The Southern Steel's ANZ Championship netball fortunes have plummeted after a damaging 56-41 loss to the Queensland Firebirds in Invercargill tonight.
Rattled from the outset, there were few positives for the home team as they lost their proud record of never losing to an Australian team in the southern city.
The result continued the growing lack of success for New Zealand teams against their Australian counterparts.
After a slow start to the season, the Firebirds are hitting their straps and delivering the kind of form that had them favoured to make the finals. Playing a smart and controlled brand of netball, the visitors got off to a rollicking start and never let the Steel back in as they went on to notch their second win.
The visitors made the best of starts in scoring the first three goals and from there didn't look back as they built through an impressive first quarter. In contrast, basic errors, missed goals and a high penalty count combined to give the Steel a horror start.
The home struggled to get the ball into the hands of shooters Daneka Wipiiti and Megan Dehn under strong defensive pressure. There were no such problems for the Firebirds who were quick and efficient through court. Attackers Natalie Medhurst and Sarah Wall provided the vision to give a near-perfect service to the 1.96m shooting target of Romelda Aiken, who helped the Firebirds blaze out to a commanding 18-9 first quarter lead.
Things continued to go downhill for the Steel on the resumption, the score ballooning out in favour of the opposition who dictated all facets.
Consigned to chasing, nothing went right as passes went astray, goals were missed and the home buckled under the relentless pressure. The crack Firebirds defence line leaked few opportunities as the Steel lived off mere scraps. Wipiiti was put under the pump by talented defender Laura Geitz as she struggled under the hoop.
At the other end, the creative Medhurst had a field day as she ran riot on attack and worked effectively with Aiken to keep the scorecard ticking over as the Firebirds raced into halftime 33-20 ahead.
The introduction of 20-year-old Juliana Naoupu, for Wipiiti at halftime, changed the dynamics for the Steel. Offering more movement and calmness on the shot, the rookie added some spark to the Steel’s momentum.
Five unanswered goals, huge in the context of the game, ensured a more competitive contribution from the home team but the Firebird's resolve remained rock solid. Medhurst and Aiken were almost unstoppable in the Firebirds circle as they made the Steel pay for too many sloppy errors.
The home team had few answers to the Firebirds dominating form. Not taking their foot off the pedal, the visitors stretched their margin to a whopping 16 goals as they went to the last break 47-31 ahead.
The urgency did not diminish for the Firebirds during the final stanza as they made it look all too easy in sweeping to an emphatic win.