# 2018 Southern Steel season

The 2018 Southern Steel season saw the Southern Steel netball team compete in the 2018 ANZ Premiership and the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club. With a team coached by Reinga Bloxham, captained by Wendy Frew and featuring Gina Crampton, Shannon Francois, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Steel retained the ANZ Premiership title, winning their second consecutive premiership after defeating Central Pulse 54–53 in the grand final. In the Super Club tournament, Steel finished third.

## Players
### Player movements

Gains and losses :
| Gains | Losses |
| Jess Allan (Netball South) Courtney Elliott (Waikato NNL) Taneisha Fifita (Netball South) Georgia Heffernan (Netball South) Kate Heffernan (Netball South) Malysha Kelly (Adelaide Thunderbirds) Kendall McMinn (Netball South) | Aliyah Dunn (Central Pulse) Jamie Hume (Northern Mystics) Jhaniele Fowler-Reid (West Coast Fever) Malysha Kelly Jane Watson (Mainland Tactix) |

#### Notes

^1 Malysha Kelly was injured during pre-season.
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### 2018 roster
#### Notes

^2 Georgia Heffernan, Taneisha Fifita, Jess Allan and Kendall McMinn were included in the extended squad for the Super Club.
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### Debuts

* Kendall McMinn made her senior debut for Steel in Round 3 against Northern Mystics.
* Kate Heffernan and Taneisha Fifita made their senior debut for Steel in Round 6 against Mainland Tactix.

## Pre-season
### Sunshine Coast Lightning series

In March 2018, Steel played a two match series against the 2017 Suncorp Super Netball premiers, Sunshine Coast Lightning.

### Pre-Season Tournament

Steel also participated in the official pre-season tournament at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Otaki from 20 to 22 April.

## ANZ Premiership regular season
### Fixtures and results
#### Round 1

Steel's unbeaten run in competitive matches continued into the 2018 season. However, after defeating Northern Mystics in their opening match, they were beaten 62–51 by Central Pulse, ending a 22–match win streak. The streak included 17 ANZ Premiership matches and five Super Club matches.

#### Round 13
### Final standings

2018 ANZ Premiership laddervte :
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | GF | GA | GD | G% | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Central Pulse | 15 | 12 | 3 | 850 | 679 | +171 | 125.2 | 3 | 27 |
| 2 | Southern Steel | 15 | 10 | 5 | 874 | 866 | +8 | 100.9 | 2 | 22 |
| 3 | Mainland Tactix | 15 | 7 | 8 | 746 | 761 | −15 | 98 | 5 | 19 |
| 4 | Northern Mystics | 15 | 7 | 8 | 783 | 796 | −13 | 98.4 | 3 | 17 |
| 5 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 15 | 5 | 10 | 804 | 878 | −74 | 91.6 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 | Northern Stars | 15 | 4 | 11 | 832 | 909 | −77 | 91.5 | 5 | 13 |
Qualified for Grand final and the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club Qualified for Elimination final and the 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club
Source:

## ANZ Premiership Finals Series
### Elimination final

| Wed 8 Aug 7:45 pm | Report Stats | Southern Steel | 53–49 | Mainland Tactix | ILT Stadium Southland | Sky Sport |
| Sky Sport |||
| Wed 8 Aug 7:45 pm | Report Stats | Jen O'Connell 38/40 (95%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit 15/22 (68%) | | Ellie Bird 42/45 (93%) Kate Beveridge 4/5 (80%) Brooke Leaver 3/3 (100%) | ILT Stadium Southland | Sky Sport |

### Grand final

| Sun 12 Aug 4:15 pm | Central Pulse | 53–54 | Southern Steel | Fly Palmy Arena | Sky Sport |
| Sky Sport |||
| Sun 12 Aug 4:15 pm | Aliyah Dunn 32/35 (91%) Ameliaranne Ekenasio 17/25 (68%) Tiana Metuarau 4/4 (100%) | | Jen O'Connell 40/44 (91%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit 14/18 (78%) | Fly Palmy Arena | Sky Sport |
Source:

## Netball New Zealand Super Club
### Group stage

Sources:
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### Final ladder

Group A :
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | % | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Southern Steel | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 207 | 168 | 123.2 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Mainland Tactix | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 201 | 153 | 131.4 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Gauteng Jaguars | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 173 | 172 | 100.6 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Sneakers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 150 | 238 | 63.0 | 0 | 0 |
Qualified for Semi-finals 5th/8th place classification
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### 1st/4th Play offs

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### Third place play-off

| 24 August 2018 6.40pm | Report Stats | Southern Steel | 54–45 | NSWIS | Sky Sport |
| Sky Sport |||
| 24 August 2018 6.40pm | Report Stats | Jennifer O'Connell 31/34 (91%) Georgia Heffernan 12/21 (57%) Jess Allan 4/5 (80%) Olivia Bates 2/7 (29%) Shannon Francois 1/1 (100%) | | Matisse Letherbarrow 16/22 (73%) Georgia Marshall 14/19 (74%) Kelly Singleton 8/15 (53%) | Sky Sport |

## Award winners
### Team of the season

Two Southern Steel players were named in Brendon Egan's Stuff Seven team of the season.
| Position | Player |
| GA | Te Paea Selby-Rickit |
| WA | Gina Crampton |
Sources: