Northern Mystics coach Debbie Fuller is quietly confident that some time in the next three weeks her team will finally deliver a full 60-minute effort.
They'll need to, she says, to have any hope of matching the best Australian teams as the trans-Tasman netball league shifts into play-off mode.
The Mystics topped the Kiwi ladder over the 14-week competition, and now host the Magic on Monday in the New Zealand conference final following their 71-69 extra-time win over Southern Steel in Saturday's elimination final.
The New Zealand conference winner will play the second-ranked Australian team in one ANZ Championship semi-final, while the loser meets the Australian conference winners in the other.
Fuller says the Mystics have shown flashes of what they can do this season, but have never stitched together four consistently good quarters.
"That's what we're chasing for the next three weeks - we're really looking for that full complete game," she told AAP.
"That's what we've been chasing all season."
The Mystics have struggled against the Australian teams, suffering 16-goal thumpings by West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts, losing by six and eight goals to the Firebirds and the Vixens, and drawing with the Thunderbirds.
The Aucklanders haven't been beaten by a New Zealand outfit, although they did draw 45-45 with the Magic in round six.
They go into Monday's match coming off a 48-56 defeat to the Vixens last week, a game in which Fuller says they completely got what they deserved.
"We lost focus, we went away from our game style," she said.
"But the great thing about the Vixens game was that they gave us a whole lot of useful information in areas that we can get exposed."
The Mystics were found wanting defensively, Fuller said, particularly their in-circle combinations.
"If we're not going to get ball-side, we're going to get played out of the game. And if we can't keep to the fundamentals of the game, like ensuring we rebound and our shooting accuracy is on song, we're going to get exposed.
"But we still fully believe in our game plan. We know our best is good enough, but it's got to be for four quarters."
Share
