ANZ Championships Round 1 preview

After the draw for the up and coming 2013 season was announced, the first round was of course shaping off to be a cracker. 2 games in particular that caught my eye was the opening game with the Canterbury Tactix facing off against defending champions the Waikato/BOP Magic and the Northern Mystics v Melbourne Vixens.

What do both of these games have in common?

The off season player movement will make both of these a bit more of a tussle than normal. The move south by Juliana Naoupou from the Magic to her hometown of Christchurch and Ellen Halpenny filling her place will be interesting to see how the changes affect each of the teams. Juliana had her strongest season last year cementing her position as a future Silver Fern team member and this was further highlighted when she won the 2012 Best Young Player in the competition.

It has been speculated that her number one reason behind venturing back down to Christchurch is purely home sickness. It is certainly an interesting decision to move from the defending champions down to the wooden spooners but here is hoping that she can provide some stability in the Tactix shooting circle. One area of the court that has been a bit of a let down for the past few seasons and will need to be remedied if they Tactix are to relinquish their hold on the wooden spoon in 2013.

As previously mentioned the big signing of Julie Corletto to the Northern Mystics will be a great battle first up against her old club and the return of Sharelle McMahon to the competition after having last season off with the birth of her son Xavier. 

With the loss of Anna Harrison this season due to pregnancy and Charlotte Kight tearing her Achilles in January it will be up to Corletto and young Jess Moulds to establish a combination early in the season to set the tone for the rest of the year. 

The return of Sharelle McMahon back into the ANZ Championships after being unavailable last season with the birth of her son will bring some fireworks and some much needed stability in the Vixens goal circle. The combination last season of Howarth and Caldwell did well as a young lineup however there missed shots cost them particularly in the final against the Magic. McMahon brings a strength and a speed that is a testament to the player she is which is invaluable to whichever team she plays for.

The question will be if Corletto's experience of playing in the same team as McMahon can give her any tips to nullify her and give the Mystics a chance. 

It all will be an exciting first weekend no matter which game you watch, and lets see this season brings the crowning again of a new champion in its 6th season or if we will have the first team to win two titles.