Race for ANZ Premiership seeding set to go down to the wire
Sunday, 24 May 2026
The race for top spot in the ANZ Premiership and grand final hosting rights could literally go down to the last game of round play.
South Island pacesetters, the Mainland Tactix and Southern Steel, continued their winning ways on Saturday to remain first equal on the ladder on 18 competition points. The Tactix have their noses slightly in front on goal percentage (113 v 111).
With just three further rounds left, the defending champion Tactix and Steel need to keep winning and hope the other slips up to nab first.
They meet in the final round game of the season in Invercargill on June 14, which could decide who finishes top and advances directly to the grand final. Whoever qualifies first hosts the grand final.
The second placed side plays the third ranked team in the elimination final.
On Sunday, the Northern Mystics kept the pressure on the southern table-toppers, winning their fourth straight match. They consolidated third place and took another step towards the finals, beating the Central Pulse 58-47 at Auckland’s Trusts Arena. The Mystics are two points back from the Tactix and Steel.
Donna Wilkins’ Tactix earned their sixth win from seven starts, gaining a hard-fought 52-47 victory over the Stars in Auckland on Saturday.
It was much tougher for the Steel, who received a giant scare from the winless Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Dunedin before pipping them 56-53 in extra-time.
The Tactix handed the Stars their third straight loss, which is a crushing blow to their finals ambitions.
The Stars sorely missed the presence of Silver Ferns midcourter Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, who sat out the match with a knee niggle.
Missing out on finals netball would be deemed a failure for the Stars, who entered the season with lofty goals after some strong off-season additions. They boast a Silver Ferns attacking line with shooters Amelia Walmsley, Martina Salmon, Reuelu-Buchanan, and fringe Fern Claire O’Brien at wing attack.
The Stars’ second quarter blues struck again against the Tactix, being outscored 15-8 after they had taken a 15-14 lead into the first quarter break.
A lack of defensive ball hurt the Stars in the loss, generating just three pick-ups to the Tactix’ 13, and three intercepts to eight from the Tactix. The Tactix took a four goal cushion into the final quarter (41-37) and withstood a late flurry from the Stars.
Former Stars shooter, Australian Charlie Bell, excelled against her old side, converting 37 from 39, all one point attempts.
“I was just proud of them. It wasn’t a polished performance by any means. We missed the first centre pass in every quarter,” Tactix coach Wilkins said.
“Keeping the Stars to 47 goals is where we’re at and it’s a full defensive effort. That’s what we work on every week is being connected in our links on D and it helped us [in the win].”
The Steel racked up their sixth successive win, but were made to sweat for it against the bottom placed Magic.
Taking a 40-39 advantage into the final quarter, the Magic would have been thinking about a giant-sized upset and their first win of the season.
The Steel led 51-48 late in regulation, but a two pointer from Sarah Guiney and a goal from Saviour Tui with 11 seconds left tied the score at 51-51, sending it to extra-time.
Willed on by a sold out Edgar Centre crowd, the Steel kept their nerve in extra time (two periods of three minutes) to gain three valuable competition points.
It could prove pivotal in the final wash-up with nothing separating the Tactix and Steel on the table.
On Sunday, the Mystics led for most of the contest, but were never able to really pull away from the Pulse until late in the game. They outscored the Pulse 18-11 in a dominant final quarter after going into the last term with a four goal lead.
Even without Silver Ferns defender Catherine Hall, who will miss the rest of the ANZ Premiership with a foot injury, it was another impressive outing from the Mystics.
The loss ended any slim hope the Pulse had of qualifying for the finals, slumping to their sixth straight defeat.
ANZ Premiership – points after round seven
Tactix 18, Steel 18, Mystics 16, Stars 11, Pulse 5, Magic 1.