

Queensland Firebirds v LG Mystics
7.05pm, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane

* All times shown are local times


Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic v West Coast Fever
· This will be the third time these two teams have met, with the record currently WBOP Magic 2 wins to Fever 0.

· One of the in-form teams of the 2010 season so far, WBOP Magic captured NZ’s first ever win on Australian soil last year against the Fever in Perth.

· This is Fever’s second trip to New Zealand for 2010 after travelling to Invercargill in Round 1.

· WBOP Magic’s Casey Williams is currently sitting in second position for intercepts this season with 10 in the first three matches.

· Fever’s towering goal shooter Caitlin Bassett has shot the most goals across the competition in 2010 with 118 goals to the end of Round 3.


NSW Swifts v Haier Pulse
· In their first home game for the season, the unbeaten Swifts will be looking for a strong victory over the Pulse, in order to capture the No.1 spot on the ladder.

· In spite of a disappointing start to the season, the Pulse will be bolstered by the knowledge that they had their first and only ANZ Championship win against the Swifts in 2009 (Pulse 53 defeated Swifts 52).

· Pulse’s Ngarama Milner-Olsen is equal highest for goal assists across the competition in season 2010.


Adelaide Thunderbirds v Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel
· The Thunderbirds have named Beth Shimmin as a permanent replacement for Jo Sutton.

· The Thunderbirds are coming off their first win for the 2010 season, after taking out last week’s nail-biter against the Firebirds by just one goal.

· This will be the Steel’s first trip to Australia for the 2010 season.

· Last time these two teams met was in the 2009 Finals Series when the Thunderbirds defeated Steel (51-45) in the Minor Semi-Final.


Mercury Energy Tactix v Melbourne Vixens
· The Vixens are on fire this season, and it’s difficult to see who will beat them in their current form.

· It was the Vixens’ big win in the final game of the round last year against Tactix which secured Australia the inaugural Rivalry Round trophy. They will be looking to set up another victory for their country when the two teams meet again this Monday.

· Tactix captain Maree Bowden is equal highest for goal assists across the competition in season 2010.

· Vixens defender Kara Richards made her ANZ Championship debut in Round 3.


Queensland Firebirds v LG Mystics
· This potentially will be the deciding game for Rivalry Round.

· The Firebirds are still looking for their first win, while the Mystics have launched in to the 2010 season in great form, despite their loss to the WBOP Magic last weekend.

· Firebirds defender Laura Geitz is in great form leading the competition for defensive rebounds (21), five clear of the next player.

· While for Mystics, new recruit Althea Byfield has had an instant impact for her team in 2010, leading the competition for deflections and intercepts.