ANZ Premiership: Central Pulse and Southern Steel nab one-goal wins
Trustworthy, accurate and reliable news stories are more important now than ever. Support our newsrooms by making a contribution . The Central Pulse survived their toughest test of the season to preserve their unbeaten record in this years ANZ Premiership. They pipped the Mainland Tactix 33-32 in a cliffhanger at the Auckland Netball Centre on Sunday to make it eight wins from eight. The Tactix will wonder how they let the win slip after leading 30-26 early in the final quarter. Goal attack Te Paea Selby-Rickit had a chance to draw the game on fulltime. Her attempt went in, but it was judged to have gone in after the final whistle. It looked as if the Pulse were heading for their first loss since May 20 last year, trailing in the final quarter. They demonstrated why they are defending champions and title favourites again this season, stepping up when it mattered. READ MORE: * Central Pulse prodigy Tiana Metuarau only just getting started after earning 50th cap * ANZ Premiership: Central Pulse edge Northern Mystics to remain undefeated * Central Pulse end their hoodoo, beating Northern Stars in ANZ Premiership final The Tactix could only score four goals in the final quarter with the Pulse landing some crucial late goals through Silver Ferns star Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Tiana Metuarau. It was anyones game with the score locked at 32-all in the final minute. Ekenasio, no stranger to landing important goals with the game on the line, put the Pulse ahead with nine seconds left. Both defensive circles caused havoc with standout Tactix pairing Temalisi Fakahokotau and Jane Watson disrupting the flow of ball through to the Pulse shooters. The Tactix might be left to rue this result come the end of round play. Only the top two sides feature in the grand final on August 23 in Invercargill and they are in a close tussle on the points table with the Northern Mystics and Stars. The Pulse look all but guaranteed for one grand final spot, leaving the Mystics, Stars, and Tactix chasing the other berth. The Tactix will need to put the agonising loss behind them and regroup for their clash with the Southern Steel on Monday night. The Pulse have barely trailed this season, but found themselves down 16-14 in the closing stages of the first half. They finished the first half with a flourish to take a slim 19-18 lead into halftime. Pulse shooters Aliyah Dunn and Ekenasio didnt miss a shot in the first half, converting all 19 attempts. Fakahokotau and Watson were in menacing touch in the first half, picking up regular turnovers, with wing defence Charlotte Elley also effective applying defensive pressure. The Tactix were let down by their accuracy in the shooting end, having five more first half attempts than the Pulse, but only converted 18 from 24 (75 per cent). It took 25 minutes for the Pulse to finally miss a shot with Ekenasio unsuccessful at the start of the second half. Meanwhile, in Sundays bottom of the table clash, the Steel won just their second game of the season, edging the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 41-40 in another thriller. The Magic have now gone 125 days without a premiership win, last tasting victory in round one against the Steel on March 16 before the competition was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have drawn two other games. This was a gutsy win for the Steel, who lost starting goal shoot Jennifer OConnell to a season-ending left knee injury last weekend, rupturing her ACL and also suffering a torn MCL. The Steel led 31-27 going into the final quarter and held off a strong finish from the Magic, who whittled their lead down. Former Silver Fern Ellen Halpenny answered the injury SOS for the Steel and made an impact in her first game for the side, landing all nine of her attempts after taking the court in the third quarter. AT A GLANCE: Pulse 33 (Aliyah Dunn: 13/13, Ameliaranne Ekenasio: 13/16, Tiana Metuarau: 7/11) Tactix 32 (Ellie Bird: 24/28, Te Paea Selby-Rickit: 8/11) 1Q: 10-8, HT: 19-18, 3Q: 25-28. Steel 41 (Kalifa McCollin: 24/30, Kiana Pelasio: 8/11, Ellen Halpenny: 9/9) Magic 40 (Abigail Latu-Meafou: 22/24, Kelsey McPhee: 10/14, Khiarna Williams: 8/10) 1Q: 9-10, HT: 20-20, 3Q: 31-27. Points (games played) : Pulse 32 (8), Mystics 21 (8), Stars 17 (8), Tactix 16 (8), Steel 10 (8), Magic 10 (8) Cheers, Aotearoa. Thank you to our readers who have already supported Stuff's reporting. Contribute today to help our journalists bring you independent New Zealand news you can trust.