Firebirds win Queenstown tournament

Firebirds win Queenstown tournament

The Queensland Firebirds proved too hot for their New Zealand ANZ Championship rivals, beating the Central Pulse 50-46 in the final of this weekend’s preseason tournament in Queenstown.

The Canterbury Tactix earlier handed the Steel its fifth loss in as many games with a 64-46 drubbing in the playoff for third.

But, taking into account the Tactix fielded arguably its strongest line-up initially featuring shooters Donna Wilkins, Anna Thompson, midcourters Maree Bowden, Phillipa Finch and Charlotte Kight, with defenders Kasey Evering and Anna Galvan, the Steel had just four actual squad members on court in Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Sophia Fenwick, Hayley Saunders and Erika Burgess. The remaining three places were filled by ring ins Whitney Areaiiti, Emma Moynihan and Louise Thayer.

While it was disappointing to emerge winless from the Steel-hosted tournament, coach Robyn Broughton remained realistic given the injuries affecting her playing roster.

“It’s very difficult to test combinations given the raft of injuries we have at the moment, especially to key personnel,” Broughton said.

“It’s given our younger squad players and a few extras we called on a valuable opportunity to step up and I’ve been really impressed with the way they’ve embraced that chance.”

Thayer, an Otago representative, was thrust into the spotlight playing several games at goal keep – and shined.

She received an SOS call from Broughton on Thursday night and donned the Steel kit for the first time just 22 hours later.

“It was such a surprise … I didn’t really know what to think. I was just hoping I didn’t screw it up too badly,” Thayer, 22, said.

“But there was no pressure on me and I’m stoked I actually got to give it a crack.”

The Waikaka-raised defender reunited with former Otago team-mates Saunders and Selby-Rickit in the Steel ranks.

“It was great to be involved and if the call was made again, I’d definitely say yes,” the Dunedin-based physiotherapist said.

Steel’s official training partner Kendall McMinn also performed strongly during the weekend and young midcourter Areaiiti produced some admirable displays despite her last-minute inclusion.

The Steel’s injury woes continued today with the loss of shooting maestro Daneka Wipiiti with an ankle injury late in the game. The injury, sustained in the dying stages of the game, is currently being assessed.

The makeshift nature of the Steel line-up certainly didn’t provide opposition coaches with any real glimpses of potential combinations for the looming season.

Tactix coach Helen Mahon-Stroud said the capabilities of their South Island neighbours were familiar territory.

“Man, once they’ve got their top players back on court, I expect them to be a real force to be reckoned with, as they always are,” she said.

“After this weekend, Robyn will have confidence in the back of her mind that she has some bullets come off the bench when she needs them.”

Mahon-Stroud was satisfied her team had achieved its objectives this weekend.

“Our objectives were the same as the other coaches really – to test various combinations – and this tournament provides us with an opportunity to do exactly that in a beautiful environment,” she said.

“It’s also a chance to test everything off the court – it’s all the same stuff we’re going to be doing on the road but it’s amplified five times so it puts the players under the pump. It’s really valuable.

“It exposes any areas we need to refine and we’ve got some work to do but at the same some we’re pretty excited about some of the combinations we saw on court.”

Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie echoed her sentiments.

“It’s a good start and it’s given us a lot of confidence and belief … there’s just little things we need to fix,” she said.

She was disappointed the Pulse failed to finish with its unbeaten status intact.

“I don’t mind losing if you’ve given it your best,” McCausland-Durie said. “We wanted to win it and we were just four points off achieving our goal.”

Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke relished the chance to compete on New Zealand soil.

“It’s good to be able to come over and have a look at the New Zealand teams because we only get the opportunity to play them once during the competition. It’s great to get that experience against a different style,” she said.

Results: Firebirds beat Pulse 50-46, Tactix beat Steel 64-46.
Ends

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